Michael D. Higgins
President of Ireland since 2011
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| January 27 2025 | Higgins spoke at a Holocaust Memorial Day Commemoration, sparking controversy with comments about the Israel-Gaza conflict. |
| 2024 | Published 'Power to the People: The Hot Press Years', a collection of his writings from the 1980s. |
| 2024 | Michael D. Higgins and Sabina celebrated 50 years of marriage. |
| December 20 2024 | Higgins delivered his final Christmas Message as President of Ireland, reflecting on his two terms and calling for peace. |
| April 24 2024 | Higgins confirmed he had suffered a mild stroke. |
| February 29 2024 | Higgins was taken to hospital as a precaution after feeling unwell. |
| January 26 2024 | Reported to be awarded the United Nations Agricola Medal by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in recognition of his contributions to welfare, food security, and sustainable development goals. |
| 2023 | Another of Higgins' Bernese Mountain Dogs died. |
| January 24 2023 | Began a five-day state visit to Senegal, his first time in Africa since 2014, meeting with President Macky Sall. |
| September 19 2022 | Higgins attended the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in London. |
| June 15 2022 | Described housing in Ireland as 'our great, great failure,' calling it a disaster rather than a crisis. |
| January 24 2022 | Higgins began a five-day state visit to Senegal, his first time in Africa since 2014, meeting with President Macky Sall. |
| 2020 | One of Higgins' Bernese Mountain Dogs died. |
| July 3 2019 | Higgins began a three-day state visit to Germany, meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. |
| November 11 2018 | Higgins was inaugurated for his second term as president in St. Patrick's Hall, Dublin Castle, winning 56% of the vote. |
| November 11 2018 | Inaugurated for a second presidential term, receiving 822,566 first-preference votes - the largest personal mandate in the history of the Republic of Ireland. |
| July 10 2018 | Higgins announced he would stand for a second presidential term, despite previously stating he would not. |
| 2017 | Received the Grand Collar of the Order of the Sun of Peru. |
| 2016 | His daughter Alice-Mary was elected to Seanad Éireann. |
| 2014 | Published poetry collection 'The Prophets are Weeping'. |
| April 2014 | Makes the first state visit by an Irish president to the United Kingdom. |
| March 2 2014 | Attended the inaugural President's Cup final at Richmond Park. |
| February 25 2014 | Officially unveiled the new President's Cup at a ceremony at Áras an Uachtaráin, a football super cup introduced by the Football Association of Ireland in his honor. |
| 2013 | Awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of José Matías Delgado by El Salvador during a return visit as president of Ireland, 31 years after his initial fact-finding mission investigating the El Mozote massacre. |
| May 11 2012 | Became the 28th Freeman of Galway. |
| March 21 2012 | Higgins was announced as sole patron of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. |
| February 24 2012 | Visited his alma mater NUI Galway and opened an autism centre. |
| February 21 2012 | Higgins made his first official trip abroad to London, where he was given a tour of the Olympic Stadium by Sebastian Coe and attended a theatre production. |
| January 6 2012 | Michael D. Higgins appointed his first term Council of State nominees, including notable individuals such as Michael Farrell, Catherine McGuinness, and Ruairí McKiernan from various professional backgrounds including law, academia, and social activism. |
| 2011 | Published two works: poetry collection 'New and Selected Poems' through Liberties Press in Dublin, and non-fiction book 'Renewing the Republic' also through Liberties Press. |
| November 13 2011 | Higgins attended the final of the All-Ireland School Choir of the Year competition in Derry, marking his first official presidential engagement in Northern Ireland. |
| November 11 2011 | Michael D. Higgins was inaugurated as president of Ireland at Dublin Castle in a ceremony that included humanist, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim elements. |
| November 5 2011 | Attended a football game between Galway United and Monaghan United, wearing his team's scarf and greeted by a welcoming banner. |
| November 3 2011 | Met with predecessor Mary McAleese and her husband for lunch at Áras an Uachtaráin before his inauguration. |
| October 29 2011 | Declared winner of the presidential election with 1,007,104 votes, the most for any Irish politician in the republic's history. |
| October 13 2011 | Admitted to previously being chairman of UCG Fianna Fáil university cumann and smoking marijuana while at university in the United States. |
| June 19 2011 | Selected as Labour Party candidate for presidency at a convention in Dublin, defeating Kathleen O'Meara and Fergus Finlay. |
| September 2010 | Indicated interest in receiving Labour Party's nomination for the 2011 presidential election. |
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