REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE STATE DINNER IN HONOUR OF TM THE KING AND QUEEN OF NORWAY
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE STATE DINNER IN HONOUR OF THEIR MAJESTIES THE KING AND QUEEN OF NORWAY DUBLIN CASTLE
Your Majesties,
Members of the Norwegian delegation, distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my great pleasure on your visit to Ireland to wish you a heartfelt Céad Mile Fáilte, one hundred thousand welcomes or, as you say in Norwegian, jeg oensker dere hundre tusen ganger velkommen!
Your Majesties,
By sailing into Dublin Bay this morning, you have dramatically stirred our imaginations and our famous long Irish memories as we contemplate the parallels with the arrival of your Viking predecessors, who sailed up the Liffey and established the town of Dublin over one thousand years ago. Dublin, or Dyfflin in Old Norse, is reputed to be the oldest of the capital cities founded by the Vikings and tonight we are meeting on what is the probable site of the 10th century palace of the Viking King of Dublin. So here is a place which symbolises in a very unique way the fascinating common history and heritage we share.
The traffic between us was two-way, for history records an Irish-Norse King of Norway in the 12th century, Harald Gille, whose full name was possibly Giolla Iosa, which means servant of Jesus. According to the author of the Sagas, Snorre, Harald spoke Irish more fluently than he spoke Norwegian. I confess that I have a personal interest in him, as it seems he shares my name in Irish, Mac Ghiolla Iosa.
Your Majesties
Your visit this week provides us with a welcome opportunity to celebrate both our colourful, shared heritage and our excellent contemporary bilateral relations. Today we can marvel at the creative impact when our two peoples encountered one another during those three hundred years of the Viking period. We fought, we formed alliances, inter-married and learned much from one another.
Aside from their reputation as warriors the Vikings were great traders and did much to develop commerce in medieval Ireland, trading Irish produce throughout Europe. They brought and taught their skills and trades leaving an imprint still visible today, for many of the words in the Irish language that related to boats and shipping stem from Old Norse and a strong Norse influence has also been noted on what became known as hiberno-romanesque art and architecture.
The Irish, in turn, made their contribution to Norway. Even before Norway became officially Christian, there were earlier pockets of Christians in Norway, mostly the Irish wives and children of Viking warriors who accompanied them on their return to Norway. It is fitting, therefore, that the legend of St. Sunniva, the 10th century Irish princess who became the patron saint of Western Norway, should form part of this web that entwines our stories.
In the more recent past, the great Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, whose centenary we are marking this year, exercised a strong influence on the major Irish writers and playwrights of the early 20th century, not least on James Joyce, with whom he corresponded.
In the same period, Norwegian scholars played a role in the development of the Irish language and literature, and in the collection of Irish folklore. Foremost among these was Carl J.S. Marstrander, Professor of Celtic Languages at Oslo University, who was the first foreign scholar to recognise the value of the language spoken by native Irish speakers of the Blasket islands.
Today, we are glad to say, historians, archaeologists and etymologists from our two countries continue to cooperate in deciphering and revealing our mutual heritage.
The relationship between Ireland and Norway has changed quite radically since the arrival of those first Norwegian ships. Today, we are bound by links of friendship, common values and interests. We enjoy very close cooperation in many fields, political, economic and cultural. As two European coastal nations, proud of our independence and of our cultural heritage, we are both contributing in our respective ways to the development of a more prosperous, peaceful and stable world.
In the international arena, Ireland and Norway are both active in promoting peace, democracy, human rights and development. To a very high degree, our priorities and our approaches in these matters coincide very closely and give rise to many opportunities for joint efforts, especially in the United Nations framework. I wish to acknowledge here the sterling service to UN peace-keeping and conflict resolution activities undertaken by the armed forces, police and civilians from both our countries.
The economic development of our two countries in recent decades offers many similarities. Both of us have dynamic economies. We have both enjoyed levels of growth that have brought our citizens unprecedented degrees of prosperity. Our respective economic achievements present new opportunities for closer relations in the commercial sphere and we look forward to these being developed even further to both our countries’ benefit. Today Ireland has one of the world’s most open trading economies - surely an accolade our Viking ancestors would be proud of.
Research and development is an area of particular economic importance to both countries. Much Irish research is done in collaboration with other countries, including Norway. The ongoing collaboration in scientific research between our experts is being highlighted by the seminar at UCD and the conference at the National Maritime College in Cork, taking place during your visit.
Ireland has been proud to host the many young Norwegians who come to Ireland to pursue university studies here, in particular your medical students who have graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons for almost 50 years now, since 1958. The social and professional contacts established during their studies have helped create an important network of research collaboration between our countries in the medical field and of course many strong, longstanding friendships.
Your Majesties
That first boatful of Vikings did not expect a warm welcome and predictably didn’t get one. Friendship with the natives took some time to evolve. We, however, live in much happier times and we welcome you both warmly as old friends. May your visit here be a joyful one and may it deepen the centuries old relationship between Ireland and Norway.
I now invite you, distinguished guests, to stand and join me in a toast;
- To the health and happiness of Your Majesties
- To peace and prosperity for the people of Norway
- And to continued friendship between the peoples of Ireland and Norway
Skål!