Michael D Higgins ends presidency with emotional farewell at Áras an Uachtaráin
President Higgins and his wife Sabina with President Elect Catherine Connolly at Áras an Uachtaráin. Picture: Tony Maxwell
Michael D Higgins has left Áras an Uachtarán for the final time as President of Ireland, bringing to an end 14 years which tested and redefined the bounds of the office.
Catherine Connolly will today be sworn in as Ireland's 10th President after her landslide victory in last month's election, having pledged to be "a president for all".
In a statement, Mr Higgins said: “Serving as President of Ireland was a great privilege, and 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.
"Guím gach beannacht do mhuintir na hÉireann do’n todhchaí.”
Mr Higgins left the Áras yesterday with a guard of honour by a group from the charity Sanctuary Runners, of which he is a patron.
The charity sees Irish people hosting running events alongside migrants and asylum seekers. They added that the gesture was "particularly important", given recent tensions on the issue of migration.
Monica Pumpkin, originally from Botswana, presented President Higgins and Sabina with a yellow rose each on behalf of Sanctuary Runners, symbolising friendship and joy.
A former minister for arts, culture and the Gaeltacht; Mayor of Galway; senator; and TD who served a combined 25 years in Galway West, Mr Higgins' election in a closely-fought 2011 campaign came amid the backdrop of a financial crash and an EU-IMF bailout.
The crisis impacted his role as he cut short a 2013 state visit to Italy in order to sign emergency legislation to liquidate the Irish Bank Resolution Company (IBRC), the entity formed when Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide merged.
He made history in 2014 when he paid the first state visit to Britain by an Irish president, where he stayed as a guest of Queen Elizabeth II and addressed both houses of parliament. In his toast during a state banquet hosted by Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle, he described the trip as “a very visible sign of the warmth and maturity of the relationship between our two countries”.
However, his foreign policy forays were not always as positive, and in late 2016, he faced criticism for describing Fidel Castro as a “giant among global leaders” in a statement marking the death of the former Cuban president.
Immensely popular throughout the end of what he had said would be his only term in office, Mr Higgins changed tack in 2018 and said that he would run for a second term.
He remains the most popular political leader in Ireland, according to polls — one in February showed 64% of people approved of his performance.
In the latter years of his presidency, Mr Higgins was never afraid to criticise the Government, particularly on housing.
In June 2022, Mr Higgins branded the Irish housing crisis as a “disaster” and our “great, great, great failure”, adding that housing and the basic needs of society “should never have been left to the marketplace”. He would become a most vocal and unrepentant critic of Israel's actions in Gaza, and would frequently be criticised by that country's embassy.
Mr Higgins and his wife Sabina were scheduled to stay overnight in Dublin today and tomorrow for Ms Connolly’s inauguration.
But they were not the first resident of the Phoenix Park to head west. Their beloved Bernese mountain dog, Misneach, has already made the journey back west ahead of his owners’ departure back to Rahoon, Co Galway, later this week.
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