Warm welcome for my President deeply moving

I am not averse to emotion, so l was lumpy-throated and dewy-eyed when president Michael D Higgins visited Britain recently.

The warmth of the welcome for him was heartfelt and genuine; I was deeply moved. We can pooh pooh pomp and ceremony and question its relevance today, but when such displays are in honour of the president of my country, a small island on the edge of Europe, and staged by a host country with which we have had a fractious history, it has a new significance.

The President’s speeches were delivered proudly, eloquently and with deep conviction. Higgins is a remarkable ambassador for Ireland, and his wife, Sabina, also played her part.