REMARKS BY MARY McALEESE, PRESIDENT OF IRELAND, AT THE IRISH EMBASSY, LONDON
REMARKS BY MARY McALEESE, PRESIDENT OF IRELAND, AT THE IRISH EMBASSY, LONDON TO MARK THE OPENING OF THE BECKETT FESTIVAL
A airí, a ambasadóirí agus a aíonna uaisle.
Tá lúcháir orm bheith anseo libh inniu. Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a chur in iúl don Ambasadóir Barrington agus a bhean chéile Clare a d'eagraigh an ócáid álainn seo agus a thug seans dúinn teacht le chéile chun cultúr na hÉireann a cheiliúradh anseo sa Bhreatain.
Ministers, Ambassador, Distinguished Guests.
I am really delighted to have this opportunity to join you here today, as we look forward to the opening of the Beckett Festival. It is an occasion for celebrating together the dramatic work of one of Ireland’s – indeed one of this century’s - greatest writers. This is also, I believe, the first time that all of Beckett’s dramatic work will have been staged here in Britain. It is therefore all the more appropriate that this canon of works should be presented by the Gate, one of Ireland’s greatest theatres, here in London, one of the world’s great centres of drama.
Beckett is in many ways a contradictory figure. His preoccupation with words and language betrays a very Irish obsession. He can claim a place in the great pantheon of Irish protestant writers produced by Trinity College Dublin: Berkeley, Goldsmith, Swift, Burke, Lecky, Wilde and Synge. Yet he turned his back firmly on the nationalism of Ireland in the 1930s and on the cultural vision offered by the writers of the literary revival. Like Joyce, he sought escape on the Continent, but went one step further in seeking purity of language and expression through writing in French.
Beckett’s capacity to transcend expectations and traditional boundaries of cultural expression, finds a new resonance through the staging of his work here in London by an Irish theatre. This festival is international cultural co-operation at its most imaginative and its most productive. That exchange is of particular value and importance between our two countries. For while cultural forms often define what makes us distinct, they also show how much we have in common. Indeed down through the years, whatever the difficulties and tensions that have existed in the
Anglo-Irish relationship, one aspect that has developed and thrived is the contribution we have made to each other’s cultural lives. In the media, in sport and in a wide range of cultural endeavour, there is now an easy interaction and a flourishing exchange of ideas and energy.
But beyond that, it strikes me that it is precisely in the cultural area that we can confront and explore issues which may defy analysis or resolution in other arenas. In recent years, for example, we have had writers such as Frank McGuinness, Sebastian Barry and Gary Mitchell exploring imaginatively the most sensitive issues of identity and allegiance. Plays such as Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching towards the Somme..., and The Steward of Christendom have won critical acclaim not just in Ireland but also here in London. They have enlarged our understanding and, above all, our sympathy, allowing us to encompass some of the most complex aspects of our past and present.
In making this point, I am conscious of the importance that cultural activity can have in promoting a better understanding between Britain and Ireland. I know how closely Síle de Valera and Chris Smith work together in developing new ideas and areas for co-operation. I congratulate them and wish them well with all my heart.
I am conscious too of the debt of gratitude we owe to so many people of good will who do so much to extend our shared cultural domain – not least, Helena Kennedy, who has been so active since her appointment as Chair of the British Council, and the staff of the Council’s office in Dublin, who have done so much to improve cultural relations between our two countries. It is work which will yield great fruit not just for now but in time to come; it is an investment which will pay a dividend we can all share.
I would like to say a special word of thanks to John Tusa and Graham Sheffield at the Barbican for their commitment to Irish work. I know you have had two successful Irish festivals and have brought some of the most interesting traditional and contemporary Irish music to the Centre. These have been occasions of great enjoyment – lively and relaxed - but there is also a serious point. When you consider how marginal traditional Irish cultural expression was to the mainstream artistic life of this society, it is welcome to see the Barbican, one the great cultural centres of this country, mounting a festival celebrating the Irish musical tradition. It suggests an artistic vision which is open and adventurous, inclusive and innovative.
I would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Michael Colgan and his colleagues at the Gate. You immeasurably enhance and enrich our lives. Your energy and commitment to bringing your work to wider audiences is breathtaking. I know you rely on the support of a great board and I am really pleased so many could be here today to join this happy celebration.
Culture is an interesting commodity: paradoxically, it is never diminished however much we share it. All the evidence, in fact, is the reverse: the more we share, the larger our stock grows and the richer we become. The medium of cultural exchange, whether a play, a book or a concert, has a cost, but it has a greater value which bears no relation to its cost. We know this from our experience and we know it in our hearts. Let us then all be busy traders: we have nothing to lose but poverty and we have great riches to share.
Mo bhuíochas libh arís. Guím rath Dé oraibh sna blianta atá le teacht.