REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT LUNCH HOSTED BY THE MAYOR OF PLOVDIV, BULGARIA
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT LUNCH HOSTED BY THE MAYOR OF PLOVDIV, BULGARIA FRIDAY, 27 MARCH, 2009
Господин Кмете, дами и господа, приятели
Mr Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen, friends.
Thank you very much Mr Mayor for your kind words, and for the very warm welcome which you have extended to Martin and I in Plovdiv. In Irish we use an expression when welcoming a favoured guest, Céad Míle Fáilte, which translates as ‘a hundred thousand welcomes’. May I say that here today I feel that I have received at least as many welcomes and more here.
As a first time visitor to Bulgaria it has been a very special privilege to come to this city that so richly symbolises Bulgaria’s history and cultural heritage and where one can access so easily all the layers of civilisation that have contributed to the creation of modern Bulgaria, from Thracian times to the National Revival period.
I was deeply moved today by my visit to Bachkovo this morning, its beauty and its spirituality reminded me that both Bulgaria and Ireland have deep Christian roots and great monastic traditions of faith and scholarship which have shaped both our histories and our national identities.
I had the opportunity today to visit the Old Town of Plovdiv but I know that Plovdiv is also a modern dynamic city that plays host to a world-famous international fair and also plays a vital role in the Bulgarian economy. It’s a city which Irish tourists and business investors would do well to explore, for it is a city of beauty and of opportunity.
Mr Mayor, we are so fortunate that we meet at a time in our histories when Ireland and Bulgaria, once separated by both geography and history, are united in membership of the European Union. Now we have to build the friendships and the partnerships which will help us build our shared future. Getting to know each other’s story and place, music and dance, history and heritage, enriches us as individuals and builds bridges of mutuality which are strong and enduring. While my visit to Plovdiv has been short, it has been memorable and long enough to make the kind of friends and see the kind of places we would like to encounter again.
Mr Mayor, I wish you every success in your work in leading the development of this great city and in improving the lives of all its citizens. I thank you most sincerely for making us so much at home and I thank President Parvanov, the members of the government, the security and protocol and hotel staff and all those whom we have met on this first visit. The memory of such a genuine welcome and such a lovely country will surely entice us back again, to join the 65,000 Irish who holiday here each year!
Наздраве! Your health! Sláinte!