by Tom Reddy
As a committed Irish-speaker and as Minister for Arts in two coalition Governments, between 1993 and 1997 he established TG4 and scrapped the ban under section 31 of the Broadcasting Act on broadcasting interviews with Sinn Féin.
The outgoing President, Mary McAleese, sent a final message to the country’s citizens, saying she had set the theme of building bridges for her Presidency, and she hoped that she had honoured that theme.
I finish my second term as President in a very different Ireland from the one we knew in the winter of 1997. Then, both peace and prosperity seemed elusive. Peace eventually came ‘dropping slow’ but it was sturdily built.
Prosperity landed like a whirlwind bringing increased quality of life and a multicultural society but its foundations were weak and so, as we struggle out of recession, unemployment and indebtedness, the deep desire for a prosperous island at peace is the enterprise we are all committed to by working together in friendship and good neighbourliness. Our problems were all of human making—our solutions too are mostly in our own gift.
I have been privileged during the last fourteen years to see the fruits of the work of so many problem-solvers and so many bridge-builders. I look forward to seeing a new generation succeed in making prosperity and peace ‘rhyme’ at last, transforming the story of this island into something the world will talk about with respect and awe for centuries to come. As I approach the final days of my time as President of Ireland, I thank the people of Ireland who, fourteen years ago, placed their trust and faith in me.
I hope I have vindicated that faith in the intervening years when it was my joy and privilege to serve my country.
On the morning of the 11th day of the 11th month of 2011, rain fell ceaselessly, but it miraculously cleared minutes before the new President arrived at Dublin Castle for his inauguration. At 11:25 a.m., having spent the night in the renovated Farmleigh House in the Phoenix Park, President-elect Higgins and his wife travelled through the city-centre streets to the former home of the pre-independence British administration, escorted by an army motorcycle squadron.
Brought to the Connolly Room, where the workers’ leader had been brought before execution, he was granted his request for a few minutes’ silent reflection and then, accompanied by the Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore, and the Minister for Education, Ruairí Quinn, he was escorted to the majestic St Patrick’s Hall, with its high ceilings and splendid gilt decoration.
At noon an inter-faith celebratory ceremony began, which included Christian, Jewish and Muslim blessings and, for the first time at this ceremony, a humanist reflection. Twenty-five minutes later President-elect Higgins rose from the oak chair specially crafted for the occasion to take the oath of office, administered by the Chief Justice, Susan Denham, witnessed at close hand by his predecessors, the two Marys, who stood behind him.
A fanfare announcing that the new President had taken office was sounded and the presidential flag, with its gold harp on a blue field, was raised at Dublin Castle and Áras an Uachtaráin. Three Air Corps planes performed a fly-past overhead while simultaneously the army fired a 21-gun salute from Collins Barracks, which echoed across the city centre.
It was just before 1 p.m. when the new President gave his inaugural address, followed by the playing of the national anthem and the inspection of a guard of honour from the 5th Infantry Battalion in the Castle Yard under the command of Capt. Emmet Harney, with the colours carried by Lt Deirdre Carbery, whose father, Col. Declan Carbery, served for a period as aide-de-camp to the outgoing President, Mary McAleese.
President Higgins and his wife were then brought to Áras an Uachtaráin for lunch with ninety personal guests. They were issued with a badge to wear that allowed them onto buses to ferry them to the Áras and through security provided by military police. The new President returned to the Castle after 6 p.m. for a state reception held for 1,500 people to celebrate the inauguration.
The newly elected President’s inaugural address had begun on a humble note, saying there was no greater honour than to have been elected Uachtarán na hÉireann.
I thank you, the people of Ireland, for the honour you have bestowed upon me and I accept and appreciate the great responsibilities of that office …
I wish to acknowledge the immense contribution of those who have previously served in this office, particularly the two great women who have immediately preceded me.
They have made contributions that developed our consciousness of human rights, inclusion, and the important task of deepening and sustaining peace within and between communities in every part of our Island. It is work I will endeavour to continue and build upon.
As your President, I am grateful for the extent of the support, the strong mandate, you have given me. I also realise the challenges that I face, that we face together, in closing a chapter that has left us fragile as an economy but most of all wounded as a society, with unacceptable levels of unemployment, mortgage insecurity, collapsing property values and many broken expectations.
