Politics I was first introduced to Michael D Higgins through the pages of Hot Press magazine. He published regular political columns there for 10 years, from 1982 until his appointment as minister for arts, culture and the Gaeltacht. His writing was always vivid, passionate and intellectually rigorous. He brought a welcome vigour and a radical excitement into political life, which inspired me - like so many others who came of age in the Ireland of the bleak economic belt-tightening 1980s - to become active in left-wing student politics.
Twenty years later, a fine collection of Higgins's essays, speeches and commentaries spanning the decades has finally been published. Divided into five broadly titled sections, these writings include many Hot Press columns, articles for arts journals and academic papers, as well as speeches to the Dáil and Labour Party conferences.
Although many readers will have been familiar with different aspects of Higgins's writing before now, few will have realised the extent of his interests. From socialist economics, to the politics of the Western Sahara, to the visual arts or the literature of Liam O'Flaherty, the articles and speeches published together here are wide-ranging in their scope.
This is an evocative and stimulating read. The writings contained in the section dealing with Ireland and the global community will be familiar to political activists, reviving memories of past campaigns and international struggles. The brutal rule of General Pinochet in Chile; the hope-filled Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua (and its defeat); the horror of starvation in Somalia; the onset of the tragic Iraq war - all are eloquently discussed here.
Students of sociology will similarly be familiar with Higgins's classic study on clientelism in Ireland, and with his account of the depiction of gombeen men in Irish literature, both published in a section called "the Peasant Tradition and the Betrayed Republic".
Those working in the arts will be more familiar with the writings included under the heading "Cultural Space". This was a phrase he used to great effect during his time as minister for arts, in seeking to emphasise the link between culture and citizenship, and in reinvigorating a seriously undervalued arts community. As minister, he did a great deal to strengthen the development of public service broadcasting in Ireland, and remains a strong advocate for its value to society, as the book shows.
However, by far the most original feature of the book is the tantalising glimpse it offers of Higgins's own personal development. The first section is entitled "The Personal is Political and the Political is Personal". It includes reflections on education, democracy and humanism, but also describes his childhood in sparse and restrained terms.
Born in Limerick, he and his brother were sent to live with their uncle and aunt on a small farm in Co Clare when he was five years old. The brothers remained there throughout his childhood and adolescence. He describes this as "a very interesting arrangement", emphasising how dedicated his uncle and aunt were to the two instant children they had thus acquired.
But underlying this brief account is the quiet tragedy of his own mother's story, the circumstances of ill-health that led to her two sons being brought up elsewhere by her husband's brother and sister. The sense of loss, which he describes himself as an undercurrent of "considerable loneliness", is evident from the poems about his childhood experiences, some of which are included in this first section. It appears difficult for him to articulate these emotions in prose, but the reader is left very keen to know more about the personal behind the political.
That is for a future publication. The current book provides a coherent, lively critique of Irish political orthodoxies, mounting a challenge to the right-of- centre image of contemporary Ireland: "a greedy society consumed in its consumption". It poses an alternative vision of a rights-based approach to economy and society. And it gives a fascinating insight into the life of a man who, in his own words, has migrated between "the rhetoric of academic discourse, political language, administrative communication and . . . a recovered pursuit of authenticity through poetry". Throughout his career, this academic, politician and poet has brought imagination and passion into political life. His book captures that imaginative and passionate politics - and offers the promise of more to come.
Ivana Bacik is Reid Professor of Criminal Law at Trinity College Dublin and a practising barrister. Her book, Kicking and Screaming: Dragging Ireland into the Twenty-First Century, was published by O'Brien Press (2004)
Causes for Concern: Irish Politics, Culture and Society By Michael D Higgins Liberties Press, 340pp. €25