REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE FRIENDS OF THE IRFU CHARITABLE TRUST ANNUAL DINNER
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE FRIENDS OF THE IRISH RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION CHARITABLE TRUST ANNUAL DINNER
Is mór an pléisiúir dom bheith i bhur measc anocht ar an ócáid speisialta seo agus tá me buíoch díbh as an chuireadh a thug sibh dom teacht anseo.
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is good to be with you at this Annual Dinner for the Irish Rugby Football Union Charitable Trust. My thanks to John Smith, the IRFU Charitable Trust and the Friends of the Charitable Trust Committee for their invitation and to each of you for the welcome. We meet on the anniversary of Armistice Day – a coincidence I am sure that has no direct reference to events at Lansdowne Road tomorrow. There is another connection to Armistice Day though that is unique to rugby and is a continuing source of pride to the people who share this island. The tens of thousands of young Irish men who fought in the Great War came from all of the political and faith traditions of this island. The sacrifice of the majority who came from the Catholic, Nationalist tradition fell victim to the national politics of independence of the day and so their memories became for many years a whisper or a shoe box of fading photos and documents in a silent attic. Partition cut roughly through many shared memories and severed many opportunities for sharing but in and through rugby the children of all perspectives and traditions from all corners of the island held on to the thread of friendship through sport.
When the Ireland team lines up, whether in Dublin or any part of the world, it is remarkable to think of the pride and passion they engender in hearts and minds North and South and the healthy contribution they make to the store of shared happy memories which are the bastion against distrust and enmity. And they have given us a considerable store of great memories, of triumphs and disappointments, of courage and commitment, of hopes and ambitions. They have been heroic figures to our young people, encouraging in them respect for self-discipline, for physical well-being, for the talents and gifts of others as well as belief in their own gifts and determination in the revealing of those gifts. They have been humble winners and gracious losers. Their fans have been good-natured and sporting in victory and in defeat. The organisers of this sport have treated visiting teams, officials and followers with the friendly hospitality for which Ireland is legendary, solidifying, sustaining and developing our relations with nations and peoples right around the globe. They have invested heavily in our young people and in our communities, helping them to become more resilient, more reconciled. Rugby has punched way above its weight, making of itself an admirable arena of sporting excellence, well-conducted rivalry and sociability which brings considerable and valuable economic, health and social benefits to all of us.
Like so many sports though there is a price paid by a small number, in terms of injury. With over two hundred clubs and over two hundred and fifty schools playing this contact game, injuries occur and tragically they do occasionally lead to permanent disability. That is where your quiet work of care and support comes in, raising funds which can buy life-enhancing equipment or services for players who have been seriously injured, contributing to crucial ongoing medical research whether in the Central Remedial Clinic or Musgrave Park Hospital, letting the injured players and their families know that their lives and limitations, their worries and concerns are shared by the rugby community. We should never, ever accept the inevitability of such overwhelming injuries for the truth is that there is an avoidability about them which adds hugely to the burden of loss they engender.
We are all of us responsible for the safety of our young people and that onus is particularly heavy when it comes to introducing them to sports that involve known risks. Minimising those risks through insistence on best practice and the highest quality training methods and trainers is our surest way to preventing the awesome tragedy of a young life consigned to paraplegia or quadriplegia as a result of what should have been an afternoon of sporting fun.
I know that is your concern for you have made their radically altered lives your concern. You have brought them help, hope and friendship and it is my fervent hope that the future will bring no more such tragedies to your door. Thank you for your kindness and concern.
I hope you enjoy a most pleasant event both tonight and tomorrow.
Go raibh maith agaibh go léir.