Speech by President Higgins at the Opening of The Clifden Arts Festival 2017 by Áras an Uachtaráin

President Michael D. Higgins formally opened the 40th Clifden Arts Festival.

The President paid tribute to those who initiated and managed the festival through the years, in close cooperation with the local community.

Since his inauguration in 2011, President Higgins has spoken on numerous occasions of how the development of culture and creativity in our society can help create the foundations for an inclusive citizenship, built on a sense of shared meaning, heritage and identity.