Former President Michael D. Higgins to be honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award

Former President Higgins will be honoured at the An Post Book Awards

As the 2025 Lifetime Achievement honouree, Michael D. Higgins will join a host of other distinguished recipients, including Sebastian Barry, Colm Tóibín, Thomas Kinsella, Eavan Boland, John Montague, JP Donleavy, Paul Durcan, John Banville, Maeve Binchy, John McGahern, Edna O’Brien, William Trevor, Seamus Heaney, Anne Enright and Professor Roy Foster.

Throughout his distinguished career, his influence has spanned the full cultural spectrum, from literature and visual arts to film, music, and public cultural policy.

Higgins has published everything from three collections of speeches, a Hot Press magazine column, to multiple poetry collections.

An accomplished writer, Michael D. Higgins has published five poetry collections, including Against All Certainty, which was published in September in conjunction with his spoken word album of the same name in collaboration with musician Myles O’Reilly.

Michael D. Higgins has had a profound impact on Irish art and culture, both as a public figure and as an artist in his own right.

Larry Mac Hale, Chairperson of the An Post Irish Book Awards, says:

"Michael D. Higgins has consistently demonstrated the power of culture to connect, challenge, and inspire society. Through his engagement with the arts and his unwavering support for creative voices across Ireland, he has nurtured an environment where ideas, imagination, and expression can thrive.

"His leadership has ensured that the arts remain a central part of national life, valued not only for their beauty but for their capacity to shape how we see the world.

"The An Post Irish Book Awards is proud to honour Michael D. Higgins with the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award, recognising a lifetime devoted to fostering creativity, cultural dialogue, and artistic excellence. This award celebrates a figure whose vision, commitment, and advocacy have left an enduring imprint on Irish cultural life, and whose influence will continue to inspire generations of writers, artists, and audiences alike."

Celebrating its 20^th year, the An Post Irish Book Awards continue to champion and promote Irish writing to the widest range of readers possible. 

Each year, the An Post Irish Book Awards bring together a vast community passionate about books – readers, authors, booksellers, publishers and librarians – to recognise the very best of new and established Irish writing talent.

The winners will be announced on 27^th November 2025.