President Michael D Higgins is to become the first Irish president to make an official visit to the UK.
The announcement was made yesterday evening and the state visit will take place next year. In what’s been described as a historic event, the President accepted the invitation from Queen Elizabeth to go to Britain next April.
Higgins has visited the UK several times since becoming president but these were not official state engagements.
Upon the announcement, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said that the event demonstrates “the warm and positive relationship that now exists between Ireland and the United Kingdom”.
The official state engagement follows the Queen’s visit to Ireland back in 2011 which was the first by a reigning British monarch in 100 years.
During her visit, she paid her respects at the Garden of Remembrance.
