The presidency is an independent office and the Irish people whom I appreciate so much and I take with such responsibility have given a very clear mandate on a very clear set of ideas to me, as the ninth president.

We need to discuss the basis of a new form of trust built on a meaningful form of citizenship appropriate for a republic.

Every age, after all, must have its own aisling and dream of a better, kinder, happier, shared world.

Now it is time to turn to an older wisdom that, while respecting material comfort and security as a basic right of all, also recognises that many of the most valuable things in life cannot be measured.

Be proud to be a decent American rather than a wanker whipping up fear.

I am delighted to be back home in Galway, the place I first came to as a 19-year-old in 1960. It's here where my heart is and will forever be.

I think even the poorest people in the great country that is the United States should be entitled to basic health care.