President Higgins

MICHAEL D HIGGINS has opened a “new chapter” for Ireland, saying it was time to leave behind a “failed” era of frustration, cynicism and anger.

At his inauguration in Dublin Castle, he acknowledged the “pain” of a “wounded” society and promised a presidency of “transformation” and a move away from wealth-based values.

The ninth President urged citizens to participate in next year’s review of the Constitution “to reflect on where we have come from and on how we might see ourselves into the future”.

It was time to close a chapter, he said, that has “left us fragile as an economy but most of all wounded as a society”, with unacceptably high levels of unemployment, mortgage insecurity and “broken expectations”.

He denounced the “egotism” and “individualism” of the Celtic Tiger years and said it was “time to turn to an older wisdom”.

This would still respect material comfort and security “as a basic right” but also recognise “that many of the most valuable things in life cannot be measured”.

The veteran politician was inaugurated just after midday for a seven-year term, after receiving the seal of office from Chief Justice Sue Denham at a ceremony in Saint Patrick’s Hall in Dublin Castle. First Lady, Sabina Higgins, stood beside him as he signed the formal oath of office while his children, Alice Mary, John, Michael and Daniel looked on.

During his election campaign, Mr Higgins spoke about inclusiveness and suggested that the presidential oath of office could be modernised to support that idea.

Following a multi-denominational prayer ceremony, which included Christian, Muslim and Jewish blessings, there was a reflection from the humanist philosophy to recognise secular aspects of Irish life.

During his 15-minute inaugural speech, President Higgins said it was time to “move past the assumptions that have failed us” and work towards a “different set of values” to build an ethical and inclusive society.

Calling for a celebration of the arts “talking, singing, dancing and ultimately communing”, he quoted the words of James Connolly that “Ireland without her people means nothing to me”.

He said Connolly took pride in the past but felt that those who worshipped it were sometimes seeking to escape from the struggle and challenge of the present.

“He believed that Ireland was a work in progress, a country still to be fully imagined and invented — and that the future was exhilarating precisely in the sense that it was not fully knowable, measurable.”

A short speech was also delivered by Taoiseach Enda Kenny, who described the new President as “a noble man of quiet virtue”.

He said Mr Higgins had been a voice for the marginalised in his long public life and “if it’s true what they say, that a wound heals from the margins in, then our new President will be a powerful healer”.

After the ceremony, the presidential standard, blue with a gold harp, was hoisted above Dublin Castle and a 21-gun salute fired from the grounds of Collins Barracks a mile away.

The President was then escorted by motorcycle outriders to Áras an Uachtaráin, where he hosted a lunch for 100 people.

More than 1,700 guests were invited to a state reception at Dublin Castle last night to celebrate the inauguration.