BRIEF REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE ON MEETING MEMBERS OF COMHAIRLE NA MUMHAN
BRIEF REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE ON MEETING MEMBERS OF COMHAIRLE NA MUMHAN
Tá gliondar orm bheith anseo libh inniu, agus tá me buíoch do Charles Moore as an chuireadh a thug sé dom.
- I am delighted to have the pleasure of meeting all of you, the members of Comhairle na Mumhan, here today.
- I would like to warmly commend all of you on your hard work and commitment - not just in organising the forthcoming Oireachtas Rince na Mumhan in November –but on your dedication down through the years in fostering a love of Irish dancing among our young people. You have given them a great gift, an appreciation of an important part of our unique Irish heritage, which I am sure will remain with them through life. We have all taken enormous pride in the way that gift of dance has flowered in this generation and spread the name and culture of Ireland across the globe – creating a new profession of Irish dancers, a new art form out of an ancient tradition.
- I hope you will pass on my very best wishes to all of the girls and boys who will be participating in Oireachtas na Mumhan. I wish each of them the best of luck. Of course, they can’t all go forward to the next stage, but reaching the Munster finals is in itself a great honour and a tribute to their talent and skill. I have no doubt that those who go on to represent Munster in next year’s international Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne will do their province proud.
- I am especially delighted that this Oireachtas na Cruinne is to be held in my native town of Belfast. I hope to brush up on my own Irish dancing skills during the coming week in Donegal, where I’ll be attending an Irish College. But I fear that even if my age didn’t disqualify me, my skills wouldn’t be up to the standards of the young dancers.
- Congratulations once again on your fine work.
- Go n-eirí go geal libh.