REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A RECEPTION AT THE HUNGARIAN EMBASSY FOR THE HUNGARIAN COMMUNITY
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A RECEPTION AT THE HUNGARIAN EMBASSY FOR THE HUNGARIAN COMMUNITY IN IRELAND
Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Good Morning
I am grateful to Ambassador and Mrs Balassa for such a very warm welcome and to the Ambassador and staff here for this opportunity to meet some of Ireland’s Hungarian community.
Kösönöm Szépen
Thank you very much.
I know this year – the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Revolution holds a very special significance for all of you and indeed for Europe and it is wonderful to think that after so much suffering we meet as citizens of free nations who are also partners in the European Union.
Six years ago as Hungary was preparing for Union membership I made the first State visit by an Irish President to your country. Everywhere we went whether Budapest, Herend or the lovely cathedral city of Gyor we were made to feel as if we were among longstanding friends and I hope your former President felt the same when Dr. Mádl and Mrs Mádl made a return State Visit to Ireland in February last year.
I can still remember as a child kneeling to pray for Hungary at my mother’s insistence, during those dark days fifty years ago and it will be a privilege to be in Budapest on October 22nd to take part in the commemoration ceremonies at the invitation of the President and the Prime Minister of Hungary. Though the revolution was brutally crushed by military might, it is clear that the spirit which inspired the men and women of 1956 lived on in the hearts and minds of the Hungarian people and eventually triumphed in the political transformation of Hungary in 1989/1990 when the restoration of sovereignty and parliamentary democracy to Hungary was finally achieved. All Europe owes a great deal to the courageous men and women of 1956 and those who kept their values in their hearts.
In the aftermath of the repression in 1956, Ireland, as part of the international response to those events, welcomed a group of 530 fleeing Hungarians. While many of the Hungarians left Ireland in the subsequent years, others stayed and brought a new vibrancy to the communities they settled in.
I hope to take a closer look at the exhibition depicting the events of 50 years ago, which the Embassy has thoughtfully put on display today.
Hungary has now taken its place in the international community of nations as a respected sovereign power. Since that memorable day in Dublin on May 1st 2004, when your country became a Member State of the European Union you have become an important economic and political partner for Ireland and now a new generation of Hungarians come to Ireland in search of opportunity.
Our two nations have recently seen a flourishing of exchanges – in so many areas including trade, investment, music, tourism and education. Both Aer Lingus and Malév now provide services between our two countries. It has truly never been easier to meet one another.
I am delighted, in particular, that in November last year, an Irish-Hungarian Business Circle was officially launched in Budapest at a reception attended both by the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern and by the Hungarian Prime Minister, Ferenc Gyurcsány. Their presence at the launch of the business circle is testament to the importance attached to building up commercial relations between our two countries.
The Hungarian community living in Ireland has a special role to play in building up ties between Ireland and Hungary within Ireland itself. I know you have put great effort into this, and I recall especially occasions this year in which you have proudly marked the 125th anniversary of the composer Béla Bartók’s birth. Through the lives you live here you bring Hungary, her story and her spirit right into the mainstream of Irish life. You contribute to Ireland’s growing economic and cultural strength, its diversity and the energy of its community life. I know the emigrant always carries a heart that aches for home and that Hungary is your first and enduring love, but I hope that you are happy in Ireland and feel welcomed. We are grateful to have you here and I wish each of you success.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.
Kösonöm Szépen.
Thank you very much.