CATHERINE CONNOLLY said that she will ensure “all voices are represented, heard and valued” as she became the 10th president of Ireland on Tuesday night.

She set out her vision for the largely ceremonial role as Ireland’s head of state by drawing on the country’s history of famine, oppression and of striving for peace.

She said Ireland had a “lived understanding” of war, hunger and dispossession, as she said the country could not “close our eyes” to those forced to leave their homes because of war, famine or climate change.

“Unfortunately, we have all become witnesses to ongoing wars and genocide,” she said.

“Given our history, the normalisation of war and genocide has never been and will never be acceptable to us.

“As a sovereign independent nation with the long and cherished tradition of neutrality and an uninterrupted record of peacekeeping since 1958, Ireland is particularly well-placed to lead and articulate alternative diplomatic solutions to conflict and war.”

“Indeed, our experience of colonisation and resistance of a catastrophic man-made famine and forced immigration gives us a lived understanding of dispossession, hunger and war and a mandate for Ireland to lead.”

Ms Connolly said Ireland could take “real pride in the success” of the Good Friday Agreement as a “model for the peaceful resolution of conflict.”