Media Library

Speech at the Australian Rugby Union High Performance Centre, Sydney

In Sydney, President Higgins visited the soon-to-be-opened Australia Rugby Union High Performance Centre at Moore Park.

The Australia Rugby Union has partnered with the University of Technology in Sydney for the development of the Centre, at the ARU's headquarters.

In his speech to the ARU and representatives of the Lansdowne Club, the President spoke of the historic rugby links between Australia and Ireland. The President also reiterated his "full support" for Ireland's 2023 Rugby World Cup bid - something the President had done earlier this year, including in March this year, when he received delegates of World Rugby at Áras an Uachtaráin.

Address at an event for Australian and Irish business leaders, Sydney Opera House

In Sydney's opera house, the President met with Australian and Irish business leaders. 56 Irish companies have joined the President on his State Visit; among them 21 companies that travelled to Australia for the first time. The State Visit aims to strengthen links between Ireland and Australia, in the fields of trade, tourism, sports, arts and culture. The President encouraged Australian companies to connect with Irish businesses. 

Speech at the Unveiling of the ‘Footsteps’ Statues, in Hobart, the capital of Tasmania

In Hobart today, in Tasmania, Sculptor Rowan Gillespie thanked President Higgins for attending the unveiling of "Footsteps".

The four bronze sculptures commemorate the convict women and their children who arrived in Van Diemen’s Land and disembarked on the Hobart waterfront.

Around 14,000 Irish convicts, both men and women, were transported to Van Diemen's Land. The majority of these arrived after 1840 in the lead-up and during the Great Famine.

In his speech at the unveiling ceremony, President Higgins said they were "victims of a harsh judicial system that valued property above people’s lives."