REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE TO READING AND DISTRICT IRISH ASSOCIATION SUNDAY, 28TH FEBRUARY 2010
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE TO READING AND DISTRICT IRISH ASSOCIATION SUNDAY, 28TH FEBRUARY 2010
Dia dhíbh a chairde. Is mór an onóir agus pléisúir dom bheith anseo inniu. Míle