Title: Independent politicians in Ireland
Content:  The current President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins was elected in 2011 having been nominated by Labour Party members of the Oireachtas, but re-elected in 2018 on his own nomination.
Title: 2018 in Ireland
Content:  26-year-old Hasan Bal from Waterford was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for providing funding for the so-called Islamic State. ; 6 July – The Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill was passed after heated exchanges in the Dáil with 75 TDs voting in favour and eight TDs voting against. ; 8 July – The National Day of Commemoration service took place at Collins Barracks, honouring Irish men and women who died in past wars or on United Nations service. ; 10 July ; Michael D. Higgins confirmed that he will seek a second term as President of Ireland as an Independent candidate. ; Prince Harry and Meghan Markle began a two-day visit 
Title: Republic of Ireland
Content:  its constitutionality. Michael D. Higgins became the ninth President of Ireland on 11 November 2011. The Taoiseach (Prime Minister) serves as the head of government and is appointed by the President upon the nomination of the Dáil. Most Taoisigh have served as the leader of the political party that gains the most seats in national elections. It has become customary for coalitions to form a government, as there has not been a single-party government since 1989. Micheál Martin succeeded Leo Varadkar as Taoiseach on 27 June 2020, after forming a historic coalition between his Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael of Leo Varadkar. The Seanad is composed of sixty members, with eleven nominated by the Taoiseach, six elected by two universities, and 43 elected 
Title: President of Ireland
Content:  The president of Ireland (Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of the Republic of Ireland and the supreme commander of the Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms. The president is directly elected by the people, although there is no poll if only one candidate is nominated, which has occurred on six occasions to date. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the president does exercise certain limited powers with absolute discretion. The president acts as a representative of the Irish state and guardian of the constitution. The president's official residence is Áras an Uachtaráin in Phoenix Park, Dublin. The office was established by the Constitution of Ireland in 1937, the first president took office in 1938, and became internationally recognised as head of state in 1949 following the coming into force of the Republic of Ireland Act. The current president is Michael D. Higgins, who was first elected on 29 October 2011. His inauguration was held on 11 November 2011. He was re-elected for a second term on 26 October 2018.
Title: Michael D. Higgins
Content:  neutral president if elected and not be a "handmaiden" to the government. The Labour Party's budget for the campaign was within €320,000. On 29 October 2011, two days after the presidential election was held, Higgins was declared the winner with a total of 1,007,104 votes, far more than any Irish politician in the history of the republic. Thousands of people lined the streets of Galway to welcome him home the following day. International media coverage of his win reported his humble background, poetry and intellect, with The Washington Post noting "local satirists sometimes depict him as an elf, hobbit or leprechaun talking in riddles and verse". He is the first President of Ireland to have served in both Houses 
Title: Michael D. Higgins
Content:  On 10 July 2018, Higgins announced that he would stand for a second term as president in the 2018 Irish presidential election. Higgins won the 2018 presidential election with 56% of the vote on the first count (822,566). His nearest rival, Peter Casey, finished on 23% (342,727). On 11 November 2018, Higgins was inaugurated as president of Ireland in St. Patrick's Hall, Dublin Castle, in a ceremony attended by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, and former presidents Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese, as well as representatives of all political parties. The ceremony was held in the evening, so that Higgins could attend Armistice Day commemorations in the morning. On 3 July 2019, Higgins began a three-day state visit to Germany. 
Title: 2018 in Ireland
Content:  debate on the introduction of an Irish Language Act in Northern Ireland. ; 26 October ; The people of Ireland voted to choose their president. ; There was also a constitutional referendum to determine if the offence of blasphemy should be removed from the Constitution. ; 27 October – Michael D. Higgins was officially declared President of Ireland after receiving 822,566 first preference votes. ; 31 October ; It was announced that Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe was retiring at midnight from the Garda Síochána after 30-year's of service. ; Former Garda Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan was appointed as the United Nations' Assistant Secretary-General for Safety and Security. 
Title: 2011 Irish presidential election
Content:  behaviour. On 7 March 2012, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) upheld a complaint against RTÉ relating to the broadcasting of the tweet that derailed Gallagher's presidential campaign. Eventual winner Michael D. Higgins was pursued by his past links to the Fianna Fáil party, and admitted on 13 October that he had been elected chairman of the UCG Fianna Fáil university cumann in 1966. While at university in the United States he had, he admitted, smoked marijuana. However, media reports said he was "spared the intense grilling Miriam O'Callaghan meted out to some of the others" during the Prime Time debate.
Title: Taoiseach
Content:  The Taoiseach is the prime minister and head of government of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and must retain the support of a majority in the Dáil to remain in office. The Irish word taoiseach means "chief" or "leader", and was adopted in the 1937 Constitution of Ireland as the title of the "head of the Government or Prime Minister". It is the official title of the head of government in both English and Irish, and is not used for the prime ministers of other countries, who are instead referred to in Irish by the generic term príomh-aire. The longer Irish form, an Taoiseach, is sometimes used in English instead of "the Taoiseach". The current Taoiseach is Micheál Martin TD, leader of Fianna Fáil, who took office on 27 June 2020 following a coalition agreement between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and the Green Party.
Title: Michael D. Higgins
Content:  President of the Labour Party from 2003 to 2011, until he resigned following his election as president of Ireland. He has used his time in office to address issues concerning justice, social equality, social inclusion, anti-sectarianism, anti-racism, and reconciliation. He made the first state visit by an Irish president to the United Kingdom in April 2014. Higgins ran for a second term as president of Ireland in 2018 and was re-elected in a landslide victory. Higgins attained the largest personal mandate in the history of the Republic of Ireland, with 822,566 first preference votes. Higgins' second presidential inauguration took place on 11 November 2018.

Question: Verify the following claims with "True" or "False": Apparently the leader of the Republic of Ireland is not Hasan Sabag Castillo.
Answer: True