- Opinion
- 03 Nov 25
The Saw Doctors' Leo Moran on Michael D. Higgins: "He was my first ever lecturer in college... He was brilliant"
As part of a special Hot Press feature, The Saw Doctors' Leo Moran shares his thoughts on Michael D. Higgins' remarkable presidency.
The Saw Doctors’ Leo Moran:
I first came across Michael D. when I started college in 1982. He was my first ever lecturer in college. He had a 9 o’clock Monday morning sociology class and it was such an amazing leap forward from having a Christian Brothers Leaving Cert education, to having all these other avenues of thought opened up to you.
Michael D.’s sociology lectures were these things you would never have thought about before. I knew that he was a politician before that, but to me he was just an exceptional teacher. This was before The Saw Doctors started. We only had him for one year, but he was brilliant. He was always able to express opinions about things that were happening in the world.
He was obviously very well read, as we see in the Hot Press columns that he used to write. He actually experienced a lot of the places that he spoke about. He was always so intelligent and eloquent, and he would always stand up for those being oppressed, wherever it was.
In June we played at his garden party at Áras an Uachtaráin. He spoke as powerfully, eloquently and empathetically as he always did in the sociology lectures in college. It was a lovely bookend to see that his beliefs are as strong as ever, and the way he’s able to put his points across so clearly and intelligently. It’s fantastic.
The most notable element of his presidency is that he was outspoken, even though it’s not part of the job and he’s not really supposed to be outspoken. He’s a man of such principle and knowledge that if he thinks something has to be said, he says it. He was such a brilliant host representing the country for two terms.
I’d like to say thank you and congratulations. May he have many years of calm non-presidency back in Galway.
Read our in-depth cover story interview with Michael D. Higgins – and tributes from Cillian Murphy, Bob Geldof, Niall Horan, Dermot Kennedy, Denise Chaila and more – in the current issue of Hot Press, out now:
