The president-elect was in Leinster House again this week but she managed to stay below the radar during a low-key visit.
Although back in her familiar political stomping ground on Thursday, politics was strictly off the menu.
The former Independent TD for Galway West was in Kildare Street with her husband Brian McEnery for an intimate lunch hosted by Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy to mark the retirement of the Clerk of the Dáil, Peter Finnegan.
She also met officials to finalise aspects of next Tuesday’s inauguration ceremony in Dublin Castle. She called in to assist with housekeeping details for invitations and security clearance.
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Numbers will be tight in St Patrick’s Hall on the day and there won’t be enough seats for all the people who want to be there.
Catherine comes from a very large family (she’s one of 14), her campaign was supported by an alliance of left-wing parties and her victory underpinned by a large and dedicated team of volunteers.
There will have to be an overflow room.
On Thursday, she made very slow progress to the Ceann Comhairle’s private diningroom as wellwishers, surprised and delighted to see her in Leinster House, rushed over to offer their congratulations and ask for selfies.
A groundbreaking trio of powerful women was at this farewell lunch: president-elect Connolly – the Dáil’s first woman leas-cheann comhairle; Verona Murphy, the first woman elected to the office of Ceann Comhairle; and Peter Finnegan’s successor Elaine Gunn, the first woman to be appointed clerk of the Dáil and general secretary of the Houses of the Oireachtas.
Brigid McGlynn, who worked alongside Peter as his personal assistant, completed the complement of powerful women.
We hear that, as part of the meticulous preparation process for the inauguration, one very important issue had to be addressed. Something which has never troubled any of the men elected to the office of president of Ireland.
What will the new president and the Ceann Comhairle be wearing? As they will be in proximity on the platform, it wouldn’t do for them to be wearing similar rigouts or clashing colours or for the star of the show to be upstaged at her own installation.
This is never a problem for the blokes and their dark suits.
As one official with a keen eye for the ceremonial delicately put it to us on Friday: “Verona is very glam. We’ll have to tone down the Ceann.”
Nothing to worry about.
It’s all sorted.
The language of diplomacy
The new British ambassador threw a party on Thursday night in her Glencairn residence to announce her arrival here.
As part of the diplomatic corps, we expect Kara Owen will have one of the best seats in Dublin Castle for next week’s presidential inauguration, but we don’t expect Her Excellency to arrive in the exquisite Victoria Beckham dress she wore to her welcome reception in South Dublin.
The ambassador was at pains to point out that she bought the dress a number of years ago for her niece’s wedding and she got it at knock-down price from an online shop specialising in end-of-line designer garments.
And in the week when Victoria’s husband David Beckham finally landed his knighthood, what better time than Kara’s first Irish soirée to give another outing to that emerald green dress?
Former president Mary McAleese and her husband Martin were among the guests at the informal gathering, where the very dainty canapés were apparently prepared with a flavoursome nod to the ambassador’s previous diplomatic postings.
Mary is really looking forward to Tuesday’s inauguration, even though she’s already been through two of her own and then two more for Michael D.
Has she got her outfit sorted?
“I’m wearing the one I wore to the last inauguration. Sure why not to take it out again?”
She was wearing a very nice dress at the ambassador’s reception.
“I made it myself,” she said proudly.
Unusually, the event was something of a politician-free zone. We noticed Sinn Féin’s Rose Conway-Walsh (who once worked behind the bar in the UK House of Lords). It was left to the Ceann Comhairle to fly the flag for Dáil Éireann.
And Attorney General Rossa Fanning flew the flag for Government buildings.
Ambassador Owen talked about her determination to improve her fluency in Irish, to great encouragement from the crowd.
We blame the incoming president for this sudden fixation with our native tongue among the chattering classes.
Not only is His Majesty’s representative putting some of us to shame with her proficiency, but both the Australian ambassador Chantelle Taylor and Lynn Walsh, wife of US ambassador Ed Walsh, told us they are trying to learn some of the language too.
Also among the guests was the Defence Forces chief of staff, Lieut Gen Rossa Mulcahy.
He was shooting the breeze with the ambassador’s husband, William Tierney, a retired Irish army officer from Ballinasloe in Co Galway. The couple met when they were working in Indonesia.
In the running
If politics is a marathon and not a sprint, then Rory Hearne of the Social Democrats is the fastest TD in Leinster House.
The Dublin North West deputy ran the recent Dublin marathon in just under three hours, blowing his political rivals out of the water. As well as posting a personal best of two hours and 55 minutes, the Soc Dems spokesman on housing also raised funds for Focus Ireland as he ran around the houses.
It meant he had to hold back on celebrating Catherine Connolly’s Saturday night presidential victory with the rest of his jubilant party colleagues as he was due at the starting line for his 10th Dublin marathon the next morning.
“It was a very wet and cold day, but the atmosphere was just amazing. Dublin is always an incredible marathon, the crowd gives the runners such incredible support.”
Fianna Fáil’s marathon man Malcolm Byrne notched up his 39th marathon – 18 of them in the capital.
Given his party’s performance in the presidential election, the TD for Wicklow-Wexford will have had much to think about as he pounded the roads around Dublin city after his party’s campaign limped to a merciful close.
It was tough going for the runners due to the difficult weather conditions. “The crowds along the way were just incredible. We got great support on the route – and it got me around.”
During the fraught fallout from Fianna Fáil’s disastrous campaign, one unnamed Minister described Malcolm as more of a “loose horse” than one of the anti-Micheál Martin rebels. Fortunately, he managed not to crash in to any other runners during his 4½-hour “potter” around the route.
“I’m more of a workhorse than a show pony,” he said afterwards.
Wonder if he saw the sign held up by one man in the crowd shouting encouragement to the passing runners.
“Unlike Jim Gavin, you’ll finish this race!”
And if Sinn Féin had an excellent presidential election, the party had a great Dublin marathon too.
Three TDs ran the marathon on the morning after the night the candidate they supported became president-elect.
It was no surprise to hear that Wicklow’s John Brady completed the course. This was his 15th marathon. “It doesn’t get any easier, each one is as hard as the previous one,” he said, after clocking up a time of three hours and 34 minutes.
“The crowds were just phenomenal – it was a special atmosphere. They carry you from the start the full way up to the finish line.”
He was also very proud of his Dáil colleagues Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth) and Paul Donnelly (Dublin West) who successfully completed their marathons on the day.
Did he have any advice for the newbies?
“Just put the head down and keep one foot in front of the other.”
Is Sinn Féin now Ireland’s fittest parliamentary party?
Labour didn’t have an Oireachtas member in the race. “They were all out celebrating Catherine Connolly’s win,” said a spokesman.
Fine Gael didn’t have one either.
But the party pointed to Monaghan county councillor Aidan Campbell, a member of Blayney Rockets AC, who has run every Dublin marathon since 1994.
