REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE IRELAND FUNDS’ ANNUAL CONFERENCE RDS, DUBLIN
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE IRELAND FUNDS’ ANNUAL CONFERENCE RDS, DUBLIN TUESDAY, 27TH JUNE 2000
Tá lúcháir mhór orm bheith anseo libh inniu agus muid ag ceiliúradh cúig bliain is fiche dul chun cinn. Mo bhuíochas libh as an chaoin-chuireadh.
I am delighted to be here among so many old friends of Ireland, as we celebrate twenty five years of the Ireland Funds. Those funds speak volumes about the relationship between Irish people and the wider Irish family throughout the world, about the generous outreach of support across thousands of miles to the people of this island. Much has been said and written in these past number of years about that global Irish family, perhaps to the extent that through its very familiarity, we have forgotten just what a remarkable phenomenon it is. Many nations have witnessed an exodus of their peoples, especially to the New World, over the generations and centuries. But few, if any, have experienced such a strong and enduring bond of friendship, affection and support that has linked those who remained in Ireland to those who left – and more than that, to the descendants of those who left. Those generations of Irish emigrants, many of whom left in the most horrendous of circumstances, fostered in their children and grandchildren an affection for, concern for and responsibility for, the fate of this island so many of them were never to see again. More remarkable still has been the way which that affection has endured in subsequent generations who, whether they are frequent visitors or have never set foot in Ireland, take such pride in their Irish roots and such interest in what happens on this small island.
It was this culture of concern and affection that helped to sustain Ireland in the grim years of the past, with the hard-earned pounds and dollars that were sent home, money that could scarcely be spared but was given gladly to those who needed it even more. And it was not only family and friends who benefited from that received tradition of generosity. For out of that culture, emerged a raft of organisations dedicated to improving life for people the length and breadth of Ireland, strangers they had never met, would never meet, yet whose wellbeing, whose life opportunities, mattered to them deeply.
We are profoundly grateful to all those people scattered around the world who have supported the Ireland Funds over the past twenty five years. Most especially of course, I would like to pay tribute to Dr Tony O’Reilly and Mr Dan Rooney, whose vision and generosity of spirit, whose belief in the unfulfilled potential of this island, led to the establishment of the Funds in the first place. The Ireland of 1976 now seems a lifetime away - it was certainly a very different place to the self-confident Ireland of today, the economic success story of Europe whose culture is feted world wide. It was a place of narrower horizons, less ambitious expectations, where success was viewed as a somewhat unwholesome condition, where to try and fail was worse than never to have tried at all. And in Northern Ireland, there seemed little room for hope amid the ever-mounting toll of death, destruction, bitter intransigence and hatred.
Twenty five years on, and Ireland has been utterly transformed. It is never easy to untangle the web of factors which underpin such miracles – there is our membership of the European Union, the economic and fiscal policies that were adopted, the inward investment especially by US companies, our education system, the system of social partnership... I could continue. But I believe there has been another factor at work, less tangible, more difficult to measure, but just as crucial to that transformation. That is the way that Irish people and friends of Ireland around the world continued to believe in us, instilled confidence in us, provided the spark which helped to kickstart the peace process.
It is thanks to you and to people like you, that across this island today, thousands of people have escaped poverty, gained the education and skills to create a new life for themselves, grown in self-belief, become the helpers rather than the ones in need of help. We know, however, that there are many still excluded from that prosperity, that sense of hope. They look on from the sidelines, spectators rather than participants, at this miracle in which they seem to have no share. That is why we must not become complacent. That is why your help and encouragement continues to be as invaluable as ever going forward.
Nowhere is that more true than in relation to your work in Northern Ireland. The Good Friday Agreement established the basis for peace, but it is the lived reality of ordinary men and women which determines how deep-rooted that peace becomes. Your support has been vital in helping to put flesh on the bones of peace, to make the promised peace dividend something that can be experienced, felt, touched, by those who have suffered most. By insisting on cross community partnership, on creating a resource to benefit all sides and sections, you are helping to break down the barriers behind which ignorance of the other, fear of the other, have sheltered for so long. Your work helps to create a space where each identity feels respected and valued.
We have had our ups and downs in the peace process and we will, no doubt, continue to have them in the future. But the landscape has been changed. The old jaded energies wasted on conflict are giving way to an energetic partnership focussed on getting the best deal for everyone in Northern Ireland. A whole new source of creative energy and endeavour is being released across the island of Ireland and out of it a new future will be crafted, the landscape of thought and deed will be transformed.
The Ireland Funds have played a significant role in pointing the way to this new future. Through tough times you have led the way, demonstrating how, through daily co-operation and interaction, barriers can be eroded and wounds can be healed. At this time, of such enormous potential for the island of Ireland, it is more important than ever that your support enables work to continue at community level and across communities, tackling and addressing everyday concerns, breaking down prejudices and building a spirit of local responsibility, of ownership, of accountability and of course of that elusive and much needed source of fuel - trust itself.
To date in the Ireland Funds, you have raised over £100 million – I don’t think even Tony O’Reilly or Dan Rooney could have envisaged such success, such generosity twenty five years ago. I salute your achievements and I wish you every success in your future endeavours.
Is iontach an obair atá ar siúl agaibh agus guím gach rath air san am atá le teacht.