Remarks by President McAleese at a reception hosted by the First Minister of Scotland
Remarks by President McAleese at a reception hosteD by the First Minister of Scotland, the Rt. Hon. Donald Dewar MP, MSP
Lord Provost, First Minister, Ministers, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, a cháirde.
Cuireann sé áthas ar mo chroí bheith anseo libh inniu i nDún Éideann don chéad uair mar Uachtarán na hÉireann. Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil díbh as ucht an fáilte fíorchaoin a chuir sibh romham.
Thank you, First Minister, for your warm words of welcome and for affording me an opportunity to meet so many people in these splendid surroundings. It is a delight to be visiting the beautiful city of Edinburgh this morning. Its architecture and Castle are justly famous. As Dr. Johnson put it more than two hundred years ago, Edinburgh is “a city too well known to admit description”. I am one of those who knows this city well as a frequent visitor but of course I take special pride in coming here as President of Ireland so soon after the start of a new era in Scotland with the advent of devolution.
There is a wonderful atmosphere in this city at any time, and I have memories - admittedly slightly vague - of forays to Murrayfield in the company of the sombre and sensible sophisticates who follow Irish and Scottish rugby. At this time of year though, the city comes into its own and it is a special joy to know that Irish is one of the many languages represented in the Christmas decorations on George Street. The words ‘Nollaig Shona Dhuit’ will make a welcoming sight for the Irish visitors that are sure to come here to enjoy the Millennium Hogmanay celebrations.
While the city’s architecture and atmosphere are timeless, we recognise Edinburgh also now as a place of innovation. It is home to the world’s newest Parliament, which, in terms of its personnel, is one of the most youthful and gender-balanced anywhere. May I congratulate you, First Minister, on becoming the first holder of your distinguished office. All the members of the Scottish Parliament enjoy our best wishes as they set about the demanding task of making this new institution work effectively in the interests of the people it serves. Yours is the privilege of grafting a fresh political culture on to a proud and long-established Scottish democratic tradition.
I am conscious of being the first Head of State to visit a devolved Scotland. Given that we are near neighbours with a long history of interaction, it is fitting that the coming of devolution should be marked by an exchange of high-level visits. Indeed, I was pleased to be able to meet the First Minister last month during his first visit to Ireland in his new capacity. He was a very welcome visitor and I hope that we will see more of him as we set about creating a new Irish-Scottish partnership attuned to the needs and opportunities of the 21st century and yet comfortably conscious of the historic ties that bind us.
Our links with Scotland stretch back to antiquity, to the ancient kingdom of Dalriada and to St Columba whose monastic foundation on Iona became the burial place of the Scottish kings. Our ties remained strong in the time of Robert the Bruce, strong enough it seems to justify the filming of Braveheart in Ireland some years back! Centuries later, it was recorded that four of the “Seven Men of Moidart” who accompanied Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745 were natives of Ireland.I have just come from the very imposing Museum of Scotland where I was shown some of the host of artefacts from the Museum’s collection that illustrate the ancient links between our two countries and offer a challenge to us to retell and renew those old connections and develop new ones.
The modern Irish-Scottish connection stems from the influx of Irish emigrants who were attracted to Scotland throughout the nineteenth century by the economic openings available in this great ‘workshop of the world’. Generations of emigration had a profound effect on Irish society, but the Irish diaspora also impacted strongly on the societies in which our emigrants found themselves. In recent years, we have come to a more complete understanding of the significance for Ireland of the presence of communities of Irish descent throughout the world. The descendants of the Irish who came here in circumstances of economic distress in the aftermath of the Great Famine have become a part of the fabric of modern Scotland, although many retain an important consciousness of their Irish origins. Inevitably, the links between us have been affected over the last 30 years by the situation in Northern Ireland which served to complicate, and sometimes strain, British-Irish relations. As a result of the Good Friday Agreement, we now live in an era of opportunity when fresh starts are capable of being made - in Northern Ireland, on the island of Ireland and between our two islands.
The British-Irish Council offers a framework within which our two countries can relate to each other. It is interesting to note that the Council tends to be popularly known in Scotland as ‘the Council of the Isles’, evoking memories of ‘the Lord of the Isles’ when dynastic authority straddled the narrow stretch of sea between our two Celtic countries.
The challenges faced by Scotland and Ireland are similar in many respects. Ours are two countries of similar size and population. We are both placed at some distance from the main European centres of commerce and population. Yet we have each found ways of overcoming the potential disadvantages of our geographical location and have managed to build prosperous modern economies that are attractive to foreign investors and competitive in key export markets. We both know that the best prospect of sustained prosperity for small, open economies such as ours, rests with the opportunities offered by the large and expanding marketplace of the European Union.
In conclusion, I would like to leave you with the words of one of Scotland’s most famous sons, Robert the Bruce, who in 1315 wrote “ To all Kings of Ireland ...and to the inhabitants of all Ireland, our friends ....We and you and our people and your people ... share the same national ancestry and are urged to come together more eagerly and joyfully in friendship”. The Kings of Ireland have disappeared but as President I am happy to share these still-valid sentiments. I hope the coming century will see us friends and partners, prosperous and peaceful, intrigued by each other, joyfully curious about each other, freed from old myths, redeemed by a better future which we will create together out of the often bitter lessons of the past.
Go n-éirí go geal libh. Go raibh maith agaibh.