Catherine Connolly is an Irish Independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

 politician. As a member of the Labour Party

Labour Party (Ireland)

The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...

 she was Mayor of Galway

Mayor of Galway

The office of Mayor of Galway is an honorific title used by the of Galway City Council. The Council has jurisdiction throughout its administrative area which is the city of Galway – the largest city in the province of Connacht, in the Republic of Ireland. The office was originally established by a...

 from 2004 to 2005.

Originally from Shantalla, Connolly has lived in the Claddagh

Claddagh

Claddagh is an area close to the centre of Galway city, where the Corrib River meets Galway Bay. It was formerly a fishing village, just outside the old city walls. It is just across the river from the Spanish Arch, which was the location of regular fish markets where the locals supplied the city...

 since 1988, and is married with two children. A barrister

Barrister

A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...

, she previously worked as a Clinical Psychologist with the Western Health Board in Ballinasloe, Galway City and Connemara

Connemara

Connemara is a district in the west of Ireland consisting of a broad peninsula between Killary Harbour and Kilkieran Bay in the west of County Galway.-Overview:...

.

She was first elected to the City Council in the West local electoral area in June 1999

Irish local elections, 1999

The 1999 Irish local elections were held in all the counties, cities and towns of Ireland on 10 June 1999, on the same day as the European elections.- Results :18 Workers' Party councillors had left the party in 1992 upon the creation of Democratic Left...

 and then re-elected in the South local electoral area in 2004.
In the same year she was elected Mayor of the City. She speaks Irish and English. Her sister, Collette, is a fellow city councillor.

She resigned from the Labour Party in 2006 when she was denied her wish to run alongside Higgins. She contested the 2007 general election, polling just over 2,000 votes.

She contested the 2011 general election in Galway West, where she lost the last seat to Fine Gael

Fine Gael

Fine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...

's Seán Kyne

Seán Kyne

Seán Kyne is an Irish Fine Gael politician. He was elected as a Teachta Dála for the Galway West constituency at the 2011 general election.He is from Moycullen, County Galway...

 by only 17 votes. She sought a full recount, which concluded after a total of 4 days of counting but did not change the outcome.

External links

• http://www.galwaycity.ie/AllServices/YourCouncil/HistoryofTheCityCouncil/PreviousMayors/
• http://www.catherineconnolly.ie/profile.php
• http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/4067