REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A STATE DINNER IN HONOUR OF H.E. PRESIDENT GAŠPAROVIC
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A STATE DINNER IN HONOUR OF H.E. PRESIDENT GAŠPAROVIC, AND MRS. GAŠPAROVICOVÁ
Your Excellency, President Gašparovic,
Mrs. Gašparovicová, Distinguished Guests,
Good evening, Dobry vecer
It is my great pleasure to offer you Mr President, ‘Céad Míle Fáilte’, a hundred thousand welcomes to Ireland and to this dinner in your honour. Your visit marks a further enhancement of the ties that are developing apace between Ireland and Slovakia, two countries kept separate for so long, a little by geography but mostly by history, but now united in partnership as members of the European Union.
In 2003 shortly before your country’s accession to the Union I was privileged to make the first State visit by a President of Ireland to the Slovak Republic. It was my first introduction to your beautiful capital Bratislava, a city that stands at an important European crossroads and a city with a heritage, a history and a charm second to none.
Your people’s pride in their past and their confidence in the future was palpable then and, given the many parallels in our respective histories, not surprisingly we found an instant empathy and friendship wherever we went. I hope you will find the same here Mr President.
Both Ireland and Slovakia have enduring national traditions that predate our independent statehood. We had to struggle long and hard to win our rightful freedom and in both cases, powerful national identities played a considerable role in keeping alive the flame of desire for political independence, that was as much and more about the securing the freedom of the individual as it was about territoriality. Our vibrant, independent democracies grew out of that passion for the liberty and the dignity of the human spirit. That spirit received its greatest affirmation on May 1st 2004, the Accession Day of Welcomes, here in this very house when the Slovak Republic was admitted to membership of the European Union. A painful chapter of European history closed that day and a new chapter of hope opened.
Since that happy day, Slovakia has made great strides, with considerable success in attracting foreign investment, particularly in the automotive sector, and in achieving growth rates which are amongst the highest in the Union. You are to be congratulated on achieving so much in such a short time and we share your pride for your story, like ours, stands as a powerful witness to the transforming power of the Union’s vision for peace and prosperity through partnership.
We share your story in other ways for among the developing relationships between us are several Irish companies which are already active in Slovakia, a trend that is set to continue as your economy expands and develops. Many thousands of Slovaks have made their homes in all parts of Ireland, making a very valuable contribution to our economy, to our communities, to our culture and to our civic society, which day by day benefits from their fresh energy and their huge enthusiasm for Ireland as a place of opportunity. Some will stay and some will return home and, whatever they choose, both Ireland and Slovakia will benefit enormously from these two-way ambassadors who are the very embodiment of the dream at the heart of the Treaty of Rome. Fifty years ago this year that Treaty set before us the inspiring possibility of a common European homeland, a place where Europe’s peoples could move and work freely, could befriend each other, work together, could get to know each other’s culture intimately and, importantly, could build a shared future of peace and prosperity.
On this, the Union’s Golden Jubilee, it is important to acknowledge its huge achievements and the benefits it has brought to both our nations. I hope the vision at its heart will continue to inspire each generation anew and that Irish and Slovakian, Polish and French, from the Baltic to the Aegean, we will work together to make Europe and our world better, healthier, happier and safer places to live.
Partnership within the Union, no matter how cordial and collegial, has its limits and we are about to see those limits reached when the Euro 2008 qualifying match takes place in Croke Park on Wednesday evening. Mr. President, I hope that you and your delegation will enjoy a wonderful match and a warm welcome in a magnificent stadium but I hope you will understand if we root for the home team. The return leg in Bratislava in September will give our legendary good-humoured Irish fans the chance to visit your country. I know they will love it as dearly as Martin and I do.
Distinguished Guests, I now invite you to stand and join me in a toast:
To the health and happiness of President Gašparovic and Mrs. Gašparovicová;
To peace and prosperity for the people of the Slovak Republic; and
To continued friendship between the peoples of Ireland and the Slovak Republic.
Sláinte, Na zdravie!