Calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and global action on climate change were at the centre of a Christmas message released today by President Michael D Higgins.

The ongoing war in Ukraine and the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement were two other areas explored in the speech.

In his opening remarks, President Higgins said his thoughts are with those facing “the most horrific circumstances of war this Christmas”.

“We think in particular of all of the children in Gaza and Israel, places known to many as a Holy Land, and that has been darkened by the taking of so many lives, and too many young lives in particular, in recent months,” he said.

Israeli Defence Forces advancing in the Gaza Strip, 27/11/2023. Image: PhotoStock-Israel / Alamy Stock Photo

President Higgins said Ireland has its own history of inner conflict that gives the country a different perspective on certain global issues.

He called on the global community to work together towards peace in Gaza.

“The attacks on children, the loss of lives of children such as we have seen and are witnessing, requires that all nations redouble their efforts for a ceasefire,” he said.

“To set about the tasks of achieving lasting resolutions to conflicts, so many of which could and should have been anticipated and indeed avoided.”

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern with Senator George Mitchell and British Prime Minister Tony Blair at Castle Buildings Belfast, after they signed the Good Friday Agreement. 10-4-1998 Photo: RollingNews.ie/Pool

President Higgins also called for global unity in addressing the “increasingly urgent climate crisis”.

“We are at a precarious juncture in what is now an existential battle, one that requires us to rebalance, seek to recover our relationship with nature,” he said.

“One that requires a vital and meaningful change from all of us, in every aspect of our lives.

“Dealing with the consequences of both climate change and biodiversity loss emphasizes the need for the recovery of a meaningful and shared diplomacy in dealing with what are shared crises.”

President Higgins said his thoughts are, “in a special way,” also with Irish Defence Forces operatives who will be stationed in Lebanon and elsewhere this Christmas.

“Such vital work at a time when humanity is faced with unprecedented challenges of a global kind is something of which we can all be proud and deserves all of our support,” he said.

“Their absences from home will mirror the experiences of many others who, owing to various circumstances, find themselves forcibly separated from the embrace of their loved ones."

25/11/2023.Dublin, Ireland. Pictured (LtoR) Irish Defence Forces, Company Sergeant Brian Mc Gahern arrives home from Lebanon to his son Fionn (4) from Co Cork, at Dublin Airport. Photo: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

He also reflected on Ireland’s humanitarian efforts over the last year.

“We, as Irish people, are all too aware of how, for so many different reasons, people have had cause to move from their places of birth in search of a better life, of security itself,” said President Higgins.

“We Irish do not put a boundary to our concerns for justice.

“We remember the solidarity that Irish people have shown over the decades with those vulnerable across our planet, with those seeking freedom and human rights.”

In his final remarks, President Higgins said:

“May I wish all the Irish at home and abroad, and those who live and work with them, a very happy and peaceful Christmas and a New Year full of promise, health and fulfilment,” he said.

Main image: President Michael D Higgins pictured during his Christmas message address to the nation. Image: Áras an Uachtaráin