During my campaign for the Presidency, I encountered that pain particularly among the most vulnerable of our people. However, I also recognise the will of all of our people to move beyond anger, frustration or cynicism and to draw on our shared strengths. To close the chapter on that which has failed, that which was not the best version of ourselves as a people, and open a new chapter based on a different version of our Irishness—will require a transition in our political thinking, in our view of the public world, in our institutions, and, most difficult of all, in our consciousness …
We must seek to build together an active, inclusive citizenship, based on participation, equality, respect for all and the flowering of creativity in all its forms. A confident people is our hope, a people at ease with itself, a people that grasps the deep meaning of the proverb ‘Ní neart go cur le chéile’—our strength lies in our common weal—our social solidarity …
My Presidency will be a Presidency of transformation, recognising and building on the many positive initiatives already under way in communities, in the economy, and in individual and collective efforts throughout our land. It will be a Presidency that celebrates all of our possibilities. It will seek to be of assistance and encouragement to investment and job creation, to innovation and original thinking—a Presidency of ideas—recognising and open to new paradigms of thought and action. It will aspire to turn the best of ideas into living realities for all of our people, realising our limitless possibilities—ár bhféidearthachtaí gan teorainn …
In preparing for my Presidency, I recognise that our long struggle for freedom has produced a people who believe in the right of the individual mind to see the world in its own way and indeed that individual innovation and independence of mind has given Ireland many distinguished contributors in culture and science, often insufficiently celebrated.
However, in more recent years, we saw the rise of a different kind of individualism—closer to an egotism based on purely material considerations—that tended to value the worth of a person in terms of the accumulation of wealth rather then their fundamental dignity. That was our loss, the source in part, of our present difficulties. Now it is time to turn to an older wisdom that, while respecting material comfort and security as a basic right of all, also recognises that many of the most valuable things in life cannot be measured …
Our arts celebrate the people talking, singing, dancing and ultimately communing with each other. This is what James Connolly meant when he said that ‘Ireland without her people means nothing to me.’ Connolly took pride in the past but, of course, felt that those who excessively worshipped that past were sometimes seeking to escape from the struggle and challenge of the present. He believed that Ireland was a work in progress, a country still to be fully imagined and invented—and that the future was exhilarating precisely in the sense that it was not fully knowable, measurable.
The demands and the rewards of building a real and inclusive Republic in its fullest sense remain as a challenge for us a
ll, but it is one we should embrace together.
So concluded the ninth President of the Republic of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins.
APPENDIX:
Presidential election count, 2011
Michael D. Higgins was declared President-elect after reaching the quota on the fourth and final count. He secured more than one million votes. The total poll was 1,771,762; the quota was 885,882. The turn-out was 56 per cent.
The count took longer than expected and resumed at 9 a.m. following an adjournment after the second count at 1:30 a.m.
First count
Higgins, Michael D.: 701,101 (39.6 per cent)
Gallagher, Seán: 504,964 (28.5 per cent)
McGuinness, Martin: 243,030 (13.7 per cent)
Mitchell, Gay: 113,321 (6.4 per cent)
Norris, David: 109,469 (6.2 per cent)
Scallon, Dana Rosemary: 51,220 (2.9 per cent)
Davis, Mary: 48,657 (2.7 per cent)
Second count
Davis and Scallon were eliminated after the first count was announced, and their transfers were subsequently distributed.
Higgins, Michael D.: + 29,379 (730,480)
Gallagher, Seán: + 24,437 (529,401)
McGuinness, Martin: + 9,581 (252,611)
Mitchell, Gay: + 14,036 (127,357)
Norris, David: + 7,057 (116,526)
Third count
No-one reached the quota following the second count. The count was adjourned following the elimination of Norris.
Higgins, Michael D.: + 62,648 (793,128)
Gallagher, Seán: + 18,972 (548,373)
McGuinness, Martin: + 12,585 (265,196)
Mitchell, Gay: + 8,952 (136,309)
Fourth count
Mitchell and McGuinness were eliminated at the end of the third count. They were excluded together, as the total of their votes was lower than that of the next-highest candidate, Gallagher.
Higgins, Michael D.: + 213,976 (1,007,104)
Gallagher, Seán: + 79,741 (628,114)
19 June 2011 . The Tánaiste and leader of the Labour Party, Eamon Gilmore, at the Mansion House, Dublin, with nominees Fergus Finlay, Kathleen O’Meara and Michael D. Higgins at the election of Higgins as the party’s candidate for the Presidency. (© Collins)
9 July 2011. The presidential candidates Gay Mitchell MEP, Mairead McGuinness MEP and Pat Cox during the Fine Gael convention in the Regency Hotel, Dublin, to select the party’s presidential candidate. (© Collins)
2 August 2011. Senator David Norris outside his home in Dublin after he announced that he was pulling out of the race amid revelations that he had sought leniency for his ex-partner, who had been convicted of statutory rape. (© Julien Behal/PA Wire)
10 August 2011. The RTE broadcaster Gay Byrne answering questions regarding his possible candidacy for the presidential election as his wife, Kathleen Watkins, listens at Grease: The Musical at the Grand Canal Theatre, Dublin. (© Photocall Ireland)
31 August 2011. Senator Darragh O’Brien, Micheál Martin (leader of Fianna Fáil), Éamon Ó Cuív TD and Seán Ó Fearghail TD outside the Dáil explaining why Fianna Fáil decided not to put forward a candidate in the presidential election. (© Photocall Ireland)
3 September 2011. Volunteers for Mary Davis’s presidential campaign hand out free ponchos on the Saturday morning of the Electric Picnic music and arts festival. (© Photocall Ireland )
18 September 2011. Michael D. Higgins with Dublin fans at the all-Ireland football final between Dublin and Kerry at Croke Park. (© Collins)
19 September 2011. Dana holds a copy of the Constitution of Ireland after she announced her intention to seek a nomination for the Presidency at a press conference at the Fitzwilliam Hotel, Dublin. (© Niall Carson/PA Wire)
27 September 2011. David Norris shakes hands with his fellow-candidate Michael D. Higgins as he celebrates at City Hall, Dublin, after receiving the backing of Dublin City Council, giving him the fourth nomination needed to enter the race. (© Niall Carson/PA Wire)
11 October 2011. The businessman and independent presidential candidate Seán Gallagher at the Today FM presidential debate in the Sugar Club, Dublin. (© Photocall Ireland)
13 October 2011. The actor Colm Meaney, of Star Trek fame, who spoke at a rally for the Sinn Féin presidential candidate, Martin McGuinness, at the Mansion House, Dublin. (© Michael Debets/Demotix/Press Association Images)
17 October 2011. Martin McGuinness and Paddy Power at the Paddy Power bookmakers shop in Baggot Street, Dublin, where McGuinness placed a bet on himself becoming the next President of Ireland, with the winnings to go to Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. (© Collins)
19 October 2011. Dana in Dublin beside the badly damaged tyre of her campaign car, after it suffered a puncture on a motorway. (© Julien Behal/PA Wire)
22 October 2011. Michael D. Higgins with his wife, Sabina Coyne, Nessa Childers MEP (daughter of the fourth president of Ireland, Erskine Childers) and Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore during Higgins’s walkabout in Grafton Street, Dublin. (© Julien Behal/PA Wire)
24 October 2011. The ‘Frontline’ presidential debate. (L to R) Dana (independent), Gay Mitchell MEP (Fine Gael), Michael D. Higgins (Labour Party), Mary Davis (independent), Senator David Norris (independent), Martin McGuinness (Sinn Féin) and Seán Gallagher (independent). (© Photocall Ireland)
24 October 2011. Gerry Adams signing a Martin McGuinness election poster. (© Art Widak/Demotix/Press Association Images)
24 October 2011. Mary Davis makes a point at the Mansion House, Dublin. (© Art Widak/Demotix/Press Association Images)
24 October 2011. Gay Mitchell and Martin McGuinness lost in thought at the Mansion House, Dublin. (© Art Widak/Demotix/Press Association Images)
26 October 2011. Martin McGuinness in Ballyfermot, Dublin, during his final canvassing before polling day, with the local Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh. (© Julien Behal/PA Wire)
27 October 2011. David Norris casts his vote in the presidential election at a polling station in Marlborough Street, Dublin. (© Collins)
27 October 2011. Gay Mitchell and his wife, Norma, at Kildare Place Primary School in Rathmines casting their votes in the presidential election. (© Photocall Ireland)
28 October 2011. Seán Gallagher with his wife, Trish, speaking to the media at Dublin Castle after he conceded defeat to Michael D. Higgins. (© Niall Carson/PA Wire)
28 October 2011. Michael D. Higgins and his wife at the announcement of the first-preference votes at the count centre in Dublin Castle. (© Julien Behal/PA Wire)
28 October 2011. Michael D. Higgins gets a kiss from his wife on stage at Dublin Castle before being announced as the new President of Ireland. (© Photocall Ireland)
29 October 2011. Michael D. Higgins is congratulated by the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, after being declared ninth President of Ireland. (© Peter Morrison/AP/Press Association)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book is dedicated to Erin and Austin for giving me all their support and valuable time to write this account.
I wish to pay tribute to the media. They acted in the public interest by asking the questions the electorate needed to have answered from the people who wanted to personify Ireland and our national identity over the next seven years.
Equally, I want to pay tribute to every candidate who aspired to be our ninth President, and to their families, friends and supporters.
Regardless of their political ideology, each candidate and would-be candidate held a vision about how they could improve and represent our country. They deserve credit in a time of great scepticism about politics, and about actors in public life, for their idealism and commitment.
My thanks, also, to everyone associated with the presidential electoral process and with the campaigns who spoke to me, both on and off the record.
Finally, thanks to Fergal Tobin of Gill & Macmillan for recognising the merit of publishing this account of the most fractious, dirty, entertaining and unpredictable election in the history o
f the state.
Gill & Macmillan
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with associated companies throughout the world
www.gillmacmillan.ie
© Tom Reddy 2012
First published by Gill & Macmillan 2012
This ebook edition published by Gill & Macmillan 2012
978 07171 5343 5 (parent)
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Cover design by www.grahamthew.com
Cover photos courtesy of Photocall Ireland
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without permission of the publishers.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
The website addresses referred to in this book were correct at the time of first publication.
The Author
Tom Reddy is a public relations consultant, former Cabinet Advisor, senior journalist with Independent Newspapers, screenwriter and author of the bestselling Murder Will Out and The Murder File.