President Higgins thanks citizens for their hard work, urges people to be hospitable

Michael D. Higgins, the recently re-elected President of Ireland, has today shared his annual Christmas and New Years address.

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Speaking from Áras an Uachtaráin, the presidential residence located in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, President Higgins shared his wishes and hopes for 2019.

In his address, President Higgins implores Irish citizens to recognize their shared vulnerabilities and “resolve to forge together a renewed sense of solidarity.”

He also says that Irish people must make sure there is always “room in our inn” for those who have “undertaken long and difficult journeys in search of safety and a future of hope.”

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“It is appropriate,” says President Higgins, “that we should respond to the changing pattern of migration into our country in a spirit of openness and hospitality, welcoming and supporting those who wish for a better life, or simply a life free from fear.”

You can watch the Christmas address from President Higgins below, both in Irish and English: