Irish president Michael Higgins met the outgoing Israeli Ambassador in Dublin on Wednesday, after complaints that he had failed to invite the envoy sooner for a valedictory reception.

Mr Higgins invited Boaz Modai to his home following uproar from the Israeli Embassy and the lobby group Irish for Israel.

The group claimed that the president had not previously done so because of "animosity to Israel" and called on supporters to phone and email Mr Higgins' office to urge him to extend an invitation.

It is customary for ambassadors to have a farewell courtesy meeting with a head of state before leaving their post.

In a statement Irish for Israel claimed: "Michael Higgins is supposed to leave his personal political opinion at the door. The role of the president is to be non-political."

Mr Higgins' office initially responded by saying it had not received a request for a meeting. But when the embassy re-iterated concerns, the president's representatives responded with the invitation for Mr Modai to visit him on Wednesday.

The session was said to be "polite and cordial".

Mr Higgins has previously come under fire for his anti-Israel stance. He is a supporter of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign and, in 2004, paid tribute to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat following his death.