REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE RECEPTION IN ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE RECEPTION IN ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN IN HONOUR OF THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CIVIL DEFENCE
Is cúis mhór áthais dom fáilte a chur romhaibh go léir chuig Áras an Uachtaráin.
It is a great pleasure to welcome each and every one of you today to the Áras for this celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Civil Defence. I am delighted that so many of you were able to join us from all over the country, and I hope that this will be a most memorable and enjoyable afternoon for everyone.
This is a celebration of both the organization and its people. Today we think back over the history of the Civil Defence, its changing face, its change of faces, linked by its unchanging fidelity to its ethos of service to the nation through voluntary endeavour.
At this time when we are more likely to talk about the threat to global economic stability from the volatility of stock market than of a Third World War or nuclear holocaust, it is worth recalling how very real those threats of violent conflagration were fifty years ago. So real, that the Government set up the Civil Defence in order to protect and assist the civilian population – to the limited extent this would be possible - in the event of such a catastrophe. And of course the Civil Defence School – just down the road from the Áras – was established to provide training in first aid, fire-fighting and evacuation to the volunteers who flooded in. It gives some indication of the terrible shadow of fear which was cast over the world in the 1960’s, to recall that at the time, there were over 25,000 volunteers enrolled in the Civil Defence, compared with 6,000 today.
Fortunately, the Civil Defence’s skills in coping with nuclear disaster never had to be tested and please God will never have to be. But those organisational skills have been put to good use in other ways, not least in providing accommodation, help and support to groups of people over the years who have been forced to flee their own homes because of warfare and violence – from Northern Ireland at the beginning of the Troubles, the Vietnamese Boat People in the 1970’s and more recently, refugees from Bosnia and Kosovo. Having personal experience of the trauma of losing one’s home, I know that all of those people deeply appreciate the help and personal kindness shown by Civil Defence volunteers when they were most in need of a helping hand.
But it has not just been at times of sadness that the Civil Defence has proved its worth. Its stewarding skills have been to the fore at all of our major national celebrations – from the visit of the Pope in 1979 to the welcome home celebrations for ‘Jack’s Army’ in the 1980’s, when thousands thronged the streets to celebrate the Irish soccer team’s achievements. And of course, the Civil Defence also plays an indispensable role in assisting Gardaí with crowd management at events as varied as the Rose of Tralee, the Slane Concert and the Budweiser Irish Derby. I suspect there’s a fairly wide variation in the age profile of volunteers, depending on the venue.
The Civil Defence’s success in re-orienting from its original mission to a peacetime, community support role has ensured its continued relevance to Irish society. What has never changed is the outstanding dedication and commitment of its members, who have served the Irish people with such diligence and care over the years, in good times and bad. Today, on behalf of the Irish people, I would like to express a heartfelt thank you to all of you, past and present members. Your efforts are very much appreciated and I am sure that while the next 50 years will bring many more changes, your unique contribution to Irish society will remain as essential and valued as it is today.
I very much appreciate this opportunity to join with you in celebrating this half-century. I would like to thank our wonderful musicians: Deirdre Ní Bhuachalla on harp who played for us in the Front Hall, and here in this room, Frederick Malone, Patrick O’Reilly and Aaron McVeigh, otherwise known as the B Sharps. I hope that you will enjoy this day, and that you will take home with you warm memories of this afternoon at Áras an Uachtaráin and of all the people you have met here today.
Tá súil agam go mbainfaidh sibh go léir taitneamh as an lá. Go raibh maith agaibh.