REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ‘LIGHT UP A LIFE’
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ‘LIGHT UP A LIFE’ CEREMONY
Tá áthas an domhain orm bheith anseo libh inniu agus tá mé buíoch díbh as an chuireadh agus as fáilte fíorchaoin a chur sibh romham.
I am delighted to have this opportunity to be with you all today to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the ‘Light up a Life’ ceremony. I would like to express my warm thanks to Sr. Jacinta Forde and to all of the staff here for their very kind invitation.
We love Christmas for its magic, for the way it draws us around the hearth, for the store of happy childhood memories, for its enduring wonder and mystery. It can be a testing time though. Sometimes when we gather there are empty chairs of loved ones no longer with us. Sometimes there is the realisation that someone we love may not be here to share next Christmas. Sometimes there is illness so overwhelming that it is difficult to find the energy for Christmas. And still we are entitled to look forward to the very best Christmas we can make.
So we gather at Our Lady’s Hospice in a place which has many, many years of experience in making the very best of life, of commemorating the dead with resolute faith and hope. In this Light up a Life Ceremony we draw together the bits and pieces of hope and help, which combine to put the spirit of Christmas into our lives. We remind ourselves that we have to supply the happiness that is in a happy Christmas. We can celebrate with our family and friends but we also commemorate the lives of our departed loved ones, we can celebrate the gift of being alive while accepting the frailty of life itself and being grateful for the love that helps us cope with life’s harsh realities. So, here at the Hospice, the ‘Light up a Life’ event marks the beginning of a time of peace and reflection in which we are called to do what we can to help make this Christmas memorable and exceptional.
This ceremony gives us a lovely insight into the mind of hospice care. We all have some idea of the work because most of us know someone whose life literally depended on the Hospice. And the phenomenal public response to hospice care and to supporting it through a litany of fund-raising endeavours, is evidence of the chord Hospice has touched in so many, many hearts. The ethos of the Hospice, the things it stands for, the love it is willing to show and to talk about, the gentleness it offers, the reassurance it gives, these are the things the public respond to in a unique way. The sheer professionalism, the exceptionally high quality of care, these are standards we now take for granted when the name Hospice is mentioned and they are evident in the wide and widening range of services you provide. But it is the value system which underpins Hospice that really holds our imagination and which has forged such formidable bonds between the public and the Hospice movement. You see a person, not just a patient. You see a family in distress not just a sick child or parent. You see a carer who needs respite, a chronically ill person who is entitled to the best possible life, a person who needs no medication or surgery but just a word or two of comfort.
Sadly, I have very recently seen closely the wonderful work of the hospice when a member of staff in Áras an Uachtaráin was seriously ill and in need of that special care, I know the difference it made to his quality of life and to his wife as she cared for him at home. We are very, very lucky in Ireland to have such a service. My granny used to say “You make your luck.” No phrase captures Hospice better because an army of volunteers helps to make the luck that gives the rest of us the gift of hospice care.
Since the foundation of this Hospice in 1879, many generations have put their stamp on its life and times and today we can say with absolute certainty that this is the best Our Lady’s has ever been. We can also say without being accused of contradiction that the best is yet to come - for the search for improvement never stops. That ethos of striving always to do things better, to make things better, is a founding value cherished by founders, friends and staff down through the years. I know too, that your aim is to continue to develop this philosophy to ensure that Our Lady’s Hospice Harold’s Cross enhances even further its reputation as the leading provider of patient care in its field. I wish you continued success with that work and I know that the vision which has inspired all who work and come into contact with the Hospice, will remain as vibrant and vital as ever in the years to come.
Is iontach an obair atá ar siúl agaibh anseo, go raibh míle maith agaibh.
And now, if you are all ready, let us begin the countdown to ‘Light up a Life’……….Ten, Nine, Eight……..