REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE IRISH TIMES AND MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE INAUGURAL IRISH TIMES AND MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD, MANSION HOUSE
Dia dhíbh a cháirde. Is sona liom bheith i bhur measc ar an ócáid fíor-thábhachtach seo.
Ladies and gentleman, distinguished guests.
I am delighted to be here today in the beautiful surroundings of the Mansion House for the Irish Times and Mitsubishi Electric Sportswoman of the Year Awards. I would like to thank Fergus Madigan of Mitsubishi Electric Ireland for his kind invitation to me to be here to share in this important acknowledgment and celebration of Irish women’s sporting achievements, the first award of its kind specifically highlighting the success of Irish women in sport.
There is no easy way to sporting excellence of the type exemplified by each of our nominees. There is only the hard road. Behind the glory days, when the proud and precious memories are created, there are days that test and build character as much as they build fitness, skill and endurance. There are softer roads to take but none of them lead to what sport brings. The payback for the effort is not always in awards or nominations, in wins or prizes, great though it is to have them. The payback is often in the simple human things like the friendships formed, the fun, the loyalty to team and to club, county, country - the commitment, the discipline, the exhilaration of being the best, the humbling acceptance of losing, the thrill of giving so much joy to spectators, the determination to defeat the odds, learning to live with the capriciousness of luck and the uncertainty of outcome. There are days when it all goes right and days when it goes all wrong. There are arguments and analyses enough to fill a lifetime and in Ireland we have filled a lot of lifetimes with our national passion for sport.
Each generation has need of its own heroines and its own chapter of sports legends. Today’s nominees are the people who give inspiration and encouragement as they go about the business of creating this generation’s own sporting story. My own two sports were badminton and camogie, neither of which I was particularly good at but I remember still the awesome pride generated by that great Antrim Camogie team of the 1960s and how their national success gave young women of my generation the courage to aim high in all spheres of life. As Head of State, I don’t enjoy quite the level of freedom of expression I used to as a private citizen on sporting occasions but watch out or better still turn the cameras off the day an Antrim team lines out in Croke Park.
Women’s enthusiasm for sports has never been in doubt but full and fair recognition of their worth has been slower to materialise. It is heartening to see that changing and, though there is a long way yet to go, these awards are a terrific vindication of the work done week in and week out to promote women in sport, by an army of athletes, coaches, sponsors, volunteers, clubs, organisations and schools. As a mother of two daughters immersed for years now in sport, I gratefully acknowledge the massive debt we parents owe to the many unselfish people who create sporting opportunities for our children and whose only reward is in their participation.
I thank Mitsubishi Electric and the Irish Times for creating The Sportswoman of the Year Award. It is a considerable step forward in bringing women’s athletic achievements to the widest audience. It will deepen and widen public appreciation of Irish sportswomen and challenge the next generation to get ready to make their mark on the world of sport. A special word of thanks to the people with that most thankless of jobs - nearly as thankless as being a referee – the four judges who had the difficult task of selecting today’s overall winner.
I congratulate the eleven monthly award winners who are also the nominees for the overall Sportswoman of the Year award. Each one of you makes us proud. Comhghairdeas libh go léir.
Go n-éirí go geal libh. Go raibh maith agaibh.