Michael D Higgins cemented his place in the our hearts today by ensuring a crowd of children enjoyed 99s.

The president received a warm reception in Dublin this afternoon when he launched the Dún Laoghaire Harbour Bicentenary at Carlisle pier.

After making his speech and planting a time capsule President Higgins decided to help the large crowd cool down with a treat.

A spokeswoman from Teddys Ice Cream told Independent.ie: "As a part of the bicentenary celebrations of Dun Laoghaire pier, President Higgins gave a speech at the opening ceremony today.

"He announced that there was free Teddy's Ice Cream for all the kids involved courtesy of the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Board. "

It's safe to say that many social media users loved that our president was involved in the kind gesture.

Michael D Higgins just bought everyone in Dun Laoghaire a 99 in Teddy's pic.twitter.com/4nuScD8w3y — Bill Gleeson (@gleesonb) May 31, 2017

One man said on Twitter: "Michael D Higgins just bought everyone in Dun Laoghaire a 99 in Teddy's."

Another joked: "Michael D Higgins: How to president."

It was later clarified that President Higgins did not, in fact, buy ice-creams for the crowd.

Online Editors