REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A RECEPTION HOSTED BY MAYOR RICHARD RIORDAN, LOS ANGELES
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A RECEPTION HOSTED BY MAYOR RICHARD RIORDAN, LOS ANGELES THURSDAY, 16 SEPTEMBER, 1999
Ag tús seo mo chéad chuairte ofigiúla ar California ba mhaith liom ‘Go raibh míle maith agaibh’ a rá libh as an mhór-fháilte a chuir sibh romham. Tá dúshraith láidir faoin cheangal idir Éire agus California. Na Gaeil a tháinig anseo ar imirce i dtús ama a chuir síos ar dtús é agu tá an ceangal dá láidriú agus dá shaibhriú ó shin.
Mayor Riordan, Mrs. Daly Riordan, distinguished guests,
Thank you for your kind welcome to Los Angeles, at the start of my first official visit to California. The ties between Ireland and California are strong and enduring ones, with firm foundations in the Irish immigrant heritage here in California. From the very beginning California was a land of promise and opportunity, and the Irish were early devotees of the California dream. For many Irish that dream became a reality, as they and their descendants helped to build and govern and serve the needs of their fellow Californians. Mayor Riordan is the living embodiment of this heritage, something I know the Mayor is very proud of, just as we in Ireland have always been proud and drawn strength from the achievements of the global Irish family.
It is customary to recall the hardships that Irish immigrants endured and the obstacles that were overcome in building new lives in foreign lands. However, here in the sunshine of the famed and fabled City of Angels, Los Angeles, it is difficult not to remark that the Irish who made their way to California over the years chose wisely and well. Apart from its great natural beauty and wonderful climate, California is rightly seen as always having been at the cutting edge of new trends and developments, of being open to new ideas and creativity. In particular California has been at the centre of the emergence of the new economy based on the high technology and communications revolutions, which has been critical to the recent successful flowering of the Irish economy, and which has helped to unleash the new confidence and vitality that is so evident in today’s Ireland.
This Irish renaissance is not just economic in nature but cultural as well. Today Irish literature, music, dance and film enjoy unprecedented audiences and popularity around the world. Here too, much of the vitality and creativity draws on and reflects the experience of the global Irish family in its commingling with other cultures and influences. The film industry in Ireland in particular has benefited from the connections that have been built up over the years. Successful Hollywood film productions in Ireland have helped and encouraged the emergence of the Irish film industry.
In addition to the film industry, in which Los Angeles leads the world, I know that Mayor Riordan has encouraged the development of Los Angeles as a centre for multimedia and other cutting edge technology and innovation. The Mayor and I have been discussing the parallels between the economic transformation in Ireland, and the developments in Los Angeles. I said earlier that the ties between Ireland and California have firm foundations. It is my hope during this visit to build on these foundations and encourage even greater levels of co-operation and contact to our mutual benefit for the future, to build prosperity out of partnership and above all friendship.
Mar a dúirt mé ar ball tá dlúth-cheangal idir Éire agus California agus dúshraith maith faoi. Sé an dóchas atá agam ar an chuairt seo go ndéanfaidh mé tógáil ar an dúshraith sin agus go spreagfaidh mé teagmháil agus comhoibiriú idir an dá phobal ar leas na hÉireann agus ar leas California. Beidh mé ar mo sheacht ndícheall an cairdeas atá i gcónaí ann a neartú agus a fhorbairt.
Thank you