Uachtarán...

...meaning President. We've had Uachtarán na hÉireann, Michael D. Higgins in West Cork since yesterday and he and his wife Sabina were in Clonakilty and Skibbereen today. He officially opened the Arts Centre and also a commemorative garden. I've a lot of time for him and his missus. She was an accomplished actress and still plays the difficult role of the consort. He was a Labour politician for a long time. He's 74 now, been President of Ireland for the last few years. From a very poor, rural background he became an academic before becoming a politician. A poet and champion of the Arts, his politics were always radical and on the side of the marginalised. Fluent in Irish, English and also in Spanish, he spoke forcefully against human rights abuse in Central America in the 1980s. What was evident today even after two long days of engagements was his passion for his subject, the arts and its importance to the everyman. When his words spilled over into free flowing Gaelic it was wonderful to listen to.

Michael D.