REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT ST PATRICK’S DAY RECEPTION ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT ST PATRICK’S DAY RECEPTION ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN TUESDAY, 17TH MARCH 2009
Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh go léir agus céad míle fáilte chuig Áras an Uachtaráin.
It is my great pleasure to extend the traditional welcome, céad míle fáilte, one hundred thousand welcomes to each of you, on behalf of Martin and myself, to Áras an Uachtaráin. Thank you all for joining us to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, the feast day of Ireland’s Patron Saint and our National Day.
It is now nearly 1600 years since St. Patrick returned to this island on which he had been enslaved as a boy. He had heard, as he said in his own words, the ‘Voice of the Irish’ calling him for help. He came back very reluctantly. As he said in his Confessio, “... I did not proceed to Ireland on my own accord until I was almost giving up.” But he didn’t give up - he came, he stayed, he worked and he changed our history forever, this early immigrant to Ireland. We know he endured great spiritual and physical suffering. He expected to. They came as no surprise to him but what did surprise him each morning was that he was able to say as he did in the Deer’s Cry, “I arise today through a mighty strength.” This self-confessed ordinary man of many weaknesses and failings found in himself, when under pressure, an immense and enduring strength of character. It got him through the many difficulties of his mission. His legacy was an Ireland that would grow to become a world-renowned centre of Christian values, scholarship, monasticism, spirituality, creativity and intellectual excellence. His legacy has grown in every generation as the scattered Irish family and their friends all over the world gather in his name to celebrate this day with a showcase of Irish culture and the charisms of friendship and joy in life which are two of the most indomitable of Irish characteristics.
We have seen our share of ups and downs since the days of Patrick - war and peace, poverty and plenty, outward migration and inward migration, sectarian division and the politics of partnership. We have been challenged and tested again and again. Now we are sorely tested by the colossal failure of a global and local culture of short-term gain and quick profiteering. The unprecedented economic progress and prosperity that we enjoyed for over a decade has given way to the reappearance of ghostly realities we hoped we had left behind – lengthening dole queues, financial angst in homes and businesses, young people leaving once again to find work elsewhere.
This is our time and this is our test. We will find a way through for, while some were seduced by the quick euro, the vast majority of people in this country were sharing what was in their pockets, building up families, building up community, filling, with their spontaneous and sustained generosity, gaps through which some people fall - the poor, the sick, the lonely, the disabled, the unskilled, the carers with their generosity. They built sports clubs, community centres, organisations for the retired, homework clubs, crèches, youth organisations, self-help groups, charities, hospices. They offered the help of the hands and hearts to the developing world, to the victims of disasters and nothing they did and nothing they are doing today and tomorrow was for selfish short-term gain but for the long-term investment in a humanly decent, resilient and caring civic society. Those people did not get us into this mess - but they will get us out of it. Because that is the kind of people they are, dependable, courageous and determined. They are also rightly proud of Ireland and the remarkable progress and massive human investment it has made in building both peace and prosperity. They are not about to let either be rendered valueless by either wilful violence or wilful greed. The brutal events at Massereene and Craigavon that have visited such pain on so many families, provoked an overwhelming level of systemic solidarity within Northern Ireland, between North and South and between Ireland and Great Britain. Let those who perpetrated those evil crimes take note - the peacemakers are legion and we are not for turning. Politicians and people of different perspectives, on this, speak with one voice. The future is now shared.
That solidarity which will help us face down the remaining men and women of violence will also help us face down the economic problems which beset us. The human values of decency, generosity and trust which underpin that solidarity will preserve our hard-won peace and help retrieve a prosperity that is sustainable.
These sombre thoughts are close to us all at the moment but on this day we do what the Irish and their friends are doing from Dublin to Dubai and from Belfast to Beijing, we gather to enjoy each other’s company, to celebrate our Irish heritage and to remember St Patrick, his mission and his message. May that mighty strength that got him through each difficult day be ours too.
Thank you to the Áras team who have created a warm and special welcome and to the entertainers who have created a lively and unique atmosphere.
To each and every one of you, I wish a wonderful St. Patrick's Day.
Go raibh maith agaibh agus slán abhaile.