REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE IRELAND FUNDS RECEPTION IN THE RESIDENCE OF THE USA AMBASSADOR
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE IRELAND FUNDS RECEPTION IN THE RESIDENCE OF THE AMBASSADOR OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Dia dhíbh a cháirde.
Ambassador Kenny, Ladies and Gentlemen,
In this room are gathered some of Ireland’s most loyal, generous and hardworking friends from around the world, men and women whose voluntary investment in this island’s peace and prosperity has changed the course of its present and its future, allowing us to believe firmly in the possibility of Hope and History rhyming. Five years ago when I officially launched the Ireland Funds one hundred million dollar ‘Hope and History’ fundraising campaign, I confess I thought the ambition was well on the far side of extraordinary. And it was but importantly you proved that it was possible, not easily, but with the most relentless commitment. This evening I congratulate you on the incredible success of that campaign and in particular I offer a hundred thousand thanks to the campaign chair, Loretta Brennan Glucksman whose contribution to the development of modern Ireland and in particular to the growth of peace would itself justify a five year campaign in the telling.
What is particularly remarkable about this campaign is the deep intuitive understanding that provoked it for of course its launch coincided with that special chapter in our history when the Good Friday Agreement had been signed and overwhelmingly endorsed by the people North and South. Those who did not understand the complexity of the situation, those who failed to comprehend that we were embarked on a long-term process of shift from a culture of conflict to a culture of consensus, thought that Good Friday had brought closure to the Troubles. You who know the nature of intercommunal dysfunction, of entrenched sectariansim, of deep fears and mistrust, you knew the most important phase of the job was only just beginning, that it needed champions, that they needed resources and support and you made yourselves the architects of that support.
You fostered and fed the fragile roots of peace. You nurtured the new dynamic which transformed Ireland’s economic fortunes. You seed-bedded economic regeneration and cross-community dialogue, you drew in the marginalized, encouraged education and training initiatives, you protected our beautiful environment, showcased our unique multifaceted culture, promoted a new self-confidence and self-belief, gave over 1000 community organisations the chance to know success and to build on their achievements, gave many human beings a reason to look forward to tomorrow. You did it for Ireland. You did it for the men, women and children who share this island. There was no thought of thanks or recognition just the miraculous personal fulfilment that comes from giving to the struggling stranger the gift of hope.
As President I have been privileged to see your work in action in every corner of this island and besides the uplift and the opportunities created by the funds you raise, there are many other more subtle beneficial effects which have consolidated a new “can do” mood. The simple fact that this money is gathered from and through the Irish global family and their friends connects our peripheral island powerfully to the wider world, increasing the sense of solidarity and support so vital to communities in transition to better days. Your kindness which is mandated by no law or government but which arises from simple human decency, calls for respectful use of the funds and provokes in those funded a determination to vindicate your faith in them and in Ireland. It also challenges those who are neighbours to each other to think again their lack of care and respect for one another when confronted by this mission of care from around the globe.
Your considerable contribution to the Special Olympics here last summer will long be remembered. It helped create the best set of memories of my lifetime and it set a new agenda for those with disability, an agenda focussed on empowerment and harnessing ability. What a wonderful legacy. Add that to the mountain of achievements of the Ireland Funds and the mountain of effort it took to raise the funds to create those achievements and we begin to get some sense of the calibre of the people gathered here and represented here this evening. People without equal. Now you are witnesses to the start of a new Ireland.
The tide of emigration that carried so many of your ancestors away from these shores has been reversed, the poverty-stricken, underachieving, and isolated Ireland has given way to a successful, prospering Ireland making a real contribution to the politics of Europe, of the developing world and the globe. This Ireland revels in the success of her children at home as once she marvelled and took comfort from the success of her emigrant children abroad. She takes pride in the fact that these children of today’s Ireland and the great-grandchildren of yesterday’s Ireland are partners and collaborators, co-creators of this emerging Ireland, destined to be the most successful, peaceful and prosperous in this island’s history.
We owe you a debt that cannot ever be repaid but on this evening of celebration, on behalf of the Irish people, on behalf of all those who benefit from the assistance of the Ireland Funds, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your faithful friendship, your conviction and commitment, your amazing generosity - your assertion of caring kinship. The "Hope and History" campaign’s success is a great tribute to your work, the rhyming of hope and history will be its lasting legacy.
Go raibh maith agaibh.