REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT ST. PATRICK’S DAY RECEPTION
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT ST. PATRICK’S DAY RECEPTION
May I warmly welcome you to Áras an Uachtaráin and thank you all for joining me here today to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, the feast day of Ireland’s Patron Saint and our National Day.
This St. Patrick’s Day is a very special one in many ways. The last of the second Millennium, it comes at a time when Ireland, North and South, stands on the threshold of an era of unprecedented prosperity, peace and confidence. Today the people of Ireland have within their reach the best opportunity for a lasting peace that we or any of our ancestors have ever known. We have the power to write a fresh new script for the coming Millennium, to lay the building blocks for a culture of consensus and to leave behind the centuries old culture of conflict.
I know, and would like to pay tribute to the fact, that many of you here this evening have played no small part in bringing us to this fortunate position. Our Ambassadors and their peoples gave us phenomenal encouragement to pursue peace. On the ground there were people quietly building the networks and friendships on which the peace would rest in time. As our politicians worked to flesh out the proposals which the Good Friday Agreement made on North/South co-operation, in many ways they were building on the foundations laid by pioneers like yourselves who, without the legislative or structural backup of the Bodies which are now to come into being, have long been carrying out meaningful co-operation across the border in ways which have benefited all of us. In doing so, you made a remarkable contribution to the creation of the context in which the conclusion of the Agreement, and all of the promise that it holds for the future of this island, became a realistic and feasible possibility. We are greatly in your debt.
Building on this work, the governments are now putting in place new structures, a whole new system, for carrying forward co-operation and common action – for building up respect and consensus. These new arrangements – the North-South Ministerial Council and the six new implementation Bodies – will, I believe, be unique to Ireland and will be a key part of a new era of close and meaningful co-operation on this island.
Such co-operation will not only be of great practical value, addressing issues of mutual concern in a structured, effective way with all the economies of scale that an all-island approach affords. They will also have great symbolic value, demonstrating clearly that there is nothing to be lost and everything to be gained from partnerships as we work to build a better future together. I know that some of you will be involved in these new endeavours and I am sure that you will bring to them considerable commitment, vision and enthusiasm. I wish you every success in the work ahead.
The institutions for North-South co-operation will be but part of a sophisticated adventure in democratic partnership – sitting alongside the British Irish Council, the Assembly, and the Human Rights Commissions – all of which are part of the radical new beginning the Agreement offers. We can take considerable satisfaction from the significant distance we have travelled in just one year.
We are all aware, however, that there are still difficulties ahead. We have yet to see an Executive formed and the difficult issue of decommissioning remains in front of us. The horrific murder of Rosemary Nelson this week is a tragic reminder that there are still dark forces at work that wish to see the process dragged back into the mire of violence and hatred of the past. It is important that we are all soberly aware of the history of these people, and of their efforts in the past to subvert any attempt at peace-making. We who see ourselves as peace-makers have it within our power to rescue the process from their evil attempts to destroy it. We alone have it within our power to reject the poison of hatred which they seek to spread, contaminating as they have one generation after another. We are committed to building a culture of consensus – no matter how hard the road, no matter how devastating the setbacks, for that culture will be rooted in equality, in respect and in peaceful co-existence.
This will not be easy. We need people like Rosemary, people of courage and vision, people who stand by their ideals even in the face of death-threats and intimidation. We need the kind of future she stood for, a future of decency, a future of hope.
That future lies within our power, within our grasp. The people of Ireland, from all traditions, have a right to the bright future which the Agreement promises and rightly expect each of us to do what we can to see that promise fulfilled.
May I also take the opportunity to renew our thanks to our friends from abroad who are with us here this evening. Throughout the years and months of difficult negotiations in the search for peace, we in Ireland have greatly appreciated the enormous support and encouragement which we have received from our friends throughout the world. It is a great comfort to know that as we strive to fully implement the Agreement, we will have your continued company on the road ahead. We thank you for the work you do in building relationships between Ireland and the rest of the world.
May I once again extend to you the warmest of welcomes, and wish you and your families a happy and peaceful St. Patrick’s Day.