Debate contribution: Michael D Higgins: Tribute
Debate contribution by Mr Gerry Carroll on .
- MLA
- Mr Gerry Carroll
- Party at the time
- People Before Profit Alliance
- Date
- 11 November 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Matter of the Day
- Heading
- Michael D Higgins: Tribute
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5349016
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Member for raising the Matter of the Day. Given how turbulent the world has been over the last 14 or so years, it has been really important to have a figurehead in the Irish state who has stood tall with principles that have helped us carve out a better, fairer and more just world. Given that the familial head of state in Britain has been mired in scandal, controversy and crisis over recent years and weeks, it has been essential to have a figurehead who has stood on the right side of history and stands on the right side in the present. On homelessness, Michael D Higgins understood that there is a crisis in housing that has been caused by government policy and a lack of action in the South. He used his last Christmas message to refer to that. He talked about Christmas being an important time for people and the fact that a lot of people do not have a home to live in or go to and that many have been forced to travel and leave the South because of the crisis. Uachtarán
Higgins has also been a clear stalwart of Palestine. Despite the misrepresentation of his position, he has lambasted those who have remained silent. He said that, if we ignored and remained silent on Gaza, it would be a moral failure. Some Members in the House would do well to listen to his lesson on that. Crucially, while the war drums are banged in Germany and across Europe, in Britain and by some in the South, including columnists who will not don military fatigues themselves but want working-class kids to kill and to be killed in the scramble for war, Michael D Higgins has been an important, sensible and sane voice for peace. Míle buíochas le Micheál agus lena bhean chéile, Sabina.
I thank them for their time and work in the position. Catherine Connolly is very much her own person. Despite similarities in viewpoints and geographical location — they are both Galwegian Gaeilgeoirí — I doubt that Michael D Higgins can add keepy-up champion to his long list of incredible achievements and accomplishments. Despite all the propaganda against Catherine, she is a person of conviction and principle who cannot be bought and sold, and people do not like that. She will be a crucial voice for peace and justice and in welcoming all who live here, North and South. Whilst disturbing news has emerged in recent days about individuals plotting to bomb a mosque in Galway, Catherine will be a voice for rejecting such hate in Galway, Dublin, Belfast, Derry or elsewhere. Go n-éirí an bóthar leat, a Catherine.
448 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.28 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- The text criticises or condemns the framing or division (0.60).
- Subject area: Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.43 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.04 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.05 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.16 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.23 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.09 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.28 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing | 0.34 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it (chosen) | 0.60 |
| Adopts it | 0.06 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.49 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.23 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.15 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.07 |
| Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty | 0.03 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:37 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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