Readers blog: President is the man for these islands

Áras an Uachtaráin hosts garden tea parties at this time of year, and one was held on 20 June. It welcomed 20 representatives from each of 24 of Ireland’s islands.

In his welcoming speech, President Michael D Higgins spoke of “the boundless sea, which those of you who are fishermen, or who work on the ferry services know so well, is the element that connects us to our deep identity as an island civilisation.

“It is the natural highway our ancestors navigated so extensively, binding us to other lands, near and far, weaving the threads of the ancient cultures we share with Scotland, Wales, other parts of Britain, the edges of Europe and beyond, ancient bonds deeper and more important that the divergence of recent histories.”