Michael D. Higgins’s dog Misneach paws and nibbles during an RTÉ tribute interview

Michael D. Higgins’s Bernese mountain dog Misneach sat beside him and pawed at his hand during an RTÉ interview, then playfully nibbled the hand and jacket.

It was Sunday. The president was speaking in tribute to actor Tom Hickey, a lifelong friend who had died the evening before. Higgins offered his hand for the dog to chew and never broke focus.

In a joint statement with Sabina Higgins he said: “It is with great sadness that Sabina and I learned of the death of Tom Hickey, one of the greatest actors of his generation, giving over six decades to his profession. He leaves an indelible imprint on Irish theatre.”

RTÉ News arts and media correspondent Sinéad Crowley shared the behind-the-scenes clip and wrote: “There was a lot going on in our RTE News interview yesterday.” Irish actor Donal O’Kelly replied: “Michael D. was talking about his lifelong friend, actor Tom Hickey, who passed away the evening before. The dog presumably picked up on his deep sense of grief. And I think he finds it comforting. It’s a wonderful moment.”

Misneach, seven months old and named for courage, had joined the family in March 2021 after another Bernese mountain dog, Síoda, died the previous September. Higgins’s other dog is Bród, meaning pride. The president’s team captioned the footage “Behind the scenes at Aras an Uachtarain.” He was later shown walking the dogs. Viewers commented “Ladies and gentlemen, our president. I love living in Ireland,” “This is the wholesome president and his dog content that I like,” “An absolute gentleman. Watch him with the dog’s paw - he kept holding it never once pushed him away. A true dog lover and great president,” and “Never work with children and animals. This made me smile so much.”

Posted to the official TikTok @presidentirl, the clip passed 31,000 likes, more than 250,000 TikTok views and more than 860,000 on Twitter.