President congratulates Trump on election victory

President Michael D Higgins has written to Donald Trump to congratulate him on his election as US President.

President Higgins highlighted the "valued relationship" between Ireland and the United States, which he says, are celebrating 100 years of diplomacy this year.

Mr Higgins said 32 million people, or one in ten people living in the US today, can trace their heritage "back to our small island."

"These valued relationships are manifested both in the breadth and depth of our connections on so many levels, as well as in our extensive economic and cultural partnerships," he says.

"We will continue to build our relationship on the solid and mutually beneficial ground that our people have nurtured for the last hundred years," he writes.

"In the political sphere, the enduring, bipartisan commitment of the United States to peace on the island of Ireland played a key role in delivering the Good Friday Agreement."

President Higgins also highlights what he says are "global concerns" that must be addressed, including food security, climate change and multiple international conflicts.

"I believe that achieving peace, ending global hunger, and having an effective multilateralism are al central challenges of our time, the solutions for which are so vital now and to which Ireland is committed," he says.

Earlier this week, Taoiseach Simon Harris also congratulated Mr Trump on his election success.