Do we like them?Do we like Michael D. Higgins?
Our score: 8 out of 10. Decent and on the right side for years, with one contested run of remarks on Israel and Gaza that his critics call baseless.
Michael D. Higgins spent 14 years as President of Ireland, two terms from 2011 until November 2025. He has since gone through the final accounting of his time in the Áras. Hot Press reports he returned about 2.6 million euros to the State across the two terms, made up of pensions, pay he didn't take and unspent allowance.
On LGBTQ+ people, the record is warm and consistent. His 2025 Pride message called Pride “a vital affirmation of the rights, dignity, and joy of our LGBT+ communities”. He also marked the 10th anniversary of the marriage equality referendum, and said the journey was not complete. GCN, Ireland's LGBTQ+ outlet, ran a piece on his legacy of backing LGBTQ+ rights through his presidency.
On migrants, he has spoken out loudly and often. In a St Patrick's Day speech, reported by the Irish Times in 2023, he warned about a rise in “poisonous xenophobia”. That's the sort of thing a president could have kept quiet about, and he didn't.
His rows have been about Israel. In December 2024 he said Israel's prime minister was in breach of international law, and that Israel “would like in fact actually to have a settlement into Egypt”. Israel's foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar replied on X that Higgins was antisemitic and spewing lies, and the Chief Rabbi of Ireland called the Egypt claim baseless. Higgins called linking criticism of Netanyahu to antisemitism “gross defamation and slander”. Where you land depends on whether you read his words as legitimate criticism of a government or as going too far.
He kept at it in 2025, saying too many European leaders had stayed silent on Gaza, according to The National. Critics said he was too political for a president, who is meant to stay out of party politics. His supporters say he was speaking up on international law and humanitarian grounds. Either way it's a contested position on a war, not a pattern of attacking any group of people.
On the good-person side, nothing came up in court records or in claims of mistreating staff or others. The record is thin on the personal side, so that's what the searches show rather than a full audit. The most recent sniping is a May 2026 interview, where he criticised foreign affairs staff over alleged leaks about him.