His father, John Higgins, was from Ballycar, County Clare, and was a lieutenant with the Charleville Company, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Cork Brigade of the Irish Republican Army.

[11] In his academic career, Higgins was a statutory lecturer in the Department of Political Science and Sociology at UCG[12] and was a visiting professor at Southern Illinois University.

[28][29] Higgins originally joined Fianna Fáil in UCG while a mature student and was elected its branch chairman in 1966; he switched to the Labour Party shortly thereafter.

[31] One of the people who canvassed for him was future leader of the Labour Party and Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore, who was then a UCG student.

[37][38] He was selected as a candidate for the presidency at a convention in Dublin on 19 June 2011, beating former senator Kathleen O'Meara and former party adviser Fergus Finlay.

[48] On 29 October 2011, two days after the presidential election was held, Higgins was declared the winner with a total of 1,007,104 votes, far more than any Irish politician in the history of the republic.

[51][52][53] International media coverage of his win reported his humble background, poetry and intellect,[54] with The Washington Post noting "local satirists sometimes depict him as an elf, hobbit or leprechaun talking in riddles and verse".

[56] Before his inauguration, Higgins and his family met his predecessor Mary McAleese and her husband Martin for lunch at Áras an Uachtaráin on 3 November.

[57] That night, he presented an award to Niall Tóibín, and received his own standing ovation as he entered the Irish Film Institute.

[58] On 5 November, he attended an important football game, featuring Galway United versus Monaghan United in the second leg in the League of Ireland promotion/relegation play-off at Terryland Park, wrapped in the scarf of his favourite team, and being greeted by a large banner hanging from a stand declaring "Welcome home to Galway, Mr President".

[66][67] Higgins travelled to Derry to attend the final of the All-Ireland School Choir of the Year competition on 13 November 2011 for his first official presidential engagement in Northern Ireland.

[71] He attended the Bon Secours Hospital in Galway on 13 December for surgery on the kneecap that was broken in a fall during a visit to Buenaventura, Colombia in 2010.

[73] While there he was given a tour of the Olympic Stadium by Sebastian Coe, and attended a production of Juno and the Paycock at the Lyttelton Theatre.

On the president's behalf, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar, awarded "Companionship" in this Order of Clans of Ireland to several nominees at a ceremony in the Mansion House, Dublin on 28 April 2012.

[80] In June 2012, nonprofit housing organisation Habitat for Humanity Ireland announced that Higgins would be their sole Patron.

[81] In October 2012, Higgins and his wife Sabina went to South America for a two-week trip, visiting Argentina, Brazil and Chile.

[82] Higgins rushed home from a visit to Rome, Italy, to sign the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Bill 2013 into law at Áras an Uachtaráin early on 7 February 2013, on the urgent request of the Government of Ireland.

[84][85] Special advisor to the president, Mary van Lieshout, who formed part of the management team in Áras an Uachtaráin under Secretary General Adrian O'Neill, resigned in November 2013.

[88] He also met various people, including British prime minister David Cameron[89] and opposition party leaders at Westminster, and the lord mayor of London, Alan Yarrow.

[96] In July 2021, Higgins sent a letter to the Oireachtas expressing concern that there had been a tendency in recent years for him to be sent a large volume of complex legislation to be signed quickly.

[97] On 15 September 2021, Higgins declined an invitation to attend a church service with Britain's Queen Elizabeth in October to mark Northern Ireland's centenary.

"[101] On 19 September 2022, Higgins was among 500 presidents, prime ministers, foreign royal family members and dignitaries who attended the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

[103] On 13 April, Higgins received U.S. President Joe Biden at Áras an Uachtaráin during his four-day visit to the island of Ireland.

[104] On 28 April, Higgins made a speech from Áras an Uachtaráin in which he criticised economists for being "obsessed" with economic growth and consumption and for promoting "neoliberalism".

[112] On 20 December 2024, Higgins delivered his final Christmas Message as President of Ireland, in which he called against worldwide conflict and the ensuing human rights violations, praised the Irish communities worldwide, wished well all new citizens welcomed to the country and thanked the people of Ireland for their support over his two terms as President.

One protester was removed and others left the event during Higgins's speech, when he said "Those in Israel who mourn their loved ones, those who have been waiting for the release of hostages, or the thousands searching for relatives in the rubble in Gaza will welcome the long-overdue ceasefire for which there has been such a heavy price paid.

He wrote and presented a television film on Montserrat, entitled The Other Emerald Isle for Channel 4 and his documentary on the life of Noel Browne, for RTÉ, has also been screened.

His writing tackled global issues like apartheid, US foreign policy, and Irish referendums on divorce and abortion, while celebrating arts and culture.

[133] Poetry Non-fiction Higgins has campaigned for human rights and written of conflict in many parts of the world, including such areas as Nicaragua, Chile, Cambodia, El Salvador, Iraq and Somalia.

He has also previously served as president of Galway United F.C., is a well known football supporter and regularly attends League of Ireland games.