REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A FAMILY DAY RECEPTION AT ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN THURSDAY
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A FAMILY DAY RECEPTION AT ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN THURSDAY, 10 JANURY, 2002
Is cúis mhór áthais dom fáilte a chur romhaibh go léir chuig Áras an Uachtaráin.
I am delighted to welcome you all here today. For most people the Christmas and New Year festivities are over but here at the Áras we’re still in celebratory form, albeit that the decorations are down – if only the pine needles from the tree were gone too. Don’t they just get everywhere! And then there’s the New Year’s resolutions - out comes the exercise bike, the gym membership, starvation diets – celery that’s the answer – you use more calories eating it than it contains. Thank God the EURO didn’t convert weights also – who wants to be 27% heavier than they weighed on the 31st of December.
Martin and myself are delighted you could be here for our very first gathering of the New Year, and we hope you will relax and enjoy your visit to this beautiful and historic house, our home for the past four years. You’ve come from all parts of our island to be here today, North, South, East and West, people from all walks of life, all perspectives, all backgrounds and all under the one big welcoming roof. Many of you are strangers to each other right now but hopefully before the day is out you will have built the easiest and most rewarding bridge in the world by reaching your hand out to a stranger, having a chat and making a friend.
A New Year is always a time for new starts and new resolutions, some easier to keep than others. I hope that this coming year will be a good one for you, your families and for all the people of this island. With the dawning of each new year we move further and further away from the old hatreds that poisoned the well of human kindness and decency that the Irish, from every tradition, are so highly regarded for – we have moved to a new era and while the work of peace-building is difficult it is our best guarantee of a decent future. That work is not just the business of politicians it is the work of all of us and the more people who commit to it the quicker we will feel the benefits and reap the rewards that come when people work in partnership with each other.
This house is a place for all traditions and cultures of this island to share. For one hundred and fifty years it served as the Viceregal Lodge, and was frequently visited by the British Monarchs and their families. Later it became the residence of each of the eight Presidents of Ireland. It is a home with many memories, a place which has something to offer each of the different strands of historical perspective and identity. You will find many of its stories in the Visitor Centre, just downstairs and like strands in a rope those stories have shaped and been shaped by each other. I hope that you will take the time to visit it later on.
I would like to thank our marvellous entertainers who have helped make today a success - harpist, Orla Kelly who welcomed you in the Front Hall with her beautiful playing; and here in this room we have the very talented string quartet ‘The Wolfe Gang Ensemble’. My thanks also to John Gould, the Civil Defence Officer on duty for his expert assistance.
Martin and I are meeting many of you for the first time today and are looking forward to having an opportunity of chatting with you in a few moments. We hope that you will enjoy the afternoon and leave with many pleasant memories.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh.