Remarks By President McAleese at the Multiple Sclerosis Ireland National Convention and Research Sym
Dublin, Saturday, 10th September, 2011
Dia dhíbh go léir inniu. Tá an-áthas orm bheith anseo libh ar an ócáid speisialta seo. Míle bhuíochas díbh as an gcuireadh agus an fáilte a thug sibh dom.
As patron of Multiple Sclerosis Ireland it is a delight to be here for the official launch of this year’s convention and most importantly to celebrate with you your 50th anniversary. I thank Anne Winslow, your Chief Executive and Allen O’Connor your Chairman, for inviting. I also thank each one of you for being here and for making the tackling of the many problems and issues associated with Multiple Sclerosis your own personal mission.
One man whose mission in this field has been recognised recently is Allen O’Connor. Allen is the 2011 winner of the James D. Wolfensohn Award for International Person with MS. This biennial award, presented by the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation, recognises the uniquely valuable contribution people with MS make to the worldwide fight against MS. So from all of us - congratulations Allen and well done. Needless to say we are very proud of your achievement.
There are two distinct elements to this year’s national convention. The first is a first for Ireland with yesterday’s research symposium on multiple sclerosis. It is in research that so many of those with MS place there trust for that is where the hope comes from for increasingly effective drug therapies, as well as for new coping, lifestyle and rehabilitation strategies.
Today the focus is on those who have been diagnosed with MS and their families. Their range of preoccupations are wide - everything from diet to relationships, to entitlements and resources. Thankfully, all your deliberations will be available to a much wider audience through the MS website so that this Convention is really part of a much broader and deeper ongoing public discussion.
That discussion was initiated fifty years ago when the late Dr Brian Pringle, a Dublin-based GP with a special interest in Multiple Sclerosis, called an open meeting that led to the establishment of The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Ireland on the 8th June 1961. Dr. Pringle went on to play a leading role in the formation of the International Federation of MS Societies, which today is the standard bearer for MS Societies across the world. His commitment opened up to a wider audience the far-reaching adverse consequences for those living with a diagnosis of MS.
Today MS Ireland has developed into an important champion and advocate providing that vital combination of research, scientific enquiry, practical help, reassurance, solidarity, support and friendship. It is a place that includes people who can so easily experience isolation as an additional and unwelcome burden of chronic illness. MS Ireland forms a community of mutual care, empathy and specialist understanding. It also forms an invaluable repository of knowledge, information and experience that helps us understand this disease more comprehensively and tackle it more intuitively.
From small beginnings there has grown a voluntary network of over forty branches covering the entire country. Your determination has seen the introduction of many new services; among them, community workers to support members and their families, and respite and rehabilitation facilities. The MS Care centre really does do what it says on the tin and, while no-one can live another’s life for them or endure what they endure, we can accompany them closely on life’s journey and help ease the burden. That is what MS Care does and it is what the Association exists to do.
Those who face the daily reality of MS know just how profoundly it changes a life and how frightening a canvas of potential disability it opens up. It is so important to be able to turn to an organisation that knows this disease well, understands its complex and sometimes capricious ways and its impact on individuals and families. It is essential that there is an organisation that can offer timely accessible help when and where it is needed whether it is a listening ear, practical advice, respite, or the hope that comes from knowing of the remarkable inroads being made through new drug therapies.
It is not an easy environment to commit to week in and week out for this is a relentless disease that can grind people down whether as sufferers or carers. Their voices telling of the lived realities they have to live with, and find the energy to cope with, are the central focus of today’s Convention. The alleviation of their suffering, the finding of solutions to their problems and preoccupations are the reason why you gather here and will keep on gathering and researching until MS is brought to heel.
Your determination is the momentum that provokes and promotes research, it is the dynamic that improves services and sensitivity to the needs of MS patients. Thank you for making this vital work your responsibility and your vocation. I hope you will leave this fiftieth anniversary celebration fired with a renewed enthusiasm that will make the years ahead a period of huge progress and hope.
In closing, I would like to say a special thank you to the current and past members of your board, management and staff for all that they do, to all who organised these two special days and to all those who participated in them.
Is iontach an obair ata ar siul agaibh. Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.
Thank you.