RTÉ Documentaries

Michael D. Higgins: Ireland’s Ninth President (2025x11)

Air date: Nov 19, 2025

A new RTÉ One documentary uses seven decades of RTÉ Archive footage to look at the people, places, and events which shaped the political life of former President Michael D. Higgins. This retrospective examines – in his own words and the words of those who know and worked with him – Michael D.’s life and work over the years. Spanning his childhood to present day, the documentary shows the influence of the War of Independence and Civil War on his family, which shaped a passion for equality and human rights. It looks at his early career in Galway and election in 1981 as Labour Party TD for Galway West, the first Labour TD there since the 1920s. The documentary reflects on his passionate and lively exchanges on RTÉ Television and radio programmes, going behind the scenes of election counts, TV debates, and interviews from over the years.