*President Michael D. Higgins with his wife Sabina at his alma mater, St Flannan’s College. Photograph: John O’Neill
AS HIS term as President of Ireland comes to an end, Michael D. Higgins (LAB) has been hailed as “a great ambassador” for Co Clare.
At midnight on Monday, Michael D’s fourteen year term as President of Ireland officially came to a close. He left Arás an Uachtaráin on Monday evening with his wife Sabina.
Sanctuary Runners, a running group made up of Irish citizens, migrants, asylum seekers and refugees and of which Higgins is a patron, formed a guard of honour outside the gates of the official residence as he began to drive through Phoenix Park and return to Galway.
Earlier on Monday, his contribution to the office during his two terms were acknowledged by elected members of Clare County Council.
In June 2012, he was bestowed with a civic reception by Clare County Council and in February 2013 he was made an honorary freeman of Ennis by Ennis Town Council, only the second person to ever receive the accolade, the other being the late Muhammad Ali.
Speaking at Monday’s meeting of the County Council, Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) took time to honour the Presidency of the eighty four year old. “On the last day of our President in office, it is fitting that we acknowledge the great ambassador to our county Michael D. Higgins has been. We voted fourteen years ago to give him a civic reception and I had the honour of leading that.
“We can be proud of the legacy Michael D. Higgins has left in our county, on our nation and worldwide. He is recognised as a President to support the arts, to support music and support people. His picture hangs with great honour in our Chamber,” Cllr Hayes added.
Slightly unsure as to how best to mark the occasion given that a minute’s silence would seem too morbid, elected members on the suggestion of Cllr Hayes took to their feet and stood in applause to mark Higgins’ contribution as first citizen. “We might stand and give him a round of applause to honour that commitment to public service and as a Clare man doing what he had done, it is fitting to honour him in that way”. This proposal was seconded by Cllr John Crowe (FG).
In a statement, Mr Higgins said that serving as president of Ireland was “a great privilege”. He said, “I would like to thank the people of Ireland for the warmth of reception which they gave to both Sabina and myself over the past 14 years”. “How valuable it was to be able to join with them in engaging with the issues, projects and ideas that will help us to achieve the best of our country and the best representation of Ireland and its values abroad – an inclusive citizenship and a creative society in a real Republic”.
Born in Limerick on April 18th 1941, Michael D moved to Ballycar in Newmarket-on-Fergus at the age of five with his brother John where they lived under the care of their uncle and aunt.
They attended primary school in Ballycar before starting second level education By the time he started primary school aged seven, Michael D. was already able to read, admitting that he learned to read mostly from newspapers. He was an active handballer in Newmarket-on-Fergus and also represented the Blues on the hurling field.
From Clare, he moved to Galway where he secured a position working with ESB. He then took the decision to study at University College Galway where he graduated with a BA in 1965. In 1967, Higgins graduated from the American Indiana University Bloomington with a Master of Arts degree in Sociology.
Although he originally joined Fianna Fáil as a student in UCG, Higgins moved to the Labour Party and was unsuccessful in his first two local elections. Michael D. was appointed in 1973 to the 13th Seanad Éireann by Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave (FG). He was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1981 general election as a Labour Party TD. He served in the Dáil for 24 consecutive years between 1987 and 2011.
In 1993, he was appointed Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht. He was responsible for setting up the Irish language television station, Teilifís na Gaeilge which is now known as TG4, he scrapped the controversial Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act and re-established the Irish Film Board.
Michael D met the actress Sabina Coyne in 1969, they got engaged in 1973 and tied the knot a year later. They have four children: Alice Mary, Daniel, and twins, John and Michael Jr.; Alice Mary (IND) was elected to Seanad Éireann in 2016.
He has produced many works of non-fiction. He has contributed widely to political and philosophical journals on numerous subjects, among them ideology, the sociology of literature, clientism in politics, regionalism and the politics of the media. He is a regular attendee at League of Ireland fixtures and is formerly a President of Galway Utd.
With 39.6% of first preference votes, Higgins beat six other candidates to become President of Ireland in 2011. He was elected during a turbulent period in recent Irish history where the economic crisis dominated the start of his term. In one of his first acts as President, he voluntarily waived almost a quarter of his salary, following a similar pay cut taken by predecessor, Mary McAleese, after Ireland was hit with a recession.
In April 2014, he became the first President of Ireland to make a State visit to the United Kingdom, during which he delivered a historic address at Westminster. In 2018, he welcomed Pope Francis to Áras an Uachtaráin during the first papal visit to Ireland in 40 years. He told the pontiff of the anger felt by those in Ireland who were abused as children by Catholic clerics. The Marriage Equality Referendum and Eighth Amendment Referedum were both passed during his first term.
Labour, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael backed Higgins as he sought a second term in office. He prevailed with 55.8% of the vote defeating five other candidates. Housing was labelled in June 2022 by President Higgins as our great great failure”. He has been a vocal critic of the war in Gaza. He twice had the honour of greeting the Clare hurlers on All-Ireland final day on the field of Croke Park before they lifted the Liam McCarthy in 2013 and 2024.
After being elected in 2011, the President’s Bernese Mountain dogs soon became a beloved fixture at the Áras, greeting dignitaries and interrupting events in pursuit of belly rubs. Known for his affection for the breed, he currently owns five-year-old Misneach. His previous dogs, Bród, died in 2023, and Síoda died in 2020 following a short illness.
