Has Michael D Higgins changed the presidency for ever?

In The News · Oct 13, 2025 · 31m

Michael D Higgins will shortly finish his two terms as President of Ireland, having served 14 years as head of State.

In 2011 he said his tenure would be “a presidency of ideas”. But what are they and where in his background and in his impressive and varied pre-Áras career did they come from?

And how has his outspokenness on a wide range of subjects, from foreign affairs to army pay, been received by successive governments? To what extent did his personal popularity insulate him from criticism and even censure when he was perceived to have overstepped the boundaries of the role?

The 84…