Last Friday I voted in the Irish presidential election for the first time. Not because I haven’t wanted to before, but as an Irishman it’s been the first time I’ve been given the chance. I now live in Limerick but grew up in County Armagh, just a few minutes north of the border. As it stands, Irish citizens there aren’t able to cast a vote on who represents them as President.

It can be a difficult and misunderstood topic among many. But it’s as simple as this: the President doesn’t just represent a specific area of land mass, but represents all Irish citizens no matter where they were born or live.

A vote in general elections to the Dáil is not something people in the North are seeking. It wouldn’t make sense unless they live and pay taxes within the state where policy and decisions would be felt. But the election and role of the President is hugely symbolic, with the officeholder carrying out ceremonial duties on behalf of the Irish people. A global figure for Ireland. A position for which people in the North can run, but yet can’t vote to decide who holds it. A strange state of being.

In the spirit of inclusion and a shared island, this vote is for those who want to contribute to the fabric of Ireland, North and South. And what a better way to connect the island than something as personal as the Presidency?  Of course, a vote for the people of Northern Ireland in a presidential election only applies to those who want it. Unionists or those who do not wish to take part in it rightly don’t have to, and it should be of no threat to them or their identity – just as Polish natives living in Northern Ireland pose no threat to anyone else’s identity when they cast a vote in Polish presidential elections.

For me though, as an Irish man, born on the island of Ireland, who holds an Irish passport, it was a proud and important moment for myself. A vote I did not take for granted and which solidified my right as an Irish citizen to have a say on who represents me and many like me, on the global stage.

Saturday’s presidential acceptance speech by Michael D. Higgins was touching, inspiring and paved the way forward for a shared Ireland on a shared island. Here are a few words of that speech that resonated with me:

“The next seven years will offer opportunities to do things in new ways; including everybody. That requires identifying and facing exclusions, and more than just eliminating barriers, it means the exercising of new invitations. The Presidency can bring together the different strands of our nation, past, present and future.”

I’d like to congratulate President Michael D. Higgins on his successful re-election and wish him and his wife Sabina well in their important forthcoming work for the Irish people and the values we hold.