REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE ‘PARK PICNIC’
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE ‘PARK PICNIC’ TO MARK THE UN INTENATIONAL YEAR OF OLDER PERSONS
Is cúis mhór áthais dom fáilte a chur romhaibh go léir chuig Áras an Uachtaráin.
Firstly let me say how delighted I am to welcome each and every one of you to the Áras - to this open day in honour of the UN International Year of Older Persons. We have groups and individuals from all over the country here with us today and I hope that this get-together will give you all a chance to meet and mingle, swap stories and experiences and, hopefully, build a few new friendships.
This is the second year that I have had the pleasure of inviting groups, young and old, to the Aras for ‘park picnics’, as we call them. Unfortunately, we can’t trust the Irish weather enough to hold them outside, but I think nonetheless that they capture the fun and informality of a picnic atmosphere. I certainly enjoy them enormously, because they give me an opportunity to welcome and chat to so many people who have expressed interest in coming to the Áras. I hope that all of you will relax and enjoy yourselves – take a look around the Áras - and enjoy some of our hospitality. It is a day for entertainment – and we are delighted to have a wide and wonderful range of music for you to listen to: the Garda Band, which serenaded you on your way in and the C.I.E. Choir we have just had the pleasure of hearing. Later, we will have a very special dance group called ‘Go For Life’. So before we go any further, I would ask you to give a warm round of applause to all of them.
This is a particularly important day for us, because it is a celebration – just one of many around the country – of the International Year of Older Persons. And all of you are, if I may say so, a wonderful advertisement for the sense of vitality and fun, energy and creativity of older people that this year honours. I know that the year has already been a tremendous success, due in no small part to the outstanding efforts of Louise Richardson and all of her colleagues on the National Steering Committee.
The list of events that have been organised by groups throughout the country, including all of you here today, is truly impressive and far too long to mention each one in detail. But I would like to especially commend the Bealtaine Arts Festival organised under the aegis of Age and Opportunity. It shows just how much talent that older people possess and which flourishes when given the chance. I’ve no doubt that you’ve all grabbed that chance with both hands and you are not letting go!
I hope that when this year is over we will have a new found self-confidence among our senior citizens, a grateful recognition that Ireland’s economic and cultural success is built on their sacrifice and work. I hope too that we will have found many new, imaginative ways to encourage older persons to enjoy life and to learn new skills, make new friends. In particular I hope we will find fresh new ways for the young to listen to the old, to learn about them and learn from them. We’ve been trying to encourage that here, through our Schools Encounter Programmes, teaching the young what a great resource there is in our older citizens and remind our older citizens that they can still be crucial teachers of the young long after retirement, long after the children and grandchildren are grown.
In a few moments, Martin and I are going to move about the tables to have a brief chat with each of your groups – and afterwards, you can go into the house to see the formal rooms. I know that for me, the house is a symbol of the history of this island – and its relationships with our neighbour, Britain. It tells its own fascinating story – a story that spans several centuries – and which is preserved to this day in its art and architecture. It is not just a home – it is a place for all traditions and cultures on this island to share and today, I am delighted to be able to share it with you.
I am delighted that you could come – and I sincerely hope that you will take home with you warm memories of this afternoon at Áras an Uachtaráin and of all the people you have met here today.
Go maire sibh go léir. Go raibh maith agaibh.