REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A RECEPTION FOR YOUTH GROUPS AT ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A RECEPTION FOR YOUTH GROUPS AT ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN, WEDNESDAY, 7 NOVEMBER, 2001
Is cúis mhór áthais dom fáilte a chur romhaibh go léir chuig Áras an Uachtaráin.
I am delighted to welcome each and every one of you, from all over Ireland, to Áras an Uachtaráin today. The house is ringing with that special vitality, curiosity and enthusiasm that each of you brings with you.
Here in this room today is a group of people who differ from each other in lots of ways but each of you shares a very valuable thing and that is a willingness to get involved - whether in a youth club, youth activities or a local group. And that in itself tells me something about each of you. It tells me that you have initiative, that you understand that community doesn’t happen by accident but by effort, that you have figured out that you can make a huge contribution to your own life and the lives of others by getting up, getting out and getting involved.
As any parent will tell you two words each of us hates to hear are “I’m bored.” But you don’t wait to be entertained, you don’t hang around passively waiting for others to bring life to your doorstep, you are not spectators at life, you are participants, you make things happen, you make your own choices. And every time you do, you make yourselves stronger, more resilient, more skilled and importantly more fulfilled.
These are the qualities that will stand to each one of you right throughout your lives, no matter what life has in store for you. Involvement in sport or a youth club or a community endeavour of any sort, gives you a chance to test yourself, to find out what you are made of. It gives you a chance to find out things about yourself you would never have known otherwise.
You find out you are good at a sport or that you make a good friend, a good organiser, a peace-maker, a joker who can lift other people’s spirits. You learn about other people, how to deal with a variety of personalities and temperaments, how to make friends, how to keep friends, how to make amends when things go wrong, how to work as a team, how to respect the talents other people have and to see how many different talents are needed to keep the world going. You will meet people who are better than you are at certain things and that is fine - celebrate their gifts, respect them, for you too have your very unique talents and gifts and knowing that they are respected rather than envied will bring a lot of peace of mind and encouragement.
You are lucky to be living in an Ireland renowned across the world for its economic success, a self-confident country, widely respected because its people are seen not only as hard-working and talented but also as fun loving and kind. But Ireland is still unfinished business. It needs caring people to keep working towards a peaceful and equal society where every child has a chance to shine. Strong individuals make strong communities and strong communities make a strong country. Strong individuals are people like you who develop and use their talents generously and well, in the service of others. Judging by the huge range of interests you represent from sports to community work to drama, arts and crafts, music……….. the list goes on, Ireland is set to be led by a very talented and dynamic bunch of future citizens whose hearts are in the right place.
All of us owe a big thank you in this the International Year of Volunteers to all of the volunteers, both here with us today and around the country, who devote so much of their time and energy to youth organisations. You deserve great credit for the investment you make in our society through the mobilisation and motivation of our young people. Many other only get to know their talents through your work and without your contribution life would be very, very drab indeed.
Your work literally has the capacity to change lives especially in the affirmation and support of those young people whose talents often get overlooked or neglected because of major problems - poverty, disability, illness, bereavement, bullying, difficult family circumstances of all sorts. A huge number of our young people have to face all sorts of crises and when they do you can make the difference between muddling through badly and surviving with strength and hope.
I also want to commend the National Youth Council of Ireland, Youthnet, and the South Eastern Education and Library Board’s Youth Service for the tremendous support they are providing to youth organisations, throughout Ireland.
Finally, a warm thank you to our M.C. today Paul Kennedy and to Mary Kelly the wonderful harpist who entertained us in the front hall, and here in this room the immensely talented West Dublin Youth Orchestra, My thanks also to Lulu McGann, our Civil Defence Officer. I hope that you will enjoy the afternoon, make a new friend or two and leave with fond memories of your visit.
Go n-éirí go geal libh agus go raibh míle maith agaibh.