REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE UNVEILING OF A PLAQUE TO COMMEMMORATE HER VISIT TO THE CURRAGH
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE UNVEILING OF A PLAQUE TO COMMEMMORATE HER VISIT TO THE CURRAGH THURSDAY 25 MAY 2000
Tá athas orm bheith anseo libh inniu. Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a chur in iúl daoibh as an chuireadh agus as an fáilte a bhí caoin, cneasta agus croíúil.
I am delighted to be with you today in the Curragh. I very much appreciate the warm welcome which the members of the army Band and everyone in the Curragh has given me.
This is a unique community, gathered around the work of our armed forces and their families, bonded together by a set of shared memories and experiences which are deeper and stronger than in many other communities in Ireland.
The people in the Curragh live, work and socialise within this very particular community. Many of you are bound by ties of family or friendship with the Irish Army and in many ways the army is the Curragh community’s lifeblood.
But it is the army and the civilian population together who provide the community spirit, the drive which binds the people of this place together, making it a place both take pride in, enjoy living in and are proud to rear children in.
And the children are a credit to this community. I have just met the Curragh’s primary and post primary students. What struck me most forcibly was their easy belonging, their rootedness in place and pride in place. That pride in place draws from a well of stories of work done here and across the world in the name of Ireland by those great ambassadors, our army personnel. It is work which is always done superbly well, with courage, commitment, discipline and care for the stranger and for each other.
One of the best parts of being President is the relationship between the President and the armed forces. I work with members of the defence forces every day. I am privileged to have seen their work in Lebanon and in Honduras as well as the length and breadth of Ireland and I would like to express my deep appreciation of the work they do and the way they do it. I have first-hand knowledge of their professionalism, dedication and courtesy. Sometimes they are asked to face difficult and dangerous situations. They do so, away from the glare of publicity, seeking no credit, just quietly getting on with the job, putting up with their worries, carrying their burdens. And their families, back home worry for their safety. Life at home too is not without its other problems, children facing exams, parents facing illness and the countless other ups and downs that everyday life imposes of us. Those we depend on may not always be near at hand to give support or comfort and that is why it is so important that the families have each other to talk to, to share their worries with, and to provide comfort for each other, replicating the camaraderie which makes even the most intolerable conditions abroad, liveable with. This is why the spirit of community and friendship is so important and so strong in this locality. It is a mirror image of the spirit that exists in and is so necessary a component of our defence forces.
Today, I want to give recognition to the people of the Curragh, to the tremendous work you do to give the Curragh its spirit of unity. Here there is an alliance of so many different people and talents, a pooling of resources so that when one is weak another is strong enough for both, when bad times come they are endured together, when days of pride come they are celebrated as a community.
In unveiling this plaque today, I extend my very best wishes to the people of the Curragh. You have a self-belief, a character to be proud of. It will serve you well tomorrow as it has done in the past. May it help secure your future prosperity and progress and may the Curragh community continue to thrive and prosper into the new millennium.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh go leir.