REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT GAISCE 2008 GOLD AWARDS CEREMONY DUBLIN CASTLE
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT GAISCE 2008 GOLD AWARDS CEREMONY DUBLIN CASTLE FRIDAY, 7 MARCH 2008,
A Dhaoine Uaisle, tá an-áthas orm a bheith in bhur measc ar an ócaid speisialta seo. Tá mé buíoch as cuireadh a fháil chun an bronnadh seo a dhéanamh. Tá mé buíoch freisin as an bhfáilte a chuir sibh romham inniu.
Distinguished Guests,
Gold Award Recipients,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
A warm welcome to each one of you to what is one of my favourite annual events Gaisce’s Gradam an Uachtaráin, Gold Awards Ceremony. We need this day, you know, for this is where the effort and achievements of the next generation lift our hearts, fill them with pride and give us hope in our future. In a world where there is, on the one hand, a culture of instant celebrity that requires little personal effort and, on the other, so much worry about the way that drugs and alcohol can distract our young from achieving their true potential, here we see Ireland at its absolute best. Here are young people working, striving, achieving, quietly, under the radar, bringing out the very best in themselves and building up the essential qualities of human decency, human endeavour that make for healthy individuals and communities.
It is wonderful to see people here from all over Ireland, some here to receive their hard-earned awards, others to cheer them on and to share in the rightful pride. Many already have their Gaisce Bronze and Silver awards and for them the achievement of Gold means a lot more than just getting the full set of badges. When you go for Gold you set down the road of a tough and uncompromising but ultimately fulfilling journey of a very different order of magnitude from the previous awards. By now your lives are busier, more complex. Finding time for anything is difficult never mind committing to the challenges presented by the Gold Award. Relatively few people have the drive and commitment necessary to go the extra mile which is demanded by the Gold Award. So every one of us here to witness your success today knows, without ever being told the details of your journey to Gold, that you have been sorely tested, often frustrated, sometimes ready to give up, but you dug deep, pushed yourselves far out of your comfort zone and you triumphed. We know that this was no selfish journey, but as much as it was a journey into yourself it was also a journey into life - a journey that opened you up to the joy of life, the fulfilment that comes from trying and not giving up, the happiness that comes from giving generously to others and the revelation that comes from bringing out your truest potential through your own sheer effort and the help of those wise, faithful mentors, the President’s Award leaders, rightly known as PALs. They guided and encouraged you but you did the work, you earned the Gold. You competed with no-one but yourself and so this day is entirely yours to enjoy and savour.
Gaisce’s challenge and opportunity is offered to all those between the ages of 15 and 25. It is an open door available to all—the only qualification needed is your willingness to try. It is even available now to young people in the Prison System where the first Gold Award was presented in 2007. Gaisce itself is constantly making changes to meet new demands and to reach new horizons, for example, building links to other challenge award schemes, and working to include more young people in the scheme. Gaisce sets a challenge to our young people but also to itself to build on its fantastic story so far and to reach deeply into our multi-cultural society to ensure that all young people get this chance and take this chance.
The experience of achieving Gold changes lives in ways that surprise participants, PALs and families. It deepens, stretches, matures. It creates a unique pocket of memories and experiences. It develops a wealth of new talent and fresh insights and gives participants a distilled resource to be drawn from over a lifetime. Here are young people who know how community ticks, who know the two-way benefits of volunteering, who have a civic conscience and sense of responsibility that is awesome, powerful and deeply needed. Some have travelled the world, some have travelled Ireland, all have travelled through life and have grown immeasurably in the process. They have seen how tough life can be, how uncaring the world often is, how much work is needed to make life better. They have taken upon themselves a level of care for these problems that many older people run a mile from. These are Ireland’s young ambassadors. They are Ireland’s future. They are pure gold. Congratulations to each one of today’s awardees.
Supporting their success is a great all-Ireland organisation. 13,000 young people participated in the award scheme last year alone thanks to the combined efforts of Award Leaders all over the country, the small professional staff of Gaisce, the Gaisce Council, sponsors, participating employers, funders and friends. Voluntarism is the life blood of Gaisce whether as PALs or on the Council or as sponsors, or supporters or participating employers or as family members giving a participant the support to see the award through. That partnership has made President’s Award a huge success - a success beyond measure in its investment in our shared future.
To our friends in the Duke of Edinburgh and International Awards—a special thank you for just as the PALs help the participants, you have helped us and your friendship is greatly valued.
To our Golden young people, thank you for taking up the Gaisce challenge. Thank you for seeing it through. You inspire us, reassure us, amaze us and fill us with faith in humanity. We are so proud of you, and it gives me great pleasure to present the Gaisce Awards to all who have successfully completed their challenges.
Congratulations and well done to you all.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh to léir agus to n-éirí go geal libh amach anseo.