REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT FAMILY DAY GARDEN PARTY ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN SATURDAY, 7 JULY
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT FAMILY DAY GARDEN PARTY ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN SATURDAY, 7 JULY, 2007
Dia dhíbh go léir, agus fáilte. Good afternoon, everybody.
I hope you are all in the very best of spirits this afternoon. Martin and I are delighted to welcome you to this beautiful house which has been our home now for ten summers. The Áras feels most alive in the presence of families and especially when the voices of children are chittering and chattering in wonder at the place. So a big thank you, to each of you, for coming here today from all over the island of Ireland to help us celebrate this thing we call summer in Ireland.
Families are places where we learn to get on with other human beings who are different from us, where we learn to love difference and to see that it takes a lot of different talents to make for a thriving world and a thriving family. Can you imagine family life if we were all only good at messing up our bedrooms or making burnt toast? So today we say thank you for the families that look after all of us and keep us safe through all life’s ups and downs, its joys and its sadnesses. The other thing we need in life are friends - so hopefully today you’ll make a new friend from among the strangers who are gathered here. Enjoy the house, the gardens, the music, the food and the care all created by the huge Áras team. They all want you to have a brilliant day. On your behalf and my own I thank all of them for working so hard to make this day as good and as memorable as it is.
I’d also like to thank on all of our behalves our wonderful entertainers this afternoon. They have been just splendid. A big thanks also to our friends in the Civil Defence, the Gardaí, the Defence Forces, the tour guides and the staff here at the Áras. They are here to make your day as much fun and as happy as it can possibly be.
Martin and I hope you have a great afternoon, that you travel safely home with happy memories of your visit to Áras an Uachtaráin.
Go raibh maith agaibh.