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Michael D. Higgins has spent his final day as President of Ireland after serving two full terms in the role. Catherine Connolly will take over and move into Áras an Uachtaráin - making her the 10th person to take on the duty. However, it will be a big change for Michael D. and his wife Sabina who have lived in the Phoenix Park for 14 years. Before becoming President of Ireland, Michael was heavily involved in politics and held several different positions. He served as a senator from 1973 to 1977 and for another four years from 1983. He was also a TD from 1981 to 1982 and again from 1987 to 2011 - when he became president. Michael acted as the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht for four years in the 90s and even served two terms as Mayor of Galway in the early 80s and then the early 90s. Before leaving the Áras, he shared that he wants to continue working on food security, as well as finishing writing books and some poetry. While speaking at the World Food Forum last month, he said: “Food security, and the achievement of food security, are themes which I am anxious to continue working on after I complete my term as President of Ireland in a few weeks’ time.” He has also said recently: “People want me to do things but I have taken no advances. I’m still hoping to be a bit free.” Family is another priority for him as Michael wants to spend time with his grandchildren - two-year-old Finn and five-year-old Fiadh. He has dealt with several health issues over the past few years, including suffering a stroke in 2024. “I have arthritis and I can’t stay at the kitchen table for as long as I did before, but I’ll manage. I intend to write a poem, for example, for a young journalist who was murdered in Gaza,” he told The Times. Michael might have lived in Dublin for over a decade, but he still maintains a home in Galway - where he lived for years before becoming president. Ahead of their move, Sabina shared that she was looking forward to “heading home to Galway” and the slower approach to life. She told Nationwide: “I hope the West will be asleep and I will be sleeping luxuriously in its lap and I will be looking up for the beautiful Western sunsets and I will not have a bother in the world about what's happening.” Michael will be entitled to three different pensions from across his careers. It was reported that he is entitled to a pension totalling half his final presidential salary - which was approximately €350,000 a year before his second term ended. As the former Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, he is also entitled to a pension due to his time in the Oireachtas. While he was President of Ireland, Michael also continued to draw a pension accrued from his former job as a university lecturer. The Irish Times stated that this was €19,000 a year in 2018. They added that he is entitled to around at least €294,000 a year in pensions.
