REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE 2009 GAISCE GOLD AWARD CEREMONY DUBLIN CASTLE
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE 2009 GAISCE GOLD AWARD CEREMONY DUBLIN CASTLE TUESDAY, 31ST MARCH, 2009
Dia dhíbh a chairde. Tá an-áthas orm a bheith i bhur measc inniú ar an ócáid speisialta seo. Táim buíoch díbh as an gcuireadh agus an fáilte a chuir sibh romhaim.
Thank you all for that welcome, thank you the Gaisce team who have put a huge amount of work into preparing for today and thank you and well done to the Gaisce Gold Medal awardees, the PALs, the organisations, employers and families who supported you on the way to achieving Gold.
I have stood here on many occasions in the past and each time I, along with the audience, have been moved and inspired by the stories of our Gold Award winners. Today is the very same as we gather to celebrate this group of award winners. No two have the same story to tell. No two look the same, sound the same, are the same. Each one utterly unique but there are some things about them, some common characteristics that we know for sure - these are young people you can depend on. They each in their own highly individual way chose to push themselves way out of their comfort zones, to make life tough on themselves, to learn about their strengths and weaknesses, to assert their curiosity about life and about what good they can bring to their own lives and the lives of others.
Gaisce Gold is not easy to get. It was never meant to be easy. In fact it was always meant to challenge that very human part of us that is inclined to settle for the easy self-indulgent thing, the thing that demands little from us and teaches us nothing about ourselves or about living fully, humanly, strongly audaciously.
So at no-one’s command but their own, today’s awardees set out to make their lives deliberately difficult, pressurised, challenging. From conquering mountains in West Cork or completing medieval walks in Germany or volunteering to teach adult literacy and a host of other things besides, there came a deeper level of self-awareness, a stronger insight into what beauty the world has to offer, what unfairness life can often inflict and what humanly uplifting work is just waiting to be done if only we commit to doing it. So the remarkable group of young people we honour today are a bunch of individuals with hugely different paths to gold but they share a generous sense of purpose and they are also characterised by staying the course.
In these days which are dominated by angry talk of greed and acquisitive self-indulgence, there is something both noble and reassuring about this day and this ceremony for though it may not hit the national headlines, it is a story of unselfish investment and of rich civic and personal dividends that no stock market will quote. As President I get out and about more than most commentators and I have the great fortune to witness the immense good that is undertaken daily by battalions of good and caring people. They do not look for recognition or gratitude. The PALS can be counted among them. Those who serve on Gaisce’s council too. Those who sponsor and who fundraise for Gaisce. Those who start off going for bronze, then silver and then gold - they can be counted among the people who build us up as a society, people who make good things happen and who make us proud.
Those who receive today’s Gold Award are part of a generation asked to cope with a world grown cynical and indignant as it comes to terms with the extensive damage inflicted by a dysfunctional global financial system. Each generation has had to face different challenges, for some it was finding peace or ending endemic poverty. This generation now faces its own tough tests but in this room there are young men and women who did not wait for life to test them. They tested themselves voluntarily and profoundly so that when life tested them they would already know just what they were made of and could be counted on to be leaders.
Alan Kay said ‘the best way to predict the future is to invent it.’ Who could not have faith in a future invented by these young men and women whose values of being responsible and taking responsibility are so needed in this time of real crisis. Hopefully by the time Gaisce marks its 25th anniversary next year, the tide will have begun to change and the future will have begun to look more promising for all of us but especially for those we celebrate today. Their voices are the voices of young men and women who are proven problem solvers and to each of them today we offer congratulations.
Congratulations also to Josie McGee, who has been appointed as a European representative to the International Youth Forum of the International Awards Association. Well done Josie! A big thank you to the President Award Leaders (PALS) who are the backbone of Gaisce, to the Council, staff, supporters and sponsors of Gaisce who each year help us to build up our civic society by investment in strengthening and developing our young people. To the families who are here today - you should be so proud of what your son, daughter, brother or sister has accomplished on the road to this day. The awardees would be the first to acknowledge your help along that road and I thank you also.
The day belongs to those who started the journey and who finished it despite a thousand distractions. These are the exemplars whose stories make us rightly reassured and light of heart. We are all incredibly proud of you and you have every right to take pride in the achievement of Gold. I wish you all success and happiness and reward in your future lives and endeavours.
Comhghairdeas libh go léir agus go raibh míle maith agaibh inniu. Go n-éirí go geal libh.