REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT A RECEPTION FOR THE FAMILIES OF OVERSEAS MEMBERS OF THE DEF. FORCES
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT A RECEPTION FOR THE FAMILIES OF OVERSEAS MEMBERS OF THE DEFENCE FORCES AND GARDAÍ
Dia dhíobh, a dhaoine uaisle agus céad míle fáilte thig Áras an Uachtaráin.
Lieutenant General Sreenan,
Assistant Commissioner Clancy,
Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys.
You are all very welcome to Áras an Uachtaráin, and from all of us gathered here in Dublin, we send the warmest of Christmas greetings to the members of our Defence Forces and Garda Siochána who are joining us by video link this afternoon all the way from the Lebanon and Liberia.
Hello Camp Ida! [Lebanon]
Hello Camp Clara! [Liberia]
We are thrilled to have you all with us as we use technology to bridge the many miles that separate us. The peoples of Lebanon and Liberia need your help and so you have left family and friends and put your lives and skills at the service of these two troubled nations. Your families sorely miss you, and you miss them, and it is always much worse at Christmas. Your vocation as soldiers or Gardaí serving overseas makes serious demands of you and of your families. Your country is grateful to all of you, to those serving abroad, to the spouses and partners, the sons and daughters, the mothers and fathers left to cope at home. You are entitled to be proud of yourselves, and of each other, for the way in which you accept the responsibilities of this vital work and the way you support each other through the many sacrifices it demands. Ireland is incredibly proud of your global ambassadorship for our country and for peace. Thank you for sharing in our Christmas celebrations and for giving me this opportunity to tell you how much we appreciate and admire everything you and your families do for the honour of Ireland and for harmony in our restless world.
You will be glad to hear that the children have all been brilliant, especially this afternoon and Santa is delighted with them and a lot of other people have been working hard too, to make this day really special. I thank Inspector Pat Kenny and the Garda Síochána Quintet for their lovely music, the technical geniuses who made this link up possible, the staff at the Áras and the Civil Defence who are looking after everyone and, of course Santa Claus himself who is the busiest man in the world this week but thinks so much of all of you that he is with us this afternoon.
I hope and pray that you will have a Christmas of fun and friendship wherever you are and the joy of happy reunions in the New Year.
May God Bless and take care of each of you this Christmas.
Nollaig faoi shéan agus faoi shonas daoibh go léir.