REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND, MARY MCALEESE AT THE IRISH COMMUNITY RECEPTION, CONRAD HOTEL
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND, MARY MCALEESE AT THE IRISH COMMUNITY RECEPTION, CONRAD HOTEL, BRUSSELS MONDAY, 19 MARCH
Dia dhíbh a chairde Gael. Tá an-áthas orainn bheith i bhur measc ar an ócáid stairiúil seo. Míle bhuíochas as an bhfáilte sin.
I’m delighted to be back in Brussels, and to have again the opportunity to meet and spend some time with members of the Irish Community and friends of Ireland here at the Conrad Hotel. I have many fond memories of my last reception here, also in the presence of many of the Irish community.
Together with my husband Martin, I thank our Ambassador Brian Nason, Geraldine, and the Embassy’s staff very sincerely for the effort they have put into making our short but memorable visit to Brussels so enjoyable and interesting.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As most of you know, I came to Brussels this morning to open the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the Irish College at Louvain, as well as the 400th anniversary of the Flight of the Earls.
Not of course that that period reflected the first interaction between us, for the first recorded cultural links between Ireland and Belgium date as far back as the great period of Irish missionary activity in the 7th century: St. Foalan in Fosse, St. Livinius in Gent, St. Dympna in Gheel and, the poet and monk, Sedulius Scottus, in Liege.
But it is with Leuven that we now associate Ireland’s strongest historical links with Belgium, as a haven for Irish exiles, a repository of Irish historical scholarship and as a champion of the Irish language.
As one of the most important centres of learning in Europe, then and now, Leuven provided a welcome, in 1601, for the expelled Franciscan friars. Under the patronage of King Phillip III of Spain, and sanction of Pope Paul V, the Franciscan community established St. Anthony’s College in 1607. Among its community were counted some of the most influential Irish men of learning at that time: Florence Conroy, Luke Wadding, and Micheál Ó Clérigh. St. Anthony’s established a reputation for scholarship and historical research and among its finest expression is of course that monumental Irish landmark publication the Annals of the Four Masters - the first assembled chronicle of early Irish history with its earliest entries dating from about 550 AD.
But the Franciscans married traditional learning and modern technologies. It was here, in Leuven, that the first font for the printing of Irish was developed - setting a standard for Irish printing for the next 350 years. The first dictionary in Irish was compiled here, and Irish grammar was rationalised and simplified. A printing press was installed in the monastery in 1611, and St. Anthony’s became an important centre for the production and distribution of religious literature in the Irish language.
If the past is a place of remarkable endeavour so too is the present for of course since 1983, with the generous co-operation of the Irish Franciscans, St Anthony’s now houses the Louvain Institute for Ireland in Europe, a physical and intellectual base for those engaging with the greatest human adventure in egalitarian democracy and partnership, the European Union. With the support of the authorities from North and South of the Border and the efforts of the Board of the Institute, the Institute continues in the 21st century the educational and research tradition associated with St. Anthony’s. This place has always been an Irish intellectual powerhouse and the tradition continues.
I am delighted to acknowledge the work of the UCD Micheál Ó Clérigh Institute-Franciscan Partnership which involves the transfer of historical archive documents from the Franciscan House of Studies to University College Dublin. UCD has been a driving intellectual force in Louvain 400 and the establishment of the Micheál Ó Clérigh summer school in Leuven this year. I know that will make the active Belgium chapter of UCD alumni proud. In fact many of Ireland’s universities, museums and educational institutions, (UCG, NUI Maynooth, Royal Irish Academy, National Museum) will celebrate the enormous achievements of the Franciscan brothers and it is fitting that Trinity College will contribute precious Irish manuscripts to the Genius of Europe, an exhibition to be held later in the year here in Belgium.
Louvain 400 is one part of a greater programme of commemorative events in this year of famous 400th anniversaries. An Post has issued special Flight of the Earls stamps. There are commemorative events and conferences North and South of the border in Ireland. BBC Northern Ireland have produced a television documentary series in both Irish and English. In a country where history is still a battlefield it is good to see that we are growing increasingly comfortable with our shared and even our divisive past, that we are moving beyond the dead hand of history into a confident future.
Ireland has always been fortunate in its friends among them our great friends here in Belgium. We are a fortunate generation to have shifted that friendship into a formidable contemporary partnership as colleagues around the Union table, as founder members of the Eurozone and as citizens of a common European homeland whose fortunes are inextricably entwined. We matter a lot to one another economically for Belgium was Ireland’s third largest trading partner in 2006, and Ireland was Belgium’s fourth largest. Total trade between us was worth €10.8 billion in the first 9 months of 2006 alone , with a healthy balance in Ireland’s favour! There are some 20 Belgian companies in Ireland employing more than 800 people and last year 100,000 Belgians paid us the compliment of visiting Ireland. As two small countries, with a traditional economic dependence on larger neighbours, we have each managed to diversify our markets in recent years, and to achieve significant and admirable levels of economic growth.
These connections of commerce are underpinned and enhanced by our mutual cultural curiosity and it is marvellous to see just how many active organisations in Belgium celebrate our unique Irish culture whether through music, dance, literature, drama and much more. The Irish Embassy in Brussels has been kept busy nurturing recent events like the James Joyce and Samuel Beckett exhibitions in Antwerp and Brussels, the Ostende Maritime Festival and the recent Celtic Tenors concert in Hoeliaart, to name a few. And of course Irish participation in the Europalia Festival later in 2007 and in 2008 will further heighten our cultural profile.
How do all these vibrant connections happen? How do they sustain? The answer is simple and the answer is in this room in the many Irish people who have made their homes in Belgium, the friends they have made for themselves and Ireland, the children Belgium and Ireland each share and take pride in, the human network which introduces Ireland to Belgium and Belgium to Ireland, ensuring we never are allowed to become strangers to one another, that we remain great friends. We thank all those unpaid but very effective ambassadors for their work! It matters greatly to Ireland and we do not take it for granted.
So can I thank the various Irish clubs and organisations here in Belgium - represented this evening by the Irish Institute for European Affairs, the Irish Club of Belgium, the Claddagh Toastmasters (the first bilingual toastmasters society in the world, I’m told!), the friends of Ireland from East - and West-Flanders, the Gaelic footballers, hurlers, and especially camogie players - who, I am told, played their first camogie match in Belgium, last year.
During the last Royal Belgian visit to Ireland, King Baudouin was persuaded to try his hand with a hurl and a sliothar. And if you pay a visit to the internet website of our national broadcaster, RTÉ, you can watch some marvellous TV footage of King Baudouin receiving expert instruction from none other than Taoiseach, Jack Lynch - a five-time All-Ireland Hurling Championship winner. I can’t pretend to have planned the same experience for His Majesty King Albert when he and Her Majesty Queen Paola visit Ireland in October but I know they will receive a huge welcome and they will know they are among old friends.
I wish each of you health, success and happiness in all you do and my renewed thanks to you for all you do to keep Irish-Belgian relationships flourishing.
Dank U well,
Merci beaucoup,
Thank you very much,
Gurb fada buan sibh 's go raibh míle maith agaibh.