Sabina Higgins (née Coyne; born 15 September 1941) is an Irish actress, political activist and the wife of the current

president of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...

Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins (; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, broadcaster, and sociologist who has been serving as the president of Ireland since 2011. Entering national politics through the Labour Party, he served as a senator ...

Early life

Sabina Coyne grew up on a small farm in Cloonrane, Milltown near the Galway-Mayo border. She attended national school in Ballindine,

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

. Her mother would tell stories from

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

while milking the cows, an influence on her later decision to take up acting, in which she trained using

Stanislavski's system Stanislavski's system is a systematic approach to training actors that the Russian theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski developed in the first half of the twentieth century. His system cultivates what he calls the "art of experiencing ...

. She was a

bridesmaid Bridesmaids are members of the bride's party at some Western traditional wedding ceremonies. A bridesmaid is typically a young woman and often the bride's close friend or relative. She attends to the bride on the day of a wedding or marriage ce ...

at the wedding of singer

Luke Kelly Luke Kelly (17 November 1940 – 30 January 1984) was an Irish singer, folk musician and actor from Dublin, Ireland. Born into a working-class household in Dublin city, Kelly moved to England in his late teens and by his early 20s had become ...

to Deirdre O'Connell.

Career

In 1966, she played the part of Julia Grenan in ''Insurrection''. Friends have spoken of her affection for the President and noted that she "has always been out campaigning with him, and she has a public presence." ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' said she was "a subtle, careful and essential background presence during the presidential campaign". In 2010, before Higgins received the presidential nomination, the couple gave a radio interview together in which Higgins said she was "his rock". Presenter Miriam O'Callaghan said they had held hands all the way through. She publicly expressed opposition to the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

. In January 2014, she visited the jailed anti-war activist Margaretta D'Arcy in

Limerick Prison Limerick Prison in Limerick is an Irish penal institution. It is a closed, medium security prison, and has an official capacity of 290 male beds and 20 female beds. The average daily number of male inmates in 2009 was 298 and of female inmates ...

. During the centenary of the Easter Rising, she gave a key speech in

Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery () is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasnevin, Dublin, in two part ...

at the graveside of

Constance Markievicz Constance Georgine Markievicz ( ; ' Gore-Booth; 4 February 1868 – 15 July 1927), also known as Countess Markievicz and Madame Markievicz, was an Irish politician, revolutionary, nationalist, suffragist, and socialist who was the first woman ...

. In it she warned Irish people against "empires of greed" and "a new form of capitalism hich iseven more powerful and less visible and less accountable" than that of 1916. On 27 July 2022, a letter by Higgins to the editorial office of ''

'' was published, in which she called on Ukraine to "agree to a ceasefire and negotiations" with the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

during the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. In it, she expressed her indignation at the publication's editorial, which she said "did not encourage any negotiations before a ceasefire that could lead to a peaceful settlement between the Russians, Ukrainian forces and separatists." After the letter received criticism, Higgins defended her comments, stating that she "strongly condemned the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine".

Personal life

She met Michael D. Higgins in 1969 at a party in the family home of journalist

Mary Kenny Mary Kenny (born 4 April 1944) is an Irish journalist, broadcaster and playwright. A founding member of the Irish Women's Liberation Movement, she was one of the country's first and foremost Feminism, feminists, often contributes columns to the ...

. He proposed over Christmas 1973 and they married on 8 July 1974 at Haddington Road Church in Dublin. They celebrated 50 years of marriage in 2024. They have four children: Alice-Mary, twins John and Michael Jr., and Daniel. In November 2023 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and started treatment straight away.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Sabina 1941 births Living people Sabina Irish stage actresses Sabina Actors from County Mayo Spouses of presidents of Ireland Irish activists People from Milltown, County Galway