Remarks at a Reception to Celebrate Community
Áras an Uachtaráin, Dublin, 27th October 2011
Dia dhíbh a chairde, I would like to thank you all for coming to the Aras today - céad míle fáilte go gach duine atá anseo.
You’re all especially welcome here because this afternoon is all about honouring that great community spirit for which we here in Ireland have always been known. Whether you are here as part of a network, a society, a charity or a voluntary group you are living testimony to the saying that “There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew.” In fact you really do embody the true meaning of the word ‘community’ which translates as ‘com’ meaning ‘together’ and ’munus’ meaning ‘obligation’. In other words, a mutual obligation that binds us to our neighbours – both immediate and distant – through common humanity and reciprocal solidarity.
We all know that life in Ireland has changed significantly in recent decades. Small corner shops have given way to large supermarkets, village streets have been replaced by busy shopping centres, longer working hours and heavier commutes have become the norm and technological advancement has given us the ability to interact with people all over the world without even leaving our own sitting room. Some of that change has been essential as Ireland plays its part in a global economy and some of it has indeed been life enhancing. But much of it has meant that playing a full part in our communities must now be a conscious effort, a decision to get up, go out and make a difference.
All of you are here today because you know that a community can only thrive if you do make that effort, get involved, get to know your neighbours, find out what’s going on in your villages, towns and large housing estates. We don’t necessarily want to return to a time when no one’s business was their own, and everybody knew absolutely everything about everyone else. But neither do we want to become a diminished society and country, one where some of our citizens live in a shadowed world of loneliness, isolation, poverty or exclusion, a world where they have no one to turn to because they are simply ‘not anyone else’s problem’.
It is because of people like you, people who make other people your problem and take the time to go out into your communities despite the rigours of modern life that we can still take pride in living in a society where people do take responsibility for one another, do still knock on their neighbours’ doors, listen to their problems, offer practical assistance and advice, and do not confuse involvement and interest with inappropriate or ill-intended ‘nosiness’ or ‘interference’.
I want to thank you all for the contribution you make to your communities, some of you in big ways, some of you in small ways but all of you giving such a lift to our society by your kindness, generosity and genuine concern for others. It has been one of the real privileges of my time as President to meet so many people like you. Witnessing at first hand the wonderful work you do and the genuine difference you make to your communities is always an uplifting and very reassuring experience.
I know many of you are here with groups of familiar friends but please take the opportunity to get to know the people around you - you know better than anybody the only way to create a community out of a bunch of strangers is to say hello to a newcomer, and perhaps find a new friend.
Thank you all once again for coming here today. Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.