REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT A RECEPTION TO HONOUR GAISCE PRESIDENT’S AWARD LEADERS
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT A RECEPTION TO HONOUR GAISCE PRESIDENT’S AWARD LEADERS ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN TUESDAY, 3 JULY, 2007
Dia dhíbh go léir, agus céad míle fáilte romhaibh. Good afternoon, everybody.
Martin and I are delighted to welcome you all to Áras an Uachtaráin this afternoon to celebrate your commitment to Gaisce, the President’s Award, and to the multitude of young people whose lives you have shaped and changed by your commitment to the programme. Last year we celebrated Gaisce’s twenty-first birthday, and the energy and the vibrancy that I sense among you today convinces me of the continued vitality of the programme.
Today, in particular, I wish to pay tribute to the President’s Award Leaders. Your work in helping young people to realise their enormous potential is the bedrock without which Gaisce would founder. It is my firm belief that active citizenship lies at the heart of any healthy society. The President’s Award Leaders show their commitment to this principle in two ways. First, you contribute to your communities by your participation. Second, and perhaps less obviously, you serve as an example for young persons of active citizens involved in your different communities. Your example as mentors is seen far beyond the confines of the Gaisce programme.
Your generous devotion to the participants, some of whose experience of life will have done little to encourage their self-belief, helps them to look beyond their daily existence, and instils the unshakeable self-confidence that comes from exceeding limits they might never have dreamt attainable. In a world increasingly devoted to immediate gratification, Gaisce allows young persons to taste the infinitely more rewarding pleasures of hard-earned success, as described by Robert Browning in his 1855 poem, Andrea del Sarto: “Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp - or what’s a heaven for?” Through the work of Gaisce, every day, young people across Ireland are reaching beyond their daily grasp, in the process building belief in themselves, in their communities and in the extraordinary power of committing to, and working steadily towards, distant goals.
Today is just a small way of recognising the time and effort that you have all invested in making Gaisce the success it is today. Another way we say thank you is by the Civic Merit Award, by which we honour President’s Award Leaders who have served for five years or longer, and I know that some of you will be returning to the Áras later this year to collect your awards. Congratulations in advance to all our award-winners, and thank you.
In the meantime, however, I’ll let you get back to talking to one another and, I hope, give you the chance to meet some new friends who share your perspective on the importance of active citizenship. Your afternoon will, I hope, give you a brief opportunity to relax and unwind for a few hours, withdrawn slightly from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
We have all been thrilled by the wonderfully talented entertainers who have performed here this afternoon. Many thanks to you all. I know you will also join me in thanking our friends from the St John’s Ambulance Brigade, the Civil Defence, the Gardaí, the Defence Forces and the tour guides, and of course, from the Áras itself.
Martin and I hope you have a great afternoon, and return home safely, bringing many fond memories of your visit to Áras an Uachtaráin.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.