REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE PRIMARY SCHOOLS/SENIOR CITIZENS ENCOUNTER
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE PRIMARY SCHOOLS/SENIOR CITIZENS ENCOUNTER AT ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN
- A chairde, cuireann sé áthas orm agus ar mo fhear chéile, Mairtín, fáilte a chur romhaibh go léir chuig Áras an Uachtaráin inniu.
- Martin and I would like to extend a very warm welcome to each and every one of you to this get-together of senior citizens and primary school pupils at the Áras today. I know that many of you have travelled long distances to be here and I hope that you are not too tired to enjoy the afternoon’s activities.
- I’m sure that our younger guests are sorry to be missing a day’s school and a day’s homework. But I think your teachers will agree that learning doesn’t just happen in the classroom – there are lots of different types of learning and ways of learning – and I hope this day will be a day when you learn many new things, have many new experiences, a day of great fun, a day to be remembered long after you’ve forgotten the capital of Mongolia or the square root of 169.
- I would like to thank you all for the wonderful collages that you have sent to me, and the way you have captured this year’s schools encounter theme of ‘Extending the Hand of Friendship’. Most of all, I am looking forward to hearing the stories about how each of your schools established links with older people in your community, the friendships that have been built up, and what it has meant for all of you, young and older alike.
- One of the great things about being President is that I get to meet so many people of different backgrounds and points of view and ways of looking at the world. I am also lucky to have such a wonderful house to invite those people to, so that they can all get to know each other. That’s why you are all here today. Because funnily enough, even though there are lots of young people in every community, and lots of older people too, very often, they don’t know each other very well. That’s a great pity, because young and older people have so much to offer each other – so much friendship and fun. The energy, imagination and optimism of the young can do so much to inspire and refresh those who are older, encouraging them to develop new skills, new ideas, maybe even have a go on the Internet. And I bet you are all experts at that!
- But it’s not just a one-way street. Sometimes, it can seem that adults are always too busy to have fun. Or when they’re not too busy, they spend their time thinking up new rules for everyone under the age of 18 to follow. That’s what is so great about older people: very often, they do have the time to really listen, the time to talk, to encourage, just to be there. And while it can sometimes be hard to believe, they were also young once. They know what it’s like to have problems at school, or at home, or with friends. They have so much experience and knowledge just waiting to be tapped into by those just embarking on life’s journey.
- Our society needs both sides, young and old, to be able to talk to each other, rely on each other, value each other. And together, there is so much that you can do to help others within your communities who are also in need of friendship, understanding and support.
- I look forward to going around to your tables in a few minutes and meeting you all. I hope that all of you will also take this opportunity to get to know a few other people – that’s why we’re all here. I would like to say a very special thank you to our MC for today, Stephen Holland; to Greg Davey on piano; and of course, to our wonderful face painter, Siobhan Corr. I hope that you all have a most enjoyable afternoon and bring home great memories from this visit to the Áras.
- Go raibh maith agaibh go léir.