PRESIDENT Michael D. Higgins is to release a spoken word album featuring his poetry set to music by Myles O’Reilly.
The 10-track album is due be released on September 5, not long before the end of Higgins’ second term as president in November.
The title track, Against All Certainty, has already been released and is available now via streaming platforms.
‘Incredibly interesting life’
Higgins, 84, began his political career in 1973 when he was appointed to the Seanad by Taoiseach Liam Cosgrove.
He later served two terms as TD for Galway West and for several years was Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht.
However, throughout his political career, he also worked as a writer, broadcaster and poet.
He had a regular column for the music magazine Hot Press and has had four poetry collections published, as well as a number of non-fiction books.
Against All Certainty is the president’s debut spoken word album and will feature 10 of his most well-known works.
“Listeners can expect to find themselves fully transposed into the incredibly interesting life and times of the poet before he became Ireland’s President, from childhood to adulthood,” press for the album states.
The album was recorded in Áras an Uachtaráin, the official residence and office of the President of Ireland.
The tracks will be set to musical compositions by O’Reilly, a member of the band Juno Falls, who has also directed a number of music videos and documentaries.
‘Prodigious poems’
Against All Certainty will be released on CD, hardback CD book and vinyl formats by Claddagh Records.
Irish novelist, playwright and poet Sebastian Barry, who was Laureate for Irish Fiction from 2018 until 2021, hailed the president’s work.
“These are truly prodigious poems by Michael D. Higgins — not just a milestone in his own work but in Irish poetry,” he said.
President Higgins will step down from his role later this year, having served the maximum two terms.
The album is available to pre-order from Claddagh Records by clicking here.