REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE COMMUNITY GROUPS RECEPTION ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN MONDAY, 10th July
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE COMMUNITY GROUPS RECEPTION ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN MONDAY, 10th July, 2006.
Dia dhíbh go léir, agus céad míle fáilte.
Good afternoon, everybody.
Martin and I are delighted to offer each of you the traditional céad míle fáilte – one hundred thousand welcomes to Áras an Uachtaráin. We have guests from every part of this island and beyond its shores and we are glad you made the journey no matter how long or short to be with us for what we hope will be a very happy day.
Many of you are involved in some way or another with community organisations. You are people who get out and get involved, doing the millions of things that make life, better and fuller for all of us. You are the people whose work makes sure we are not strangers to one another, that we look out for each other and give each other the support and friendship that can make all the difference between enduring life and enjoying it.
In Ireland we are blessed with a long tradition of good neighbourliness, of people volunteering their skills, time, resources and money to create opportunities and services which would not exist without them. Your work helps all of us, young, old, disabled, carers, the poor, the people who feel left out or left behind. You are the people who see things to be done but don’t wait for someone else to do it.
Margaret Mead, the great American social observer once said ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.’ Throughout Ireland, people who commit to building up and strengthening their communities are changing Ireland for the better, one person at a time, one street at a time. Today we say thank you, through you, to all those community builders and we celebrate the vast amount of good that is done every single day, in the name of community.
Please make yourselves at home and enjoy the day and before you leave I hope you will take the chance to look around the house and maybe make a new friend or two as you do.
I thank our wonderful entertainers who have helped make today extra special: Austin Gaffney, Michael Casey on the piano, Eleanor McEvoy, the Jazz Quarter, the Mellow Chords, and our friends from Comhaltas. Also making sure the day is great are the St John’s Ambulance Brigade, the Civil Defence, the Gardaí, the Tour Guides and of course the big team here at the Áras who have worked so hard and long hours in preparation to make today a success.
Martin and I hope you have a great afternoon, and return home safely, bringing with you many fond memories of your visit to Áras an Uachtaráin.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.