BBC
Irish President Catherine Connolly is due to begin a three-day visit to Northern Ireland, the first official visit of her presidency.
She will meet First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly at Stormont Castle on Wednesday.
Later, she will deliver an address at the Ulster University Campus in Belfast.
Over the course of the day, President Connolly will also visit a number of community initiatives in the city.
The president's trip will continue on Thursday and Friday with engagements in Londonderry.
The trip fulfils a commitment made in her inauguration address that her first official visit would be to Northern Ireland.
Born in Galway and raised in a social housing estate in Galway city, Connolly was the ninth of 14 children.
She studied for a degree in psychology with German, before taking a job as a clinical psychologist with a County Galway health board.
But she turned down a permanent post and instead began night classes to study for a law degree.
She qualified as a barrister in 1991.
The mother of two was in her early 40s when she entered elected politics in 1999.
Connolly served 17 years as councillor in Galway, including a one-year term as mayor of her native city.
However, she criticised Labour for not supporting her bid to run alongside Higgins in the 2007 general election and she left the party in the aftermath of that dispute.
Standing as an independent, she made two failed attempts to get elected to the Dáil (Irish Parliament) before finally winning a seat in 2016.
Connolly then became the first ever woman elected to chair debates in the Dáil when she secured the post of Leas-Cheann Comhairle (Deputy Speaker) in 2020.
It was a surprise win in which she managed to unite opposition parties against the sitting government's candidate.
She united them again with her presidential bid, securing the support of Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats, People Before Profit and her own former party, Labour.
Outside politics, Connolly is a passionate Irish speaker and a keen sportswoman who ran marathons and played badminton competitively in her younger years.
She will meet First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly at Stormont Castle on Wednesday.
Later, she will deliver an address at the Ulster University Campus in Belfast.
Over the course of the day, President Connolly will also visit a number of community initiatives in the city.
The president's trip will continue on Thursday and Friday with engagements in Londonderry.
The trip fulfils a commitment made in her inauguration address that her first official visit would be to Northern Ireland.
Born in Galway and raised in a social housing estate in Galway city, Connolly was the ninth of 14 children.
She studied for a degree in psychology with German, before taking a job as a clinical psychologist with a County Galway health board.
But she turned down a permanent post and instead began night classes to study for a law degree.
She qualified as a barrister in 1991.
The mother of two was in her early 40s when she entered elected politics in 1999.
Connolly served 17 years as councillor in Galway, including a one-year term as mayor of her native city.
However, she criticised Labour for not supporting her bid to run alongside Higgins in the 2007 general election and she left the party in the aftermath of that dispute.
Standing as an independent, she made two failed attempts to get elected to the Dáil (Irish Parliament) before finally winning a seat in 2016.
Connolly then became the first ever woman elected to chair debates in the Dáil when she secured the post of Leas-Cheann Comhairle (Deputy Speaker) in 2020.
It was a surprise win in which she managed to unite opposition parties against the sitting government's candidate.
She united them again with her presidential bid, securing the support of Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats, People Before Profit and her own former party, Labour.
Outside politics, Connolly is a passionate Irish speaker and a keen sportswoman who ran marathons and played badminton competitively in her younger years.
