Claddagh woman Ann Campbell has made a Christmas cake and plum pudding for her neighbours and friends, Catherine Connolly and Brian McEnery, for many years.

A small token, she says, of the esteem in which she holds a family she has known since they first moved into the area over 30 years ago – who, as of this week, are the nation’s ‘first family’.

She hasn’t figured out yet how she might get the cake to them in the Áras, but Ann says she’ll find a way.

Baked with care, and carefully constructed with handmade almond paste and icing, Ann takes great pride in her cakes, turning out eight of them each year for close friends and family.

“I’ve been making these cakes for years. I used to work in CIE and they had a magazine for staff – Nuacht. The recipe is from a chef in that magazine. My mother started it and I still do it,” says Ann, “and I make a cake and a plum pudding for Brian and Catherine every year”.

Clearly a hit with Ann’s family and friends, her culinary creations could well be on offer to visitors to Áras an Uachtaráin this year, as could ‘Brian’s Honey’ – a local delicacy and the fruits of Brian’s labour as a keen beekeeper.

Ann was among several Claddagh residents who nailed their colours to the mast during the presidential election – putting up posters and flags for Catherine Connolly, “one of our own”.

“Catherine is Catherine – she’s exactly the same with everyone. She would attend our senior citizens’ party in the Claddagh every year without fail and people in the Claddagh are extremely fond of her, and of Brian. Her aunt, Kathleen Flannery, lives across the road from me,” she says.

Ann is the Claddagh notes correspondent for the Galway City Tribune – a role that was previously held by Brian McEnery.

President Connolly is “real Galway”, she says, with family in the Claddagh, Bohermore, and in Shantalla where she grew up.

“She’s so smart – her brain is unreal,” laughs Ann, who describes President Connolly’s win as a huge source of pride and “fantastic for the Claddagh”.

Claddagh is the only place in Ireland – and probably the world – that can boast having a monarch and a President at the same time.

King of the Claddagh, Michael Lynskey, has been a long-time supporter of Catherine Connolly, having backed since her since her early days as a Labour city councillor.

Now 94, Michael is a resident in the community nursing unit at Merlin Park and can proudly boast having had a visit from the new President just days out from her landslide victory last month.

Michael’s son, Pat, says their long-time neighbour called into his dad twice in the run up to the election, without fanfare – just to check in on an old friend.

“They are each other’s number one fans,” he laughs, admitting that her win in the election was doubly sweet because if she hadn’t been made President, “I’d have never heard the end of it”.

“Any birthday party we’ve ever had for dad, she’s been there. Catherine sat for half an hour with him, just chatting and even the nurses were telling me how lovely it was to see the connection between the two of them,” says Pat.

“There’s just such respect between the two of them.”

Over in Shantalla, where President Connolly and her 13 siblings grew up, resident Billy Smyth says there is delight locally to see one of their neighbours reach the highest office in the land.

“We reckon we’ll have tour buses coming around here soon,” he laughs.

Billy, who is Secretary of Galway Bay Against Salmon Cages, says as a TD, President Connolly was supportive of their cause – submitting Parliamentary Questions and speaking on their behalf.

But beyond the politics, he says she comes from “a really lovely and well-liked family”.

“I didn’t know Catherine that well growing up, but I worked with her father, Colie, and her two uncles. Her father was a carpenter, and they were doing carpentry and building.”

Billy, who has canvassed for Catherine in a few elections, said her success has “really put Shantalla on the map”.

“Shantalla people are so delighted that she was elected – so happy to see someone who was born and reared here do so well,” he says.

Another Shantalla man who canvassed for the new President is Pat Hardiman – a lifelong trade unionist and former Labour Party member.

Her success, he says, is a real boost for people locally and it meant a lot to see “someone from the area, who came from a family of 14 in Shantalla, go on to be a councillor, a TD and now, President of Ireland”.

As a former Roches’ Stores shop steward, Pat says President Connolly’s support of Debenhams workers in their strike after the chain’s closure in 2020 was another reason he backed her.

President Connolly got more than four in every five first-preference votes in Shantalla – and more than 90% of the vote in one box.

“Shantalla has always had politically active people,” says Pat.

“In the Presidential campaign, they were all out for Catherine. But there were people who were never involved in politics coming out to canvas for her, and a lot of young people which is great to see.”

Martina O’Connor, a former Green Party city councillor from Shantalla, says President Connolly is a woman of conviction, crediting her success to “always standing by her principles”.

Martina’s husband, Derek O’Connor, is Catherine’s cousin, and as a family they were hugely proud to watch her being sworn in on Tuesday.

“She comes from ordinary people. She educated herself, got nothing easy but was determined and her success really shows that anything is achievable, even if it doesn’t always feel like that.

“Shantalla is full of politically astute people and the people of Shantalla came out for her. Shantalla consistently has one of the highest turnouts in elections,” says Martina.

That’s backed by the stats – Shantalla had the highest turnout of any polling station in the city at the Presidential election, at 56%, as the area came out to support one of their own.

Pictured: Councillor Catherine Connolly pictured with Kathleen Corcoran, Claire Brennan and Molly Dolan at the Claddagh Residents Association Senior Citizens new year dinner party at the Galway Bay Hotel in February 2009.