A JOURNALIST FOR US business magazine Forbes has apologised for mistakenly describing President Michael D Higgins as gay.
In an article on the magazine’s website, writer David Monagan said that President Higgins was a poet and a gay man.
Monagan described it as “the worst error” he had made as a journalist. President Higgins has been married to his wife Sabina since 1974.
The article has now been removed from the Forbes site but a cached version of it can be seen here. The piece was about the appointment of Irish-born diplomat Samantha Power to the position of US ambassador to the United Nations and touched on how her worldview was influenced by her Irish background.
The paragraph in question discussed liberal politicians in Ireland and cited Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese as examples before looking at the views of President Higgins.
Monagan said he had been under deadline pressure when he wrote the article.
“I made the worst error in my life as a journalist, am so regretful. Love Ireland, messed up in a hurry not to be excused,” he tweeted.
US-born Monagan is a freelance writer who has been living in Ireland for 13 years and has written two books about his experiences in the country.
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