President Catherine Connolly has ended her first official visit to Britain in Leeds, a city where she spent time as a student.
At the Leeds Irish Centre, she praised the work of Irish nurses in the UK's National Health Service (NHS), particularly in its early years.
Earlier, President Connolly visited the University of Leeds, where she had studied for two years to obtain a Masters in Clinical Psychology.
It was the first time that she had returned since graduating in 1981.
The following year, a freshman named Keir Starmer enrolled in the university's law school.
He is the first British prime minister to graduate from Leeds and one of a number of alumni on large banners in the Parkinson Building, where President Connolly met current undergraduates from Ireland.
Archivists showed her a number of Irish-connected artefacts from the university’s collections, including a rare first edition of Dracula.
The book was written by Bram Stoker and Leeds holds a big collection of his letters from his time as a theatre manager.
President Connolly also viewed miniature books made by the Bronte sisters, whose father came from Co Down, and an early edition of Station Island by Seamus Heaney, annotated and changed by the author.
In her speech at the Leeds Irish Centre, she spoke of the contribution that Irish emigrants had made to Britain, especially women, particularly those who had worked in the NHS.
Among a range of jobs and professions, many of these women became doctors and nurses.
By the 1960s, roughly 30,000 Irish-born nurses were working in the NHS - one in eight of the entire nursing workforce.
Members of the community who met President Connolly said that visits such as this mean a lot.
Yvonne Byrne, whose 100-year-old mother Vera received a card from Áras an Uachtaráin on her birthday earlier this year, said: "It's very nice that she came here today.
"We have a very active Irish community in Leeds, and it's really, really nice that that's recognised, especially for the second-generation Irish.
"I think it's lovely that is recognised, particularly on behalf of our parents, who have been a keystone in establishing the Irish Centre, and keeping it going over the years."
John Hourigan, from Leeds, said: "I was fortunate to be here for Mary Robinson, Mary McAleese, and now President Connolly.
"It's just phenomenal for what it brings to the Irish community in Leeds, and it shows that the support from Ireland is there, and it's not that we're just lone rangers paddling our own canoe.
"We're getting the support, and as I said to the President, I thanked her for coming to Leeds, because it'll mean so much for the Irish Centre."
President Connolly admitted that during her student years she had not visited the Leeds Irish Centre, which was founded in 1971, but said she was glad that she had done so now.
