REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A SENIOR CITIZENS MORNING ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A SENIOR CITIZENS MORNING ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN MONDAY, 31ST JANUARY 2011
Is cúis mhór áthais duinn fáilte a chur romhaibh go léir chuig Áras an Uachtaráin inniu. Martin and I are delighted to extend a warm and heartfelt 'céad mile fáilte' to each of you to Áras an Uachtaráin this afternoon.
We have people here from many parts of Ireland: Rostrevor, Louth, Kildare and Westmeath and from Dublin - Clondalkin, Sandymount, Blackrock and Donnybrook. You are all very welcome here for what I hope will be a lovely pleasant afternoon with good company, good cuisine from the Aras catering team, a great welcome from all the Aras staff, beautiful music a bit later frome.Aoife O Sullivan and Edel Shannon and we are relying on all of you to supply the craic.
It is not an afternoon to be talking politics or economics or recession. You have all lived long enough to know a thing or two about hardships and about surviving tough times. You know how much of a comfort, distraction and help are to be found in good friends, good family and good company. So today that is what we are concentrating on- the tradition of taking time to enjoy each others company and to find joy in life through a very special day out.
I know you will have come with friends and you will want to chat to them- I hope you will take the time to chat to the people you don’t know so that everyone will feel completely at home. A lot of history has been made in this house and you have the makings of your own part of that history today. Enjoy it, Enjoy each others company. Thank you again for coming and may you arrive home safely with a lot of happy memories of Áras an Uachtaráin.
Go raibh mile maith agaibh go leir.