REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OPENING OF THE AGE ACTION IRELAND CONFERENCE
REMARKS AT THE OPENING OF THE AGE ACTION IRELAND CONFERENCE ‘CREATING A BETTER TOMORROW WITH OLDER VOLUNTEERS'
Tá gliondar orm bheith anseo i bhur measc inniu. Go raibh maith agaibh as fáilte fíorchaoin a chuir sibh romhaim.
I have great pleasure in being here this morning and in warmly welcoming all of you, especially those of you who have joined us from afar to this Conference. I would like to particularly thank the Chief Executive of Age Action Ireland, Robin Webster, and Linda Desmond, for their very kind invitation to join you here today.
This is a very special year for all of us - the UN International Year of Older Persons. It is a year of celebrating the gifts, the talents and the energy of older persons. It provides us with an opportunity to recognise and thank older people for their contribution to building the Ireland of today – an Ireland which is confident, forward looking and prosperous. We should never forget that this prosperity would not have been possible had it not been for the sacrifices and commitment of our parents and grandparents, who worked and saved and dreamed of a better life for their children and grandchildren. That dream has now come true for many Irish people. Today I want to say thank you, on behalf of the people of Ireland, to the older members of society who made that dream possible.
However, this International Year of Older People is not just about reflecting on past achievements, but also forging a new role for older people within our society. It challenges us to find ways of freshening and strengthening the relationship between our older citizens and the generations they have raised, educated, nurtured. We need to consider how the wisdom, insight and energy that older people possess in such abundance can best be put to use within the wider community. There is a perception that vigour and initiative are qualities that are the preserve of the youth. This is a false and damaging dichotomy all too easily absorbed and internalised by the older people themselves - leading to lack of confidence, loss of self-esteem and an entrapment of the talents they possess.
There are, after all, more than 400,000 people aged 65 and over in this country. That is an enormous reservoir of energy, experience and skill just waiting to be tapped – an incredible potential which can be put to good use. And our needs are many. For we should not forget amidst our current prosperity, that thousands of Irish people remain trapped in a vicious circle of poverty, unemployment, exclusion and despair. We cannot count ourselves truly successful if we forget those people, if we forget how to care, if we forget the proud tradition of voluntary activity that has been so important in this country in the past. It is a tradition that springs from a time when we had little, a time that is not so distant and which many older people have personally experienced. A tradition that is grounded in the necessity of neighbour helping neighbour, in order for both to survive.
That is why this conference and the launch of the Retired and Senior Volunteer programme is such a timely initiative. For it provides an opportunity for older people to learn new skills, to make new friends and widen their horizons – while simultaneously continuing the great tradition of voluntary work that has always been such an important part of our identity. That work is seed-bedding a better tomorrow; it is using all our resources, our collective wisdom and strength to shape a more humanly decent world.
Visitors to Ireland tell us that they come here looking not for a different sense of place, but for a different sense of Time, that is reflected in the way people act and react towards one another.
In the growing “busyness” of life, that wonderful gift of having time for each other is an endangered natural resource. One of the great, hard-earned gifts of retirement is time, time to shape your life your own way, free from the tyranny of schedules, of clocking in and clocking out – how often do we hear grandparents express their joy at the time they have to enjoy their grandchildren and lament how little time life afforded them to enjoy their own children. This is precious time, precious because it is so hard-earned, precious because as we get older we become more conscious of our mortality we see how quickly it evaporates. We know that used well, it can make a huge difference to ourselves and others.
Each yet unlived hour is an opportunity to make a real contribution to today’s Ireland. In his beautiful novel about the Korean War – entitled “I Am the Clay”,the author Chaim Potok tells the story of an elderly couple, fleeing for their lives across icy mountains. They waken each morning to find the dead bodies of their fellow refugees – dead from cold and hunger. The old handcart they use to help them cross the mountain, to carry their bedding and bits of firewood is essential to their survival. En route they meet a badly injured child and the old woman nurses him back to life against the old man’s better judgement. He is angry because the boy has to be fed and food is scarce. He is weak, has to be carried. But the boy grows strong. The wheel falls off the cart. All three are in danger of dying because they cannot go on to safety without it. The old man knows how to fix it but hasn’t the energy to scavenge for the materials he needs. The young boy has no idea how to fix it but has the strength to gather the materials. Together old man, young boy, they fix the cart – they make it to safety together. On their own, none would have survived but with the wisdom of the old and the strength of the young, a formidable partnership changed all their lives – created new chances, fresh opportunities. The launch of this Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme, will enable older people to build those bridges, across generations, across social divides, and across cultural divisions – opening up new opportunities, new hopes for old and young.
We know that we have much to learn from the experience and success of the Programme internationally, and especially in Northern Ireland. And in learning from each other, in sharing stories and experiences, I have no doubt that a whole new network of friendships will be built up across this island and beyond.
This year we ran a Schools/Senior Citizens Encounter Programme at Áras an Uachtaráin where we asked schools and their local senior citizens to engage in dialogue. They sent in collages of their experience together and we then had a series of parties to cement their friendship. One elderly lady wrote to me afterwards saying that each day she used to pass the school kids on her way to Mass. They never saluted her and she was a little intimidated by them. Now she is always late for Mass because they are her friends and stop to talk. That is what life should be like – no strangers, only friends we have not yet met. May this important new initiative bring new friends, new shared memories to bring pride and fulfillment.
I warmly commend Age Action for taking this important step and for all their ongoing work. I wish you all every success in the future.
Is iontach an obair atá ar siúl agaibh agus guím gach rath oraibh sa todhchaí.