The fourteen-year term of the presidency of Michael D. Higgins will soon conclude. As someone who was initially sceptical about the poet/politician taking the job, I feel he has been an outstanding representative for Ireland at home and abroad.

As president, he has also been a moral voice in capturing the mood/sentiment of the Irish people on corporate greed, the homeless, and the abhorrence of the Israeli genocide in Gaza.

An Uachtarán was both eloquent and dignified — not gushing or in awe of his royal hosts during his State visit to the UK. That said, he is often tetchy with the media or when under scrutiny for stepping beyond the bounds of his official role. Like his immediate predecessors, he interpreted the presidency wider than the constitution allows.

Each president brings their personality and politics to the table; it’s an inescapable consequence.

Noel Doran: A rare - and civil - meeting between The Irish News and the Orange Order