REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE GALWAY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY INAUGURAL BUSINESS
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE GALWAY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY INAUGURAL BUSINESS AWARDS DINNER
Dia dhíbh a chairde. Tá an-áthas bheith anseo i bhur measc tráthnóna ar an ócáid speisialta seo.
Councillor Terry O’Flaherty, Mayor of Galway.
Dr Chris Coughlan, President of the Galway Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Ladies and gentlemen.
It is always a pleasure to visit the wonderful county and city of Galway and tonight it is especially so because we gather to acknowledge and celebrate the excellence and the achievements of Galway’s business community. These Inaugural Awards of Galway Chamber of Commerce and Industry are a well-deserved recognition of the pivotal role played by the business sector in making this city, this county and our country, strong, prosperous and successful as never before in our history.
Galway has it’s own intimate magic as a city, it’s own legendary beauty as a county. It’s a great place to live in, to work in, to study in, to shop in, to be a tourist in and while we in this generation like to think we put Ireland on the global map, the truth is that the fame of Galway was known even to the ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy and from as far back as the 14th Century, Galway has been a recognised centre of international trade and commerce. Something of that old confidence and style still inhabits this place though things have changed a lot since the 18th Century when I understand (from the Chamber’s own publication ‘Tribes to Tigers’) that it was not unusual to encounter "long snouted pigs in search of sustenance wandering in and out of the legs of passers-by, grunting in rage at any who challenged their right of way" That is one tradition we are happy to say has long gone but equally part of Galway’s unique character has been it’s fidelity to the many valuable traditions of it’s past, it’s enthusiasm for the arts, for culture, for music and dance. With great ease Galway has blended the essence of Irish tradition into a modern, vibrant city life marrying seamlessly the worlds of arts, culture, education, industry, commerce and tourism.
If there were ever any doubts about the West being awake - Galway put paid to them. This city and it’s hinterland have experienced dramatic growth in the last fifteen years - the population increasing at two and a half percent every year - five times the national average. In the world of business Galway has progressed phenomenally well with the city’s direct industrial employment doubling in the last seven years, city tourism numbers up to 1.5 million people per annum, and greatly expanded commercial services and retailing facilities in the city. That heady mix of pressures and challenges have been particularly well met here.
And what is particularly gratifying is that through the now well-developed diversity in businesses across industrial and commercial sectors a wide range of suitable job opportunities have been provided for school leavers and graduates from the National University of Ireland in Galway and the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology. Can there be any more important gift to a new generation than the opportunity to remain at home and make a decent living - an opportunity denied to so many in previous generations even in recent times. I was very struck by a statistic told to me last week by our Ambassador to Great Britain Dáithí O’Ceallaigh - that of those born in Ireland in 1935 less than half were still living in Ireland by 1970. Thank God those days are gone and thank God here in Galway we have so many people utterly committed to ensuring those grim days never return. Your entrepreneurial genius, your ability to spot and generate opportunities, your international outlook have ensured that high-added value jobs are available here in precision engineering, healthcare and the internationally traded services which are strong and growing indigenous sectors in Galway.
Galway Chamber of Commerce and Industry can be justly proud of it’s contribution to the city’s achievements, both in attracting foreign direct investment and developing the indigenous sector. It was a proud moment for me when I reminded an American audience a few months ago that Irish investors are now the ninth most important source of foreign investment in the United States and the fourth in Britain. These new stories which lie behind the new statistics are stories of the huge success and confidence of our own indigenous commercial and industrial sector - a sector created from virtually nothing in recent decades.
At the heart of each of the success stories we celebrate tonight are men and women who could have taken easier roads, could have had fewer worries, could have avoided risks, could have slept easier at night. But they chose the hard road of risk, of round the clock work and of faith in an idea and in our people.
Under their leadership this great city will undoubtedly continue to adapt, develop and prosper. Galway is not afraid of change for it’s roots are firm, it’s values rock solid and it’s self-belief based on proven ability. Your schools, university and institute of technology have unlocked the skill and imagination of your young people. Your business and commercial sector has harnessed that talent, bringing considerable benefits to the individual and to the broader society. Once our country was characterised by the expression the “ceann faoi” Tonight we celebrate those who brought us so dramatically from “ceann faoi “ to “can do”.
These awards will hopefully encourage and energise them for the journey ahead and I want to thank the Galway Chamber for creating these awards and giving us yet another example of why they earned the Q Mark from ‘Excellence in Ireland’.
My special thanks to Dr Chris Coughlan, your ‘other President’, for his kind invitation to me to be here this evening and to take part in this awards ceremony. May I wish continued success to all those who participated in the competition and congratulations to those who have emerged as winners on this occasion.
Gura fada buan sibh. Enjoy this lovely evening.
Go raibh maith agaibh.