section_path: Other work
section_name: Other work
paragraph_text: Other work
  
  Higgins has campaigned for human rights and written of conflict in many parts of the world, including such areas as Nicaragua, Chile, Cambodia, El Salvador, Iraq and Somalia. He spoke in the Dáil in defence of the 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla. In recognition of his work for peace with justice in many parts of the world, he became the first recipient of the Seán MacBride Peace Prize of the International Peace Bureau in Helsinki in 1992. He was a noted critic of U.S. foreign policy under the Ronald Reagan administration. In 2005, in response to a column for the Irish Independent by Kevin Myers about the riots then erupting across immigrant areas in France and Britain, he said "the contents of his column today go beyond his usually crafted cowardice, staying one step on the safe side of prosecution for incitement to hatred or racism."
  
  Higgins has voiced his support for the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, an organisation which campaigns for democratic reformation of the United Nations, and the creation of a more accountable international political system.
  
  Higgins's eclectic mix of interests also extends to sport; he is a regular at the Galway Races each summer. He has also previously served as president of Galway United F.C., is a well known football supporter and regularly attends League of Ireland games. In 2014 the Football Association of Ireland introduced a new association football super cup, the President's Cup, in his honour. On 25 February 2014, the cup itself was officially unveiled with a ceremony at Áras an Uachtaráin. Higgins subsequently attended the inaugural final at Richmond Park on 2 March 2014.
  
  Higgins is the subject of the song "Michael D. Rocking in the Dáil" by popular Tuam band The Saw Doctors. The song first appeared as a B-side on the 1994 single "Small Bit of Love" and is also on the 2002 compilation Play It Again, Sham!.