REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT THE FAREWELL CEREMONY FOR THE VOLVO OCEAN RACE, GALWAY
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT THE FAREWELL CEREMONY FOR THE VOLVO OCEAN RACE, GALWAY SATURDAY, 6TH JUNE, 2009
Dia dhíbh a dhaoine uaisle. Tá an-áthas orm bheith i bhur measc anseo ar an ócáid seo. Míle bhuíochas díbh as an gcuireadh agus an fáilte a thug sibh dom.
Good morning everyone and thank you for that warm Galway welcome. I know that same great Galway welcome greeted the gallant crews of the seven magnificent ocean-racing yachts which have created such excitement wherever they have gone. We were in Boston last week and their departure from Boston Harbour is still a huge topic of conversation. Now it is our turn to say a very reluctant farewell as they take their magic on to new shores. And they have certainly brought a very special set of memories to the West of Ireland.
We have a saying in the Irish language - an te a thabharas sceal chughat, tabharfaidh se dha sceal uait, (when you tell someone a story they’ll tell you two back) and we hope that as you leave your story with us you will take two more of ours with you to keep you company on the journey ahead. And what a journey you have undertaken; a 37,000 nautical miles race that started last October and that is far from finished yet. As we wish you farewell and Godspeed you should know that you have left behind an indelible mark and we have been greatly honoured to be your hosts.
We know what lies ahead for you is no gentle cruise but a bruising encounter with nature and with one another for you are after all competitors whose mighty skills are allied to an endurance and resilience that is inspirational.
As you sail out of Galway Bay, past its island sentinels and out again into the open ocean we wish you well on your journey, each boat and each crew of the Volvo Ocean Race; Ericsson 4 and Ericsson 3, Telefonica Blue and Telefonica Black, Puma Ocean Racing, Delta Lloyd and our own Green Dragon, you have all been magnificent. Our Sino-Irish vessel ‘Green Dragon’ has been a superb sailing ambassador for this country and an exemplar of our global partnerships and cooperation. It has provided a showcase for Irish culture throughout the race and has enabled us to offer the people of Spain, South Africa, China and Boston, a taste of our heritage, hospitality and our seafaring tradition. I thank all of those involved in this enterprise particularly Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland who have been major supporters and sponsors of the race.
We owe our thanks too to ‘Lets Do It Galway’, organisers of a terrific festival here in the city, the Ocean Youth Trust Charity and the HB Ocean Adventure Schools Programme, the hundreds of volunteers who happily undertook thousands of tasks, the people of Galway and the West for the warmth of their welcome and the millions of viewers worldwide who have followed the race on television.
The people of Ireland and the West especially are well versed in the joys and sorrows of arrivals and departures. It is with these mixed feelings that we say ‘Slán Abhaile’ to our racing visitors today as you set sail for Sweden along a course once followed by our Viking neighbours in their longships. They did not get the welcome you got but then their intentions were very different. May fair weather and kind winds carry you safely onwards to Martstrand, Stockholm and to St. Petersburg. Don’t forget to come back to us. God Speed. Enjoy the rest of your historic journey.
Go n-éirí go geal libh.