REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A RECEPTION FOR MEMBERS OF THE NORTHERN IRELAND FARMING COMMUNITY
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A RECEPTION IN ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN FOR MEMBERS OF THE NORTHERN IRELAND FARMING COMMUNITY
Is cúis mhór áthais dom fáilte a chur romhaibh go léir chuig Áras an Uachtaráin inniu.
Martin and I are delighted to welcome you all to Áras an Uachtaráin today.
We would like to say a very special thank you to all those who organised this day - especially Minister Joe Walsh, Councillor Robert Burgess, Michael Duffy and his staff at An Bord Bia, and officials from the Department of Agriculture and Food.
We have invited you here today to pay tribute to the farming community, to acknowledge the hard work and commitment you give to agriculture and food production on this island. Today is also about acknowledging your central role in preserving the precious fabric of rural communities throughout this island.
Agriculture and food production are, and have always been, of major importance to the economy of both parts of this island. But it is also a way of life, rooted in a value system of hard work and good neighbourliness. Many of us, city folk born and reared are in fact only one or two generations from the farm and we still have roots and relations in rural communities.
My own parents were both reared on small farms, one in County Down and the other in County Roscommon. I remember the subsistence lifestyle of my paternal grandparents, a life so utterly simple dedicated as it was just to physical survival, that when rural electrification arrived on the scene my grandfather refused point blank to countenance installing it in his cottage . He claimed that it was the Devils own instrument and it would never catch on but the real truth behind his bluster was an overwhelming fear of regular bills coming into a home where there was no such thing as a regular income.
So much has changed since those not so far off days. Farm life and life in general has been transformed beyond imagination. Membership of the EU in particular has helped bring in an era of both huge change and considerable improvements in living standards. Farmers North and South of the border whatever their political complexion, have much in common and much to deliberate on together. The evolving Peace Process which is rooted in a widespread deep desire for peace, is helping to generate a mood of greater hope and confidence, making dialogue possible where before it was difficult. Agriculture and the issues that impact on it tend not to respect boundaries or borders as we found out during the Foot and Mouth crisis two years ago but it did bring about a feeling of solidarity, a shared concern demonstrated by all the people on this island, urban, rural, north and south. The sense of responsibility, the generosity, and sacrifice shown by all communities was I am sure you’ll agree truly remarkable and serve to remind us that we can work together, and work successfully together on this island.
As you know, this month saw the beginning of Ireland’s Presidency of the EU and soon we will witness its most historic enlargement on the Day of Welcomes on May 1st as we mark an end to the post-War division of Europe and see the return of the ten new member states to the European family. We hope they will enjoy the same benefits of membership that we have enjoyed. We are also confident that this expansion will build a better Europe for everyone. The voices of 150 million more European citizens will have to be heard and listened to. The voices of farmers on this small island will be all the stronger if they know each other well, know each others views and opinions, worries and solutions and if they maximise their influence in a spirit of simple but effective friendly cooperation.
I hope through your shared experiences today that you will be able to continue to nurture that spirit of friendly co-operation in which people who look at this world differently, whether it be in terms of history, faith, politics or ambition, can hold firmly to those identifying characteristics and yet still create common ground for the solution of common problems and for the friendship building between people of different perspectives which builds us up humanly and provides a bulwark of goodness to keep out fear, hatred and violence.
Martin and I hope that your visit here today will be a memorable occasion, a chance to meet others, exchange experiences and views but most of all we hope that you will relax and enjoy yourselves.
I would like to say thank you to our entertainers, Orlagh Fallon who played for you so wonderfully in the front hall and the Kylemore College String Quartet who have been entertaining us and doing an equally wonderfully job here in the State Reception Room. I wish to also thank our friends from Civil Defence and the staff here at the Áras who have worked hard to make today enjoyable for everyone.
Go raibh maith agaibh go léir.