PRESDIENT Catherine Connolly has met with King Charles while on an official four-day visit to Scotland.
The Irish President began her trip yesterday, with a meeting with the First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, and the Minister for Europe, External Relations and Energy, Stephen Gethins, at Bute House in Edinburgh.
President Connolly, who is accompanied on the trip by her husband Brian McEnery, previously met with First Minister Swinney last November, when he visited her at Áras an Uachtaráin.
He was the first overseas heads of government received by the President following her inauguration earlier that month.
It was at that meeting that Mr Swinney invited President Conolly to visit Scotland.
Elsewhere yesterday the President visited the National Library of Scotland, where she met the team working on the UK-Ireland funded project, ‘Across these Islands: Shared histories, Shared futures’.
President Connolly met with First Minister of Scotland John Swinney on day one of her trip
President Connolly later visited the Royal Society of Edinburgh, where she received an honorary fellowship, before attending a special dinner hosted by King Charles at Dumfries House in East Ayrshire.
President Connolly’s visit will continue until September 19, with engagements planned in Glasgow, Coatbridge, and the Isle of Skye, where she will visit Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Scotland’s National Centre for Gaelic Language and Culture.
President Connolly received an honorary fellowship from the Royal Society of Edinburgh yesterday afternoon
In a statement ahead of the trip, President Connolly said she was “very pleased to have the opportunity of making an Official Visit to Scotland and building on my engagement with the First Minister in the opening weeks of my presidency”.
“Ireland and Scotland are bound by strong ties of friendship, culture and language, with people moving between our countries for centuries,” she added.
“I am very much looking forward to meeting with those involved in many of the projects bringing our people together over the coming days, as well as meeting with members of the Irish community in Scotland.”