Search Results for 'Michael D. Higgins'

It has been a strange week in Galway. The sun set on the Higginsian era. The sun rose on The Connolean Era. We lose one mainstay of our public representation over the past three decades, and welcome back one who has shaped the city for the past four. How fortunate are we, as a nation, to be able to replace one president with another and ensure that both destinations — the Áras and the city by the Corrib — are equally enriched for the exchange.

"A Thaoisigh, A Phríomhbhreithimh, Airí, Baill Chomhairle an Stáit, Baill an Oireachtais, Ambasadóirí, Ceannairí Eaglaise, agus dhaoine uaisle ar fad, chomh maith le an Chéad Aire an Tuaiscirt, Michelle O’Neill, agus ceannairí eile ó gach cairn den Tuaisceart.

As the festive season approaches, Zhivago Gifts on Shop Street is once again ready to make Christmas shopping easy, fun, and full of cheer. The Galway favourite is stocked with the brightest and best albums of 2025, making it the go-to destination for music lovers and gift-givers alike.

Tradition dies hard in Galway. On a rain-swept weekend that saw the familiar swirl of a Macnas parade, another proud Galway ritual unfolded — the election of one of its own to Áras an Uachtaráin. On November 11, Catherine Connolly will be inaugurated as Ireland’s tenth President, the second Galway-based person in succession to hold that office. As she steps into her new role, President Michael D. Higgins and Sabina return to the west — welcomed back into the community that launched his political and cultural journey. It is a fitting circle: Galway gives, Galway welcomes back, and Galway once again finds itself at the heart of Ireland’s political life.

If the polls are right, then in seventy-two hours, Ireland may be saluting its next President — and hearing a familiar Galway accent echo through the national count centre at Dublin Castle. Catherine Connolly stands on the brink of a historic victory. Analysis suggests she is comfortably ahead of her main rival, Heather Humphreys. Yet, as every seasoned watcher knows, politics has a habit of humbling the confident.

Last Thursday, in a gathering under the trees in a corner of Eyre Square, Galway paused to remember one of its great visionaries. In the heart of the city, between the former Great Southern Hotel—where a young Ronnie O’Gorman first worked—and the Galway Advertiser building, hme of the newspaper he founded, President Michael D. Higgins unveiled a new stone bench in honour of the man who gave Galway its confidence, its voice, and much of its modern identity.

On a soft Galway afternoon last Thursday, as the autumn light slipped across the paving stones of Eyre Square, a small crowd gathered near the entrance to the Eyre Square Centre. City councillors, family members, and lifelong friends stood together in quiet pride, as President Michael D. Higgins unveiled a memorial bench to one of Galway’s most steadfast public servants — Mr Clement Ignatius O’Flynn.

The betting for the Irish Presidential Election next month suggests a hotly contested campaign after Maria Steen came up short yesterday (Wednesday) in her bid to turn the battle for the Áras into a four horse race.

When Pete Foley first stepped onto a judo mat in Kilkenny as a shy 12-year-old in the 1970s, few could have imagined that this would mark the beginning of a lifelong journey — one that would shape the face of martial arts in Ireland for generations. Now, five decades later, the founder and head coach of the renowned Black Dragon Kickboxing Gym in Galway is celebrating an extraordinary milestone: 50 years of dedication, discipline, and unwavering commitment to martial arts.