REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A GARDEN PARTY FOR GAISCE THURSDAY, 1st July 2010
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A GARDEN PARTY FOR GAISCE THURSDAY, 1st July 2010
Dia dhíbh go léir agus céad míle fáilte.
Good afternoon everyone. Martin and I are delighted to offer each of you the traditional céad míle fáilte - one hundred thousand welcomes - to Áras an Uachtaráin.
Now that we are neighbours, it gives me great pleasure to do the neighbourly thing and open the house to you today. After 25 years, I am so pleased that at long last you have your own permanent home in Ratra House and I’m sure you must be delighted with the new accomodation.
Looking back to when President Hillery launched Gaisce back in 1985, it was a very tough time of major unemployment and mass emigration. Twenty five years on, having experienced the upturn in the economy that morphed into the Celtic Tiger, we now find ourselves facing the challenge of economic uncertainty and reduced employment options once again. Many countries are in the same boat. But we are not the same Ireland we were 25 years ago. We are now an island at peace and an island with many strengths, not least of which is our young people, the best educated, the most confident generation we have ever produced. Yes, their country faces problems but as someone once said problems are just opportunities with thorns on and so we need people of courage unafraid of thorns and up for the challenge.
Almost one hundred thousand young people have said yes to the Gaisce challenge. It was a voluntary choice. It pitched them against themselves, took them on a journey into their strengths and weaknesses, into building new skills and developing new experiences, new passions. It brought out the best in them and helped make of them the best young civic leaders any country could wish for. They have shown resilience, self-motivation, perseverence, planning, problem-solving, determination, organisation – a useful skillset for these difficult but not impossible times, a useful set of tools at any time.
The imprint of Gaisce lasts a lifetime and so often it ignites a civic spirit that burns brightly long after the gold has been earned. A particularly good example of that is one of the very first Gaisce gold award winners, Majella Killeen, who is still involved with Gaisce today, still giving, 25 years on.
Every year when I present the Gaisce Gold Awards, I am priviliged to hear some of the stories from the awardees and each year there are a couple of recurring themes, the first is that the experience was life-changing and life-enhancing and, secondly, the importance of the PALS in helping the participant to complete their challenges.
We have representatives of those PALs, the President Award Leaders, from all over the country here with us today. It is your careful mentoring that drives Gaisce - it is the fuel that runs Gaisce and it is a miraculous self-renewing source of energy that is all the more remarkable because it is entirely voluntary. Your reward lies in the achievements of others, in seeing their lives enriched so profoundly by completing the Gaisce challenge and in seeing our society strengthened and enhanced by the lived lives of its Gaisce participants.
Our PALs are a big part of the Gaisce jigsaw puzzle. There are other important pieces - the generous sponsors who have helped Gaisce develop to its current level; the partners who promote Gaisce within their schools, workplaces and organisations; the supporters who facilitate some of the challenges; Tar Éis Óir who continue to support Gaisce; and our award holders who represent us at the International Awards. Our partnership with the Duke of Edinburgh Awards in Northern Ireland enriches and facilitates the widest accessibility of the awards across the entire island of Ireland. The wonderful Chairman, Council, advisory members, CEO and the Gaisce staff work away very effectively in the background and keep it all running smoothly. Each one is essential to the completion of the Gaisce picture and on this special silver jubilee I offer you my thanks for the massive investment you have made in our young people, in our civic resilience and in our country.
This is a special day of celebration, congratulation and of thanks - enjoy it - you have earned it. Today the only challenge is to enjoy the company, the ceol, the craic, the hospitality and the chance to see the house. On your behalf, and on that of Martin and myself, thank you to the wonderful entertainers - the Gateway singers, the seán nos dancing of Emma O’Sullivan accompanied by John Halleren, the traditional Irish music of Diabhlaíocht and of Vinnie Kilduff and Stephen Cooney, the soul, blues and jazz sounds of the Paul Frost Band and the legendary Sandy Kelly. Thank you also to our MC Kieran Hanrahan who links it all together so seamlessly. A special thank you to the St John’s Ambulance Brigade, the Civil Defence, the Gardaí, the Tour Guides, the staff at Áras and everybody who has helped to make the day very special. But most of all, thanks to you for being with us.
Have a great afternoon, and return home safely. Go raibh mile maith agaibh go léir.