REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE 2008 GAISCE CIVIC MERIT AWARDS DUBLIN CASTLE
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE 2008 GAISCE CIVIC MERIT AWARDS DUBLIN CASTLE MONDAY, 29TH SEPTEMBER 2008
Dia dhaoíbh a chairde. Cuirim fáilte romhaibh go léir atá i láthair anseo.Tá an-áthas orm a bheith in bhur measc ar an ócáid speisialta seo. Comhghairdeas libhse go léir atá tar éis aitheantas speisialta a bhaint amach maidir le bhur gcuid saothair ar son Gaisce.
So often we meet in Dublin Castle to present the Gaisce Gold Awards to young men and women whom you, the Pals, have helped to success and high achievement. You may even share the stage with them for a photograph but it is their day. But today is different for this is your day when we acknowledge and recognise the fundamental importance of the work that the President’s Award Leaders carry out. Gaisce sets the challenge to our young people between the ages of 15 and 25. It is not an easy challenge and they do not have easy lives. There are exams and sports and jobs and recreation all clamouring for their precious time. Add in the worry of taking on the commitment that the Gaisce challenge demands and it would be easy to say no, it’s too much, I couldn’t get through that on my own. That is where the Pals come in, for their company on the deep journey of personal growth the Gaisce Award entails, gives the comfort, reassurance, encouragement, guidance and confidence that allows a young person to say yes to Gaisce and to see the challenge through to the finish.
Our Pals are all volunteers, who work closely with young Gaisce candidates of all backgrounds and levels of ability. They help them to understand that the President’s Award is not a competition with others but a journey into the self - to a place where they will encounter their strengths and weaknesses, learn new skills, grow in wisdom and understanding of their community and of the wider world around them. They’ll have fun and company on that journey and at its end they will be changed - they will be stronger, more mature, more curious about the world and more determined to do all they can to infuse that world with values, attitudes, causes and contributions that make it a better place to live.
Without the Pals there would be no Gaisce and without Gaisce thousands of young people each year would miss that great chance to meet life head on. Pals provide the leadership and advocacy at local level that leads to participation in the awards, that introduces young people to Gaisce. The first-class professional team led by Chief Executive Barry O’Callaghan and the formidable Council under the inspiring chairmanship of Dr. Laurence Crowley all do tremendous work and they would be the first to tell us just how impossible this success story that is Gaisce would be without the Pals.
The Gaisce Civic Merit Award goes to those Pals who have given at least five years of active involvement to the President's Award. We can count the number of bronze, silver and gold awards they have helped others to obtain but we will never be able to count the value of the investment they have made in the lives of our young people and in the civic capacity which underpins our community life. These unique awards are our way of saying thank you.
Comhghairdeas libh arís agus míle buíochas.