REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE ESTONIAN RETURN RECEPTION, FARMLEIGH HOUSE
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE ESTONIAN RETURN RECEPTION, FARMLEIGH HOUSE TUESDAY, 15 APRIL 2008
Your Excellencies President and Mrs Ilves
Ambassador Pung
Minister Lang
Minister Janes
Members of the Estonian delegation
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
Thank you for hosting this wonderful reception this evening and for the very enjoyable musical performance which evoked happy memories of my days in Estonia in 2001 in the company of your distinguished predecessor Lennart Meri.
It was a pleasure to receive you at Áras an Uachtaráin yesterday and to have the chance to talk of many things of mutual interest. We particularly value the fact that you are accompanied by such a high-level business delegation for that underlines the importance of developing our economic relations. Already the reports of the Business Seminar which you addressed today are very encouraging and I hope that the business contacts made there will lead to enhanced commerce between Ireland and Estonia.
We are so fortunate that in this generation our peoples can live freely and happily amongst each other and it is a special delight to meet again with members of the Estonian community in Ireland whose presence in our country makes such a wonderful contribution to our civic, cultural and economic life. Their lived lives are among the most important of bridges between us. And the number of those bridges is growing all the time. For a long time I know Estonians have loved Irish literature as your visit to the Yeats Exhibition and the James Joyce Centre testifies. I remember visiting Tartu and seeing there a sculpture which depicts an imaginary conversation between Oscar Wilde and Estonia’s great writer, Eduard Wilde. In fact a replica of that statue is now on prominent display in Galway city. Today our writers, in fact all our people freely converse as they please and you are helping those conversations by bringing to Ireland the “History Reflected in Architecture” exhibition for which I thank you, Mr President, and Minister Janes. I hope you will enjoy a taste of Irish history and architecture in your coming visits to Newgrange and Glendalough.
Mr President, we are privileged to be part of the miracle generations in both our countries and we know that through visits like this not only do we build up the friendships between us but we also build the future - the best future Ireland and Estonia have ever known.
Mr President, I want to wish you, Mrs Ilves and all of your delegation a successful continuation of your visit to Ireland.
Aitah.