Sabina Mary Higgins (née Coyne; born 1941 or 1942) is an Irish actress, political activist and the wife of the current

president of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can ...

Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins ( ga, Mícheál Dónal Ó hUigínn; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, and broadcaster, who has served as the ninth president of Ireland since November 2011. Entering national politics throug ...

Early life

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

Ballindine Ballindine () is a village in County Mayo, Ireland. It is located along the Western Railway Corridor, 6.5 km (4 miles) south of Claremorris. The N17 road passes through the village, carrying over 10,000 vehicles daily, and it connects ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") 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 Conn ...

. Her mother would tell stories from

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

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 in a Western traditional wedding ceremony. A bridesmaid is typically a young woman and often a close friend or relative. She attends to the bride on the day of a wedding or marriage ceremony. Traditi ...

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 i ...

Deirdre O'Connell Eleanore Deirdre O'Connell (16 June 1939 – 9 June 2001) was an Irish American actress, singer, and theatre director who founded the Focus Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Biography O'Connell was born in the South Bronx district of New York City, o ...

Career

In 1966, she played the part of

Julia Grenan Julia Grenan (Sighle, Sheila, 2 July 1883 – 6 January 1972) was an Irish nationalist, Irish republicanism, republican, suffragette and socialist and member of Cumann na mBan, best known for being one of the three last women to leave the Genera ...

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 launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' 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 Miriam O'Callaghan (born 6 January 1960) is an Irish television current affairs presenter with RTÉ. O'Callaghan has presented '' Prime Time'' since 1996, and her own summer talk show, ''Saturday Night with Miriam'', from 2005 onwards. In th ...

said they had held hands all the way through. She publicly expressed opposition to the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

. In January 2014, she visited the jailed anti-war activist

Margaretta D'Arcy Margaretta Ruth D'Arcy (born 14 June 1934, London) is an Irish actress, writer, playwright, and activist. D'Arcy has been a member of Aosdána since its inauguration and is known for addressing Irish nationalism, civil liberties, and women's r ...

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 The centenary of the Easter Rising occurred in 2016. Many events occurred to mark the occasion. Note that Easter Day fell on 27 March in 2016 and on 23 April in 1916. The Rising began on Easter Monday, 24 April 1916. Events On 20 January, Irel ...

, she gave a key speech in

Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Ghlas Naíon) 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 Glasne ...

at the graveside of

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

. In it she warned Irish people against "empires of greed" and "a new form of capitalism

hich is Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...

even 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 List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

during the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

. 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 feminists, often contributes columns to the ''Irish I ...

. He proposed over Christmas 1973 and they were married the year after. They have four children: Alice Mary, twins John and Michael Jr., and Daniel.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coyne, Sabina 1941 births Living people

Sabina Sabina may refer to: Places and jurisdictions * Sabina (region), region and place in Italy, and hence: * the now Suburbicarian Diocese of Sabina (-Poggio Mirteto), Italy * Magliano Sabina, city, Italy * Pozzaglia Sabina, city, Italy *Fara Sabin ...

Irish stage actresses

People from County Mayo Spouses of presidents of Ireland Irish activists