Speeches By President Of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins

President Michael D. Higgins formally opened the annual 'Bloom' show in Dublin's Phoenix Park. The President visited a number of show gardens and delivered a speech to formally open the festival. In his speech President Higgins said that the festival provides us with a chance to appreciate the joys of gardening and horticulture, but that it also highlights the need to reflect on the sustainability of our own actions, and our own mode of living, as individuals and as a national community. https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-performs-the-official-opening-of-bloom-2019

See https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-hosts-representatives-from-damer-house-gallery

President Higgins visited Listowel, to celebrate the town’s success in the Tidy Towns competition. President and Sabina Higgins attended a ceremony at St John’s Theatre and unveiled a commemorative plaque to mark the naming of Listowel as Ireland’s Tidiest Town. https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-unveils-a-plaque-to-mark-listowels-achievement-in-winning-the-2018-tidy-town-competition

See: https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-hosts-a-state-dinner-in-honour-of-trh-king-carl-xvi-gustaf-and-queen-silvia-of-sweden

President Michael D. Higgins presented the Young Philosopher Awards, at a ceremony in UCD. The Awards were launched by President Higgins in November 2017, in response to the President’s calls - in the context of the President of Ireland Ethics Initiative - for greater reflection and debate about the type of skills citizens need in our rapidly changing society. https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-speaks-at-the-second-irish-young-philosopher-awards-festival

President Higgins hosted a special event for the Christine Buckley Centre, an organisation set up to assist the victims of clerical and institutional abuse. The event paid tribute to the survivors of abuse and to those who work to support them, and took place on the 10th anniversary of the publication of the Ryan report, which concluded nine years of investigation by the Commission of Inquiry into Child Abuse, chaired by Mr. Justice Seán Ryan. The centre is named after Christine Buckley, a survivor of institutional abuse and prominent campaigner for justice, whom President Higgins has called “a woman of extraordinary courage,” recalling “the darkness she broke open with the light of her own experience.” See: https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-receives-representatives-from-christine-buckley-centre-on-the-10th-anniversary-of-the-ryan-report

President Higgins opened an exhibition highlighting the life and achievements of Count Paweł Strzelecki, a Polish explorer and scientist, who volunteered to work in Ireland to assist in the Famine relief efforts. Strzelecki developed a new mode of assistance, feeding starving children through the schools network. He extended daily food rations to schoolchildren across the most famine-stricken western part of Ireland, while also distributing clothing and promoting basic hygiene. See: https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-officially-opens-an-irish-polish-exhibition-on-the-great-famine

President Higgins hosted an event to mark May Day, celebrating youth activism. You can listen to the President's speech here, including the responses from Aoife Ni Shuilleabhain and Sarah Harte. See https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-and-sabina-host-a-reception-to-mark-may-day

21 April is World Creativity and Innovation Day. Listen to President Higgins, speaking in 2019, setting out his views on the importance of art and creativity.

President and Sabina Higgins hosted an afternoon tea reception for active retirement groups from all around the country. By hosting the event, the President and Sabina pay tribute to people of all ages and circumstances who are working to build solidarity and cohesion in our country. Since his inauguration, President Higgins has made a determined effort to invite as many members of voluntary and community groups to the Áras as possible. Last year, over 20,000 people visited Áras an Uachtaráín. https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-hosts-afternoon-tea-for-community-groups-april-2019

President Higgins addressed graduates at a degree ceremony of The Open University in Ireland. He congratulated the 76 graduates from across Ireland and beyond on their achievements in a range of subjects. The President also congratulated The Open University on reaching its 50th anniversary, and how its founding principle to open up education to all is just as relevant today as it was in 1969. See https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-addresses-the-open-university-50th-year-ceremony

Speech at the launch of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence in the New Political Economy of Europe. See https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-launches-ucd-jean-monnet-centre-of-excellence-in-the-new-political-economy-of-europe

President and Sabina Higgins invited family members of the men portrayed in the painting '1921 - An IRA Column' to Áras an Uachtaráin. See https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-and-sabina-receive-family-descendants-of-the-men-portrayed-in-the-painting-men-of-the-south

President Higgins marked the 25th Anniversary of the Irish Tourist Assistance Service. See https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-and-sabina-mark-25th-anniversary-of-the-irish-tourist-assistance-service

President Higgins hosted a reception for staff and residents of Clúid Housing Association. See https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-receives-staff-and-residents-of-cluid-housing

President and Sabina Higgins hosted a reception to mark the 20th Anniversary of SPIRASI, an organisation helping survivors of torture. See https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-and-sabina-host-a-reception-to-mark-the-20th-anniversary-of-spirasi

See https://president.ie/en/diary/details/president-hosts-a-st-patricks-day-reception2019 President and Sabina hosted a reception at Áras an Uachtaráin for frontline staff and volunteers of organisations working to support people experiencing homelessness. Each year, the President and Sabina Higgins mark St. Patrick's Day by hosting a reception for groups and people that have made a particular contribution to Irish society. Last year, the President used the St. Patrick's Day reception to pay tribute to people who have donated organs, as well as to recipients and medical personnel involved in transplant operations. In 2017, the St. Patrick's Day reception focused on the achievements of women working in the fields of science and technology, and the year before that, the President honoured the Irish Naval Service for their lifesaving work in the Mediterranean.

Teachtaireacht Lá Fhéile Pádraig 2019 ón Uachtarán Micheál D. Ó hUigínn

2019 St Patrick's Day Message from President Michael D. Higgins by Áras an Uachtaráin

Thug an tUachtarán cuairt do líon mór daoine chuig fáiltiú tae beag ag Áras an Uachtaráin, chun ceiliúradh a dhéanamh ar Sheachtain na Gaeilge. https://president.ie/ga/diary/details/president-and-sabina-host-afternoon-tae-leis-an-uachtaran-seachtain-na-gaeilge