A Reflection for Culture Night 2025
Áras an Uachtaráin, 19 September 2025
Agus muid bailithe le chéile chun Chultúir a cheiliúradh anocht, táimid ag tabhairt aithint ar an gcumhacht agus an spioradálacht d’ealaín agus cultúr inár saolta ar fad, an tsaoirse atá ag baint leis mar acmhainn do chách, nascaithe le chéile, le nádúr agus ceangailte leo siúd a roinneann muid ár ndomhain, atá i mbaol, leo.
Our artistic culture remains an essential cornerstone of a healthy, inclusive and flourishing contemporary society. The arts are a source of learning, life-enhancing, providing the threads for a valuable critiquing of our history. The arts reveal to us, in so many ways, the depths of ourselves, expressed, suppressed and repressed, the fragility of life and the human condition, and our connection with the world we inhabit.
Culture, in all its glorious expressions, plays a critical role at the heart of the Irish nation. Beyond being a mirror, our culture reflects who we are, a compass guiding who we might become. Culture nurtures community, strengthens democracy, and sustains the imagination necessary for shaping our shared future.
Our artistic endeavours constitute a shared social good, a source of transcendence, a tool for inclusion and community, and a fundamental part of our national identity.
When we engage with the arts and culture, a strange and magical alchemy takes place, one that can contribute to our wellbeing, may promote intergenerational connection, and the articulation of rights, all of which underscores the need for continued support and celebration of the artists who perform and make cultural experiences.
The arts are a crucial vehicle for active citizen participation, engagement and inclusion. It is never acceptable, therefore, that the arts be treated as something peripheral or residual. The arts are foundational for our lives together.
We have so much to celebrate when we reflect on the richness of Ireland’s cultural heritage. We should take great pride in Ireland’s culture, and become activists, performers who have confidence in our personal capacity for creativity and cultural exchange.
I would like to take this opportunity, as I near the end of my time as President of Ireland, to encourage people of all ages to become involved, to embrace their creativity, exercise their imagination, and give it artistic expression.
Casann an roth. The wheel always turns.
Is ceart go mbéadh muinín againn i dtraidisiúin, í ngach atá cruthaithe ag na glúnta atá imithe romhainn – álainn, lochtach, agus lán le gealltanas – agus cuireann muid an muinín céanna sa chéad glúin eile de chleachtóirí cultúrtha agus healaíontóirí atá le teacht. Seolann muid uilig dea-ghuíthe chucu agus gach beannacht don todhchaí, agus iad, ag leanúint a n-aisling.
Beir beannacht agus bain taitneamh as an oíche ceiliurach seo.