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IT’S NOT JUST football Ireland’s new president is skilled with, Catherine Connolly has been showing off her basketball prowess, managing to score a backwards shot while in Belfast today.
President Catherine Connolly paid a visit to Queens University this morning, where she shot some hoops with the cross-community basketball team, the PeacePlayers.
Connolly, who went viral during last year’s presidential election for her impressive keepie-uppie skills, showed today that she is no stranger to the basketball court either.
Connolly scored not one, but two successful shots while on the court this morning, receiving a large round of applause from spectators.
The Journal / YouTube
Her visit with the PeacePlayers comes as part of a three-day visit to Northern Ireland, her first official visit as President.
Earlier this morning, President Connolly met with the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland as she began her visit to the region.
The Journal / YouTube
Her trip fulfils a pledge she made during the election that Northern Ireland would be the location of her first official visit as Uachtarán na hÉireann.
She was welcomed this morning to Stormont Castle by First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly.
All three shook hands and O’Neill told Connolly, “it’s great to have you here”, showing her the front of the castle, which is the home of the Stormont Executive.
Little-Pengelly told President Connolly it was “lovely to meet you” before the three headed inside for a private meeting.
President Catherine Connolly is greeted at Stormont Castle by First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly.
It marks the beginning of her first official visit to Northern Ireland.
— Jane Matthews (@janematthews1.bsky.social) February 4, 2026 at 10:42 AM
Connolly became the 10th President of Ireland on 11 November 2025.
The inauguration ceremony, held at Dublin Castle, was attended by First Minister Michelle O’Neill but not Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly.
Little-Pengelly, a member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), said she was unable to attend due to “a number of other commitments in Belfast and Windsor” to mark Remembrance Day.
It marked the first time since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement that a serving first or deputy first minister has not attended the inauguration in Dublin Castle.
Today marks the first time Little-Pengelly and Connolly have met.
Deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly and First Minister Michelle O’Neill greeting President of Ireland Catherine Connolly Alamy
Alamy
Elsewhere, Connolly delivered an address at Ulster University in North Belfast this afternoon.
During her speech, the President spoke of how Northern Ireland represents a “beacon of light” in how decades-long conflicts can be resolved in a world that is “ever more consumed with war and militarism”.
Across the day, she also visited a number of community initiatives in the city.
On Thursday and Friday, the President’s official visit to Northern Ireland will continue with engagements in Derry.
