Standing ovation as curtain falls on hugely successful Irish State visit to UK
President Michael D Higgins exits on a high after speech to Royal Shakespeare Company and spontaneous walkabout in Stratford-upon-Avon
Michael D Higgins gives a speech on stage in front of the cast of Henry IV, Part 1 at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Statford-upon-Avon, during the first State visit to the UK by an Irish President. Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA Wire
Attention all staff at Áras an Uachtaráin! For the next few weeks, you may have to tether His Excellency to the ground with strong twine and tent pegs. Why? Put it this way: the presidential party didn’t have to go home on the Government jet last night. All they had to do was lash a gondola to Michael D and he would have flown them at high altitude across the Irish Sea.
The President’s historic state visit to the United Kingdom has been a resounding success. And to cap a magnificent week, he exited yesterday with a standing ovation and the applause of noted Shakespearean actors ringing in his ears after delivering a tour-de-force performance from the venerated stage of the Royal Shakespeare Company.