REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A RECEPTION AT ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN FOR SENIOR CITIZENS
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A RECEPTION AT ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN FOR SENIOR CITIZENS, TUESDAY, 3rd MAY 2005
Cuireann sé áthas mór orm agus ar mo fhear chéile, Máirtin, fáilte a chur romhaimh go leir chuig Áras an Uachtaráin inniu.
Martin and I would like to extend a warm and heartfelt ‘céad míle fáilte’ to each of you to Áras an Uachtaráin this afternoon. I hope you will relax and enjoy this afternoon and will leave with some fond memories of your visit to the Áras.
I know that many of you have traveled long distances to come here today and I was wondering if many of you remember from school, the poem by Longfellow, ‘The Song of Hiawatha’ where it says
“Beautiful is the sun, O strangers,
When you come so far to see us!”
Well I am glad the sun shone for us all today, (if it does, President) and I hope that we will not be strangers before the afternoon is over.
In coming here today, you are now part of history – the unfolding story of this great house – a place that has seen so much change as the events of our island’s history have ebbed and flowed over the last several centuries.
Today is an opportunity for me to acknowledge and to thank all of you and, indeed, to thank all our senior citizens for your important but all too rarely recognised contribution to building, shaping and nurturing the Ireland that is today – an Ireland that is confident and forward looking and hopeful perhaps more than any other time in its history.
We owe the freedoms and the prosperity we enjoy today to the sacrifices and commitment of our parents and grandparents. Most of them had very little but they gave their all. They worked and scrimped, they mended and made do, they did without themselves so that we could have a better life. Today, we celebrate the commitment, self-sacrifice and selfless struggle of the generations who ploughed and sowed by hand the fields that we now reap by machine. As the saying goes “those who drink the water should remember, with gratitude, those who dug the well”.
In his beautiful novel about the Korean War – entitled “I am the Clay”, the author Chaim Potok tells the touching story of an elderly couple, fleeing on foot for their lives across icy mountains. Their old handcart for bedding and bits of firewood is essentially their only hope for survival. They find an unconscious boy close to death and the old woman nurses him back to life against the old man’s fear that the boy will be a burden more than they can bear because he is weak and has to be carried. But the boy grows strong. Later the wheel falls off the cart. All three are in mortal danger because they cannot reach safety without it. The old man knows how to fix the wheel but is too weak. The young boy has no idea how to fix it but he has become strong. Together, old man and young boy fix the cart and the small party reaches safety together. On their own, none would have survived but with the wisdom of the old and the strength of the young, a formidable partnership changed all their lives, created new chances, fresh opportunities.
Their story is not so far from ours today. The truth is that in the wider community we need your wisdom, insight and energy to help shape a more humane, wiser and decent world.
The only agenda for this afternoon is to relax and enjoy the surroundings, the music and each other’s company - to create a pleasant memory and maybe make a new friend or two.
For your enjoyment this afternoon, we are about to hear the talented singing of Lindsey Dempsey, Ruth Cahill and Andrew Sinnott, their pianist, all from the Conservatory of Music and Drama. I would like to thank them as I would also like to thank the staff here at the Áras and everyone who have put a lot of effort into making the place look its best. I would also like to thank our friends from Civil Defence for their expert assistance.
Go raibh maith agaibh go léir.