REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A GARDEN PARTY FOR IRELAND/FOREIGN COUNTRY ASSOCIATIONS
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A GARDEN PARTY FOR IRELAND/FOREIGN COUNTRY ASSOCIATIONS AT ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN, MONDAY, 5TH JULY
A Dhaoine Uaisle,
Cuireann sé áthas orm agus ar m’fhear céile, Martín, fáilte ó chroí a chur romhaibh go léir go hÁras an Uachtaráin.
Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Martin and I are delighted to welcome you to Áras an Uachtaráin. We want to thank each of you for coming here this afternoon and extend our best wishes to you and the citizens of your countries.
Most people have little comprehension of their indebtedness to you, and your colleagues around the world, for the role you play in sustaining the international understanding between peoples. It keeps our world moving, however unevenly and unsteadily, in the direction of world peace and prosperity for all - the only direction worthy of our endeavour. So we gather today in thanks for what you do and in solidarity with the efforts you are making to bring harmony, partnership and mutual respect to the relationships between nations and peoples. Your work, your words, your handshakes can break down so many barriers. Your patient, painstaking work of building cultural links between our peoples, undertaken often quietly, has the capacity to replace ignorance and enmity with understanding and friendship.
Those relationships are not abstract things but the result of the concrete interactions between individuals in their every-day lives. For centuries Ireland was a place which people left. Now increasing numbers of foreign nationals are coming to Ireland. As this happens, the issue of our personal and social relationships has become a prominent issue. We must construct a new attitude to race and creed, based on understanding, and tolerance; and on the practical expression of our basic spiritual ethic. We must start the process of ‘unpacking’ our baggage of suspicion, of fear, of envy and jealousy. You are playing a great part in that process. We thank you especially for your commitment to Ireland and to our people, for the way in which you bring our story to your own people and your story to Ireland. The relationships you establish, develop and sustain are a vital investment in that better future we all look forward to.
The European Union continues to bear powerful witness to an alternative vision for humanity based on partnership and collaboration, even among the most bitter of old enemies. We have welcomed ten new members to the Union table, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. The successful conclusion of the enlargement negotiations marks a huge achievement for both the applicant countries concerned and the European Union itself. It marks, too, an exciting new chapter in European history as we consign the Cold War divisions to memory. I was delighted to be able to welcome these new Member States to Áras an Uachtaráin on 1 May last. We look forward too, to the accession of the other applicant countries to the European Union, in due course.
One of the lovely aspects of being President is the opportunity to make links between Ireland and other parts of the world. I was privileged to visit many European countries, but also to visit countries on every continent of the globe. These visits gave me crucial opportunities to build on the great goodwill that exists towards Ireland everywhere and to strengthen bilateral relationships in places where increased East-West dialogue and cooperation is so needed and so important.
I have been fortunate on my trips abroad to hear many people say how much they admire Ireland’s economic success, and what an example we are to other nations, emerging from generations of stagnation and underachievement, and looking forward to better days ahead. It is good to be seen as a place where peace and widespread prosperity are high on the agenda and where a relentless commitment to both is changing Ireland’s history so profoundly. I regard myself as very blessed to represent my country through these times which, for all their ups and downs, are the envy of so many, and the unfulfilled dream of the vast majority of those who share this planet with us. I hope you enjoy this changing Ireland and find it a place of warmth and welcome to you and your colleagues and families.
I wish for each of you, and the citizens of your countries what I wish for the people of Ireland, peace and prosperity, freedom from the kind of oppressive, pervasive fears that disturb our enjoyment of life. In conclusion, I would like to acknowledge and salute your work as communicators in intensifying the links between your countries and mine.
For your enjoyment this afternoon, I would invite you to visit Seomra de hÍde, where we have a wonderful exhibition of the artist Hughie O’Donoghue’s works and the “delicious” Café Orchestra to entertain you.
On occasions such as this I like to invite people to stroll through the gardens – weather permitting, that is! Though we can’t complain too much on that score so far this year.
Please take the opportunity to stroll through the formal rooms in the House and the very fine visitor centre downstairs which tells the story of the Áras – a house which is the veritable story in stone of the people of Ireland and of our relationship with our nearest neighbour, Britain. It embodies all the traditions and cultures which this island shares.
I would also like to thank our wonderful entertainers: our Harpist, Mary Kelly, who welcomed you into the Front Hall with her beautiful playing; our MC for the afternoon, Paul Kennedy; the delightful Teadaí. I would also to thank our friends from Civil Defence and the staff here at the Aras who have spent many long hours and days preparing for today.
Today is your day and I hope that you will relax and enjoy this afternoon and return home with happy memories of your visit to the Áras.
Gúim rath, sonas agus buan síochaín oraibh go léir.