Misneach back in Galway as President Higgins and Sabina prepare to leave Dublin

President Michael D Higgins said that he was “looking forward” to moving back to Galway, but indicated that he intends to remain busy.

President Michael D Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin with his dogs Misneach and Brod É. Picture: Tony Maxwell

President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina were not the first Áras an Uachtaráin occupants to leave this week, as the most famous dog in Ireland made his way west.

Bernese Mountain dog, Misneach, has already made the journey ahead of his owners’ departure back to Rahoon, Co Galway.

Mr and Mrs Higgins officially leave the Áras at 6pm today, and are scheduled to stay overnight in Dublin tonight and tomorrow for Catherine Connolly’s inauguration. They will return to Galway on Wednesday.

But the journey home has been under way for several months.

It had started before the date of the election was even set, with one source joking that there was a lot of room in the Áras to allow belongings and clutter to build up over 14 years.

President Michael D Higgins speaks to J.J Delaney from Macroom Co Cork before opening the Ploughing Championships at Tullamore, Co Offaly earlier this year. Picture: Niall Carson/PA

In August, Mr Higgins told RTÉ’s Second Captain’s Saturday about the “great move”, noting that some of his books were being moved in the Áras library, while others would be donated to Galway University.

Others he was still “working on” would be transported to Rahoon.

Mr Higgins said that he was “looking forward” to moving back to Galway, but indicated that he intends to remain busy.

“The disappointment for me, I suppose, was my little episode of last year,” Mr Higgins told Second Captains.

“Beyond that, there are projects I am continuing abroad as well as at home.”

The “little episode” that Mr Higgins referred to is the stroke he suffered in February 2024.

The stroke, which affected his left side, has resulted in him using walking sticks due to poor balance, joking that he is “not flying up and down stairs to the same speed anymore”.

His health has deteriorated in recent years, with the 84-year-old now appearing visibly frailer. Last month, he spent two nights in hospital for antibiotic treatment for a localised infection.

He also told the Sunday Times in September that he has arthritis and “can’t stay at the kitchen table for as long as I did before”, writing poetry, but that he would “manage”.

The President intends to spend more time with his two grandchildren, Finn and Fiadh, as well as rereading books that he only read in part.

“I won’t be stuck for something to do,” he added.