Ireland's Popular Poet President
As Michael D. Higgins wraps up 14 years in office, a look at how he got there in the first place
Yes, the President of Ireland is Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. No, the President doesn’t have anywhere near the powers of the President of the United States. “Symbolic” and “ceremonial” are the two words most often used to describe the office.
The current President, Michael D. Higgins, is finishing his second seven-year term. Voters will choose his successor in about three months. Even though the occupant of Áras an Uachtaráin (Ireland’s White House) is surrounded by the trappings of high office, the real power in Ireland resides with the Taoiseach (Ireland’s Prime Minister).
But the campaign and election of Ireland’s tenth President should be a hell of a ride and a diversion from U.S. domestic politics.
Queen Elizabeth II and President Higgins met in April 2014 at Windsor Castle.
Leftist President. Center right electorate.
There are only two candidates sort of running so far; Ireland sensibly limits the duration of the Presidential campaign to 60 days. So, before the fun (?) of a nationwide campaign begins after Labor Day, here’s a look at the man leaving Áras.
When Irish voters elected Michael D. Higgins, an outspoken man of the Left, as president back in 2011, many wondered how. Not only was he elected twice to the high office, but he also received more votes than any candidate ever in Ireland. To this day his approval ratings from the Irish public are in the 70% range.
Ireland seems to love Michael D. Higgins. is that because of his many leftist stands supporting social equality and inclusion, anti-sectarianism and anti-racism? Or despite his taking a stand on some of the hot button issues in Ireland (divorce, abortion) and worldwide (Palestinian rights, Central American democracy)?
If you can answer that, you have rare insight into the Irish electorate.
Obviously, despite his cheerful disposition and calling himself a poet hasn’t held him back at the polls. Here’s one story from the campaign trail in 2011 when he first ran for President. As a Minster (cabinet member) in the 1990s he created a stand-alone public television station that broadcast only in Gaelic, the Irish language. Teilifís na Gaeilge TG 4 broadcast a debate with the seven candidates for President in 2011. (The most who ever ran for the office.) The viewers were obviously familiar with the Irish Gaelic but only one candidate could speak it: Michael D. Higgins, the man who had created the Gaelic station.
His own story was compelling as well. He was born in Limerick in 1941, the son of a Lieutenant in the IRA. These were not great times for Ireland. Or the band of rebels who fought the British. Or for his father John, who drank too much and was never in good health. In 1946 Michael and his brother were sent to a childless aunt and uncle in County Clare who raised them. Education made the difference for Higgins and the fact that his father had fought in the Irish Civil War with the side that lost had to help his political prospects. (Footnote: Higgins’s father fought against the 1921 treaty that split the nation in two. It's an Irish paradox that being described as Anti Treaty never hurt any politician’s campaign in Ireland.)
President Higgins is 84 today. He promised in 2011 when first elected that he wouldn’t run for a second term. A promise he broke in 2018. Other than that, there hasn't been even a whiff of scandal in his long political career. If the Irish Constitution didn’t forbid it, he could probably win a third term.
Sabina Higgins (nee Coyne) married Michael D. In 1974. In 2010 Higgins said she was "his rock." Forbes magazine once reported, "The current president of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, is a poet, acknowledged homosexual, and nearly as outspoken as his predecessors." President Higgins is happily married to Sabina and the couple have four children. The reporter apologized. Profusely. Michael Higgins never made a big deal out of the mistake.
Michael D. Higgins at a Bob Dylan Concert at Slane Castle.
Michel D. Higgins meeting with Senator Ted Kennedy to discuss Central America.
Michael D. Higgins accepting the diplomatic papers of U.S. Ambassador Edward Walsh on July 1, 2025.
June 26, 2025
When Bernie Met Michael
Ireland has been feeling the Bern the last few days. The positive feelings were mutual.
Bruce Springsteen wasn’t the only icon of popular American culture harshly critical of President Trump while on tour in Europe last week.
In Ireland over the weekend, “He (Senator Sanders) denounced President Donald Trump, describing his administration as a “government of the billionaires, by the billionaires and for the billionaires.” the Irish Independent reports from Liberty Hall in Dublin.
When Springsteen called the Trump administration “treasonous” and “incompetent” in Manchester, 47 responded by calling him a “dried out prune of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied).”
When Sanders ripped his administration during his current tour of Ireland, he faced not a word of ridicule on Truth Social, Trump’s social media megaphone. Why did Bernie Sanders get a pass? Why was the Wrath of Trump directed at Springsteen but not Sanders?
Because even Trump has a soft spot for Sanders. Or he knows he won't get the same outrage mileage with his MAGA minions for ripping the Boss as he would for trolling Bernie. Actually, Trump has rarely gone after Sanders. Though there was this quote in the New York Post from 2019. “Bernie looks like he’s had it,” Trump told Telemundo last week. “Bernie looks crazy, but he always did. But he looks like a tired crazy right now.” That was after Sanders debated Joe Biden in the run up to the 2020 primaries.
Sanders sure didn’t look “tired crazy” in Ireland. Here’s the official statement from Áras an Uachtaráin (Residence of the President). “President MichaelD. Higgins welcomed US Senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders to Áras an Uachtaráin, following the Senator's keynote address at the Robert Tressell Festival on Saturday 24 May. The President previously welcomed Senator Sanders to Áras an Uachtaráin during his visits to Ireland in February 2024 and June 2017.” That statement doesn't say much but these pictures are worth thousands of words.
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