Michael D Higgins removed his face covering for a number of “brief” photo opportunities in two bookshops last week, Aras an Uachtarain has confirmed.
The statement comes after the President was pictured without a mask in Galway in an apparent breach of Covid-19 rules.
Photos shared on social media showed Mr Higgins signing copies of his new book and speaking with staff in Charlie Byrne’s and Kennys Bookshop without a face covering.
It has been mandatory to wear a mask in shops since last August.
The requirement was introduced in regulations made under amendments to the Health Act that President Higgins himself signed into law in March last year.
Upon signing the Bill, he said: “These new health and social measures may be difficult for many but they affect us all and we are at a point now when a person’s actions have consequences not only for themselves but for all in society.
“Irresponsible individual action puts all at risk.”
In one image shared online Mr Higgins was the only one of 15 people in the photo without a face covering.
He was in Galway to sign copies of his new book, Reclaiming The European Street, which is a collection of his speeches on Europe since 2016.
All proceeds from sales are being donated to the Capuchin Day Centre in Dublin.
Aras an Uachtarain declined to say whether Mr Higgins breached public health regulations.
A spokesman added: “The President wore his mask throughout his visits in support of local bookstores and only took his mask off for a number of brief posed photographs for the shops’ archives. Social distancing was observed throughout.”
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