REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A RECEPTION ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN THURSDAY, 9 JANUARY, 2003
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A RECEPTION ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN THURSDAY, 9 JANUARY, 2003
Is cúis mhór áthais dom fáilte a chur romhaibh go léir chuig Áras an Uachtaráin inniu.
I am delighted to welcome you all here today and to wish you and your families a very happy and peaceful New Year filled with every grace and blessing. For most people the Christmas and New Year festivities are over but here at the Áras we’re still in celebratory form, albeit that the decorations are down – if only the pine needles from the tree were gone too. Don’t they just get everywhere! And then there’s the New Year’s resolutions. As many whose only interaction with routine exercise is through the sports pages of the morning paper or as Louis MacNeice puts it
“as those who are not athletic at breakfast day by day employ and enjoy the sinews of others vicariously”.
We resurrect the exercise bike, join the gym, - well maybe pursuits not for me for a little while yet! The staff here thought they had an unprecedented constitutional crisis on their hands when they got the news of my latest upset on the ski slopes. That’s twice I’ve ended up in hospital around this time of the year through skiing. There is however, absolutely no truth in the rumour that at the recent Government meeting they decided that permission to leave the State will be granted to me provided I agree to fly, walk or drive - only. Martin on hearing this very kindly volunteered to buy me a new play-station with a ski simulator. The old crutches are great all the same and even if I couldn’t catch him they’re something to throw! Well what would you do if the people who were with you on a holiday, most of which you spent in hospital, kept telling everyone that it was the best Christmas of their lives? Keep telling him I am now armed and dangerous but a bit slow on the getaway.
Both Martin and I are delighted you could be here for our very first gathering of the New Year, and we hope you will relax and enjoy your visit to this beautiful and historic house, our home for more than the past five years. You’ve come from all parts of our island to be here today, North, South, East and West, people from all walks of life, all perspectives, all backgrounds and all under the one big welcoming roof. Many of you are strangers to each other right now but hopefully before the day is out, you will have built the easiest and most rewarding bridge in the world by reaching your hand out to a stranger, having a chat and making a friend.
A New Year is always a time for new starts and new resolutions, some easier to keep than others. I hope that this coming year will be a good one for you, your families and for all the people of this island. With the dawning of each new year we move further and further away from the old hatreds that poisoned the well of human kindness and decency that the Irish, from every tradition, are so highly regarded for – we have moved to a new era and while the work of peace-building is difficult it is our best guarantee of a decent future. It is a very sad thing when notions of right and wrong become so perverted that someone thinks it acceptable to plant bombs at school gates to greet little girls returning with stories of Santa. And it is a very distressing thing to see neighbours living side by side in fear and terror of one another in a country dominated by church spires, which speak of a commitment to the great commandment to love our neighbours as ourselves. They say ‘blessed be the peacemakers for they shall never be idle’ and it is very true. That work of building a peace is not just the business of politicians or church men and women, it is the work of all of us. The more people who commit to it the quicker we will feel the benefits and reap the rewards that come when people break down barriers, misconceptions, misapprehensions and work together in partnership, in friendship with each other to bring about a better future for the children of this island. There is no way back, can be no way back. George Bernard Shaw once said:
"The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that's the essence of inhumanity."
In this house we have been blessed by many visitors who in the past would have found it impossible to contemplate coming here because of history, politics or religion or all three. But they took a chance, they wanted to be part of the new mood of optimism that depends on stranger making friends with strangers and we have been rewarded by the blossoming of rich new friendships with people whose inner goodness and loveliness we might never otherwise have known. Not everyone has joined the journey to a better future yet but we pray that by our example here even the most doubting and frightened may begin to believe that friendship takes nothing from us but strengthens us against life’s ups and downs and gives us hope. We have come a long way – there is however a way yet to travel.
This house is a place for all traditions and cultures of this island to share. For one hundred and fifty years it served as the Viceregal Lodge, and was frequently visited by the British Monarchs and their families. Later it became the residence of each of the eight Presidents of Ireland. It is a home with many memories, a place that has something to offer each of the different strands of historical perspective and identity. You will find many of its stories in the Visitor Centre - just downstairs - and like strands in a rope those stories have shaped and been shaped by each other. I hope that you will take the time to visit it later on and that no matter what your take on history, politics, religion, you will find that here you can be comfortable and that your story matters.
I would like to thank our marvellous entertainers who have helped make today a success - harpist, Orla Fallon who welcomed you in the Front Hall with her beautiful playing; and here in this room we have the very talented string quartet Teadaí. My thanks also to John Gold, the Civil Defence Officer on duty for his expert assistance. And last but not least, Eugene Downes our MC today.
Martin and I are meeting many of you for the first time today and we hope that you will enjoy the afternoon and leave with many pleasant memories.
Go raibh maith agaibh.