THE Irish president has been awarded the Royal Society of Edinburgh's (RSE) "highest honour" during her visit to Scotland.
Catherine Connolly arrived in the Scottish capital for the beginning of her four-day visit on Wednesday.
During the first day of her visit, she met First Minister John Swinney at Bute House.
Connolly also received an honorary fellowship from the RSE, in recognition of her commitment to cultural and linguistic heritage in her politics, and her previous careers in clinical psychology and law.
Connolly becomes the third Irish president to be awarded the honorary fellowship, joining her predecessors Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese.
Commenting, the Irish president said: “It is a privilege to receive this honorary fellowship from the Royal Society of Edinburgh and to have the opportunity of meeting with some of those working in such a wide range of disciplines for the public good.
"I particularly welcome the work that is being undertaken between researchers in Ireland and Scotland which will help inform public policy in both countries.”
Meanwhile, RSE general secretary Professor Jo Shaw said: “It is a true honour to welcome President Connolly into the RSE’s Fellowship.
“Throughout her career she has consistently demonstrated her passion and drive for helping others, from being a barrister and psychologist to her public service.
“An honorary fellowship is our society’s highest honour that we can bestow, so on behalf of our entire Fellowship and staff I am deeply proud that President Connolly has accepted.”
After receiving the honour, Connolly learned more about a project the RSE funds with the Royal Irish Academy that works to help deaf victims of gender-based violence.
On Thursday, the Irish president held a private meeting with the King, which she described as "very interesting".
She also told reporters that US president Donald Trump had asked her if she believed Ireland would be united during her lifetime.
The two presidents met on Saturday afternoon during Trump’s visit to Ireland.
The US president later expressed his support for Irish unity.
Connolly told reporters in Scotland that she had had a “polite” meeting with Trump.
She said: “He asked me my thoughts on on the North and I referred back to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 and consensus.
“It was handy to have the constitution because that’s set out in our constitution that that issue will be resolved through consent.
“He asked me specifically, would it be resolved during my lifetime? And I said I hoped it would.
“He made a joke about age, but a complimentary joke I might add, but we went back to the issue in relation to that, I would like to see it in my lifetime.
“But I went back a number of times to the constitution.”
