A shout from a car window of “fair play to you Catherine, loveen,” was just one of many warm remarks from countless well-wishers to President Catherine Connolly as she sat down for an interview with the Connacht Tribune.

“You’re mighty,” said another woman as the President took a seat in the Hardiman Hotel on Eyre Square.

“Are you enjoying it?” the woman inquired. The President’s laugh and reply that “I’m not sure if enjoying it is the right word,” was met words of reassurance: “You’ll get used to it in no time.”

A city woman through and through, President Connolly says she feels ‘grounded’ in Galway and that has contributed to her decision to spend her first Christmas as the nation’s First Citizen at home in the Claddagh.

A Christmas Day dip in the freezing cold waters in Salthill is high on her list of priorities, as is a small bit of a break after a gruelling campaign that led to her election victory on October 24.

“I’m coming home which is good all around. It’s good for me and it’s good for the staff in Dublin. I think it’ll allow me to ground myself and it gives the staff a break.

“I’m hoping to have a swim in Blackrock,” says President Connolly, who previously made a tradition of taking part in the Christmas morning swim – although the warmer waters in Leisureland have been her preference of late.

“I’ve missed it a few years but I’m hoping to do it this year. I don’t know if I’ll be able to withstand the cold but it’ll be a highlight if I can do it,” she laughs.

Caption: President Catherine Connolly delivers her first Christmas message from Áras an Uachtaráin.

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