REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE PRESENTATION OF CIVIC MERIT AWARDS TO GAISCE PALS
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE PRESENTATION OF CIVIC MERIT AWARDS TO GAISCE PALS AND FIRST PRESENTATION OF THE HILLERY MEDAL
Dia dhaoíbh a chairde. Cuirim fáilte romhaibh go léir atá i láthair anseo ‘s tá an-áthas orm a bheith in bhur measc ar an ócáid speisialta, ócáid stairiúil seo. Comhghairdeas libhse go léir atá tar éis aitheantas speisialta a bhaint amach maidir le bhur gcuid saothair ar son Gaisce.
This is not the usual Gaisce event where our Gaisce leaders and supporters are spectators at the award ceremony dedicated to the achievements of our young Gaisce candidates. Today the spotlight shifts to those who champion Gaisce, those whose work sustains it, develops it and makes it happen. Their investment in Ireland’s young people, in active citizenship and in our collective civic strength will be recognised today through the presentation of Gaisce Civic Merit Awards to the Presidents’s Award Leaders and through the very first, the inaugural award of the Dr. Patrick J. Hillery Medal for exceptional service to Gaisce.
President’s Award Leaders are members of a nationwide corps of volunteers who are the very frontline of delivering the opportunity that the Gaisce challenge offers. They come from all walks of life and they are already busy people, for you will find them at work for Gaisce in schools, colleges, youth groups, places of youth detention, traveller groups, Youthreach groups, special needs groups and sporting organisations and in workplaces of huge diversity. It is their advocacy and leadership that places the Gaisce challenge before young people and gives them the courage to face into it and the support to finish it. They motivate, counsel, cajole and coach Ireland’s young citizens to reach beyond comfort zones and develop in themselves new skills, new strengths, new insights and experiences which refine them humanly and help develop them as citizens to be proud of, people we can depend on no matter what, problem-solvers, educated far beyond the norm and wise beyond their years. It would be impossible to fully quantify or describe the investment that PALS make in our civic strength and while their work is not done for reward or recognition, the Gaisce Civic Merit Award is my way and our country’s way of saying thankyou.
The Gaisce Civic Merit Award is not gained easily for it requires a minimum of five years sustained work on behalf of Gaisce. That is five years and in many cases more, of unpaid volunteering while running homes, rearing families, holding down jobs and having a life. It is five years of making space in that life, week in, week out, so that a young person can flourish in and through the Gaisce challenge. Congratulations to all our Civic Merit Awardees and thank you.
Today, I have the huge pleasure of presenting the inaugural Dr. Patrick J. Hillery medals for exceptional service to Gaisce. Paddy Hillery founded Gaisce as President, twenty five years ago, building on the remarkable transformative work he achieved in the education of our young people while he was a Government Minister. There was a recession at the time, there was high emigration, unemployment and economic uncertainty. But Dr. Hillery refused to become paralysed by the depressing mood of the moment and instead he planned a bridge to the future that would be created by the genius of our young people awakened through the Gaisce challenge. It is very apt that in this anniversary year we should have a permanent memorial to Gaisce’s founder and that it should be in the form of recognising exceptional service to Gaisce. The first recipients of this award have given between them over one hundred and five fantastic, consistent and loyal years of service to Gaisce. They are real champions and role models for this wonderful organisation as are all our Civic Merit awardees, our PALS and of course our Gaisce participants. They make us proud and most important of all they give us faith and confidence in our collective ability to endure these tough times and to overcome them together.
It now gives me great pleasure to present these awards to each of you, to thank you for all of your efforts and to wish you every success in the future.
Comhghairdeas libh arís agus míle buíochas.