LAST UPDATE | 28 Oct

PRESIDENT MICHAEL D HIGGINS has returned to Áras an Uachtaráin after spending two nights in hospital being treated for an infection.

Higgins, 84, was admitted to St James’s Hospital on Sunday afternoon for an examination and put on a course of antibiotics.

A spokesman yesterday said that the President’s medical team said there was a “significant improvement” since he began the course of antibiotics and had agreed to remain in hospital in line with medical advice.

“The President, who is in good spirits, remained in hospital overnight to receive antibiotics.”

Higgins’s second and final term as President is due to end at midnight on 10 November, following Catherine Connolly’s historic election win on Friday.

Higgins congratulated Connolly following her win.

In a statement he said:  “The President-elect will have the full support of this office as she prepares for her Inauguration next month.”

On Wednesday he held his final afternoon tea event in the Áras before he leaves office.

In February, last year when he was 82, he spent over a week in hospital for what was later revealed to be a mild stroke.

He cut back on public appearances for a number of weeks and was later seen in public using walking sticks.

The stroke affected his left side, including his hand and hip, and exacerbated problems with his lower back.

He told reporters at the Ploughing Championships last year that he had to use two walking sticks as he sometimes has balance problems.

“I have from previous times very heavy arthritis – the culmination of all of this means I can’t run quite like I did,” he said.

With additional reporting from PA