REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A SPORTS RECEPTION IN ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN, THURSDAY, 3 APRIL, 2003
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A SPORTS RECEPTION IN ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN, THURSDAY, 3 APRIL, 2003
Dia dhíobh a cháirde. Is sona liom bheith i bhur measc ar an ócáid fíor-thábhachtach seo. Fearaim fíor-chaoin fáilte roimh na pearsana spóirt atá i láthair anseo, agus rompu siúd uile atá bainteach le cúrsaí spóirt.
Martin and I are delighted to welcome you to Áras an Uachtaráin for this celebration of Ireland’s sporting heritage and acknowledgment of the proud sporting memories each one of you created for all of us to share.
My own claims to sporting fame are sadly few, very few – most recently I did battle with a ski-lift with inevitable and very public consequences. In my lower profile days, I was declared man of the match once for a botched assault with an umbrella on a referee in a football match Martin was playing in. Nowadays as Head of State, I don’t enjoy quite the same level of freedom of expression as I used to for which many referees are known to be grateful. Nor am I supposed to take enjoyment in the victory of one team over another – but it’s not written into the Constitution and so long as it isn’t and there’s a Northern team playing in Croke Park on either or both of those two special Sundays in September, forget it. Duty can demand only so much of a person!
I heard somebody recently say that “Sportsmanship requires that a loser grip the winner’s hand even though he wishes it were his throat” - and no it wasn’t in Lansdowne Road on Sunday. Our love of sport stirs many powerful emotions and you above all don’t need to be reminded of the sheer magic which involvement in sport can and does work in our lives. It can be in the simple but hugely important things like the friendships formed, the loyalty to team and to club, county, country - the commitment, the discipline, the exhilaration of being the best, and at times the humbling acceptance of losing. A large part of the thrill and excitement for the spectator and player alike is the uncertainty about the outcome, the opportunity to contradict the odds, the capricious role of luck, the inspiring role of grit and determination, the huge lift we get on a day when it all goes right, the days of shared grief and groaning, analysing and arguing when it goes all wrong.
For men and women like you who have achieved a formidably high level of excellence and recognition in sport, there was no short-cut to the top. Even in team sports as well as individual sports, you have each had to go your own lonely journey of self-discipline, self- sacrifice, maybe at times of self-doubt, refusing to be side-tracked by all the temptations to give up and take an easier option, finding inside yourselves the strength of character to transcend many an obstacle, from injury to financial hardship - so that your fidelity to focus brought you days of celebration and success. I hope that over the years you have had your fair share of congratulations for you surely deserve them.
Today’s reception is our way of saying thanks to you for the memories, for the wonderful times of pride and passion we shared with you in your success. You will probably never know how extensive has been your reach into hearts and minds, how many worthwhile moments and days you gave to complete strangers. People coping with many a problem were lifted out of their troubles and torments by your achievements. Lives were made tolerable and happier for what you contributed to them. Many of you I know continue to invest in our civic strength by passing on your skills and sharing your talents and enthusiasm and knowledge with the younger generation.
This day is a simple thank you for the limitless album of memories you have given us. They have a long shelf life, linking one generation to the next, stitching us together as much more than just a random collection of individuals, but as parish, as county, as province, as country and ultimately as community. I hope that you will enjoy the afternoon, meeting old friends and heroes and heroines whom you may have respected from afar but never met until today. The Áras staff are thrilled to have you here. I would also like to extend my thanks to everyone involved in organising today’s reception including our own staff here at the Áras, Ms Catherine Donaghy for her first aid expertise, our entertainers Mona McMahon who was playing in the entrance hall as you arrived and the wonderful Kylemore College String Quartet. And of course Ireland’s answer to the Special Branch, MI5 and the Secret Service - the man who knows everything about you from the colour of your eyes to the amount of your confirmation money - our own legendary Jimmy Magee whose love of sport is a highly infectious disease no-one is afraid to catch.
Go raibh maith agaibh go léir.