Leftwing activist Greta Thunberg has met with President Catherine Connolly in Áras an Uachtaráin on a “courtesy call” this afternoon.
The 22-year-old Swedish campaigner, who is best known for her activism on climate change and Gaza, is due to participate in an event hosted by Bohemians Football Club in Dublin on Thursday.
The evening event, entitled An Evening of Words and Songs for Gaza, will take place at Dalymount Park and aims to raise funds for Gaza.
Thunberg is due to speak about her experiences on recent aid flotillas to Gaza amid the conflict with Israel.
In a separate event, the President was also present at Áras an Uachtaráin to receive participants in a 10km charity run organised by Kneecap in support of the Gaza Food and Play project, which included band member Moglai Bap, also known as Naoise Ó Cairealláin.
The run set off from Dalymount Park, Bohemians FC’s home ground, and concluded in the Phoenix Park, with more than 200 runners completing the route. Many participants carried Palestine flags, wore Bohemians jerseys, and chanted “Free Palestine” along the way.
As the runners arrived at Áras an Uachtaráin, Connolly offered words of encouragement, briefly speaking in Irish to Ó Cairealláin, who thanked her in response.
Connolly won the Presidential election by a landslide in October this year, vowing to use the Presidency to be a “catalyst for change” during her inauguration speech.
She noted then that during the campaign, her policies had, at times, seemed “too far-out” and “too Left” to win, but that “the people have spoken” and that she had received a “powerful mandate” to pursue her goals.
“We face the existential threat of climate change and ongoing wars, both of which are inextricably linked,” she said at the time.