Remarks by President McAleese at the George Mitchell Scholarship Programme 2010 Celebration
Remarks by President McAleese at the George Mitchell Scholarship Programme 2010 Celebration Farmleigh, Tuesday, 1st June, 2010
A Rang Dhá Mhíle agus a Deich, A Aíonna Speisialta agus a Dhaoine Uaisle, tá an-áthas orm a beith libh tráthnóna inniu don chomóradh an-speisialta seo. It’s a real pleasure to join you all here this evening to honour the graduating class of 2010 of George Mitchell Scholars. I thank Trina Vargo, President of the US-Ireland Alliance for her invitation to this tenth anniversary event where we celebrate not only this year’s remarkable Scholars but all 120 students who have flown the flag of the George Mitchell Scholarships and who have become unofficial ambassadors for the United States in Ireland and ambassadors for Ireland in the United States.
You are not the same people you were when you took the plane to Ireland and scattered after orientation to your respective universities. You have each gleaned utterly unique and different experiences and insights, made friends and discoveries enough to enrich a lifetime. You know Ireland better and you know yourselves better for being alone in an unknown place is a serious test of resilience and coping skills. You were not of course entirely alone for you have the generous funding support of the US Government, the enthusiastic support of the two Departments of Education, the goodwill of many groups and individuals and the formidable organisational back-up of the US-Ireland Alliance.
I am delighted to hear that several of you have already decided to extend your stay here by taking up internships and positions in a variety of organisations and even in some cases to get married here! But whatever your future plans we know that the links you have formed with Ireland will make you stronger, the US stronger and Ireland stronger. Your academic interests range right across the spectrum of possibilities but you have a common passion for wonder, curiosity and, crucially, for leadership.
We hope that you will cultivate a life-long interest in and appreciation of Ireland, our people and our culture and, through you, the deep-rooted, multifaceted networks that link Ireland and the U.S. will be renewed, widened and consolidated in yet another generation.
Those networks have over generations been incredibly successful but in recent years they have been essential on Ireland’s journey towards both peace and prosperity. Successive US Governments took a direct hand in helping us to end the centuries-old culture of conflict and with the genius and patience of Senator George Mitchell we put that past behind us and embarked on building a culture of consensus. The debt we owe to our friends in the United States is enormous and the list of champions of our cause is long indeed. It includes right at the top the name of Trina’s former boss, the late Senator Edward Kennedy who worked to his last breath on behalf of the poor, the marginalised and on behalf of Ireland. In perhaps his most famous speech in 1980, Senator Kennedy reminded us that the work goes on, the cause endures, hope still lives and the dream shall never die. The work needs champions, it needs people like you to commit your hearts, hands, lives, passion to building a world where all are included and cared for and none overlooked or neglected.
As global citizens in 2010 and now as cherished honorary members of our global Irish family, you have already set out your statements of intent to be people who take responsibility, who do not wait for others to do things. You intend to be the next generation of problem-solvers in a world with many problems. I hope that your time here in Ireland has honed your skills, sharpened your focus and given you even braver hearts. William Butler Yeats once said that “education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire” and I hope the fire lit inside each one of you will burn brightly on both sides of the Atlantic for many years to come. You have each become a part of the global Irish family and I hope wherever life takes you there will be much fulfillment and fun in the years ahead.
Thank you.