Remarks by President McAleese at the 2007 Gaisce PALs Civic Merit Awards Dublin Castle
Remarks by President McAleese at the 2007 Gaisce PALs Civic Merit Awards Dublin Castle Monday, 24 September 2007
Dia dhíbh a chairde. Tá an-áthas orm bheith i bhur measc anseo ar an ócáid speisialta seo.
I have stood on this platform many times presenting gold awards to the most remarkable young citizens of Ireland. Each of them has a story to tell of their journey to gold - a story of endurance, perseverance, imagination, character and courage, a story of self-revelation and self-development. They make us proud over and over again but behind each and every one of them there is another story and that is of the role played in their success by the President’s Award Leaders. On days when bronze, silver and gold are awarded, the PALs stand smiling in the photographs, their sole reward the joy of seeing the achievements of the awardees.
These are men and women with busy lives, with jobs to do and families to run but they are also people with a profound sense of civic duty, people who want Ireland’s future to be the best it can be and who know investment in our young people is the key to realising that ambition. So for no pay, no recognition and no guarantee of thanks they give their time, their talent, their energy and with those essential tools, that building block, the President’s Award is able to flourish.
I cannot overstate my personal appreciation of the important contribution that you make to the lives of young people, our communities and our society. You strengthen all of them from within, building up our moral fibre, our spirit of adventure, our love of life, our sense of responsibility for ourselves and for others. That commitment deserves a more formal recognition and that is why we developed these Civic Merit Awards to acknowledge, encourage and say thank you to those who have stayed the PALs course for at least five years.
You have each probably been on this platform many times, standing to the side in quiet pride as your charges received gold. Today each of you is centre stage as we take rightful pride in your contribution to the vitality of our nation.
PALs are supported by a first-class professional team led by Chief Executive, Barney Callaghan and a hugely energetic Council whose distinguished members have given wise and inspiring guidance under the formidable chairmanship of Dr Laurence Crowley. The President’s Award has a vital life-source in terms of the many people and institutions which fund it, sponsor it and help it in a wide variety of ways. Once again I offer special thanks to Paschal Taggart whose fundraising efforts through the dog-racing community this year raised over one hundred thousand euro. Gaisce has very good friends and among them are our colleagues in the Duke of Edinburgh Award in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, with whom we enjoy an exemplary collegial relationship that in itself showcases the benefits of respectful and generous collaboration.
The values of Gaisce imbue the experience of Gaisce. Those values are rooted in the lives of those we honour today—the PALs who live to serve, whose service enriches a much wider audience than the young people they help to Gold and whose voluntary work lifts our hearts, lifts our game as a people.
Comhghairdeas libh arís agus míle buíochas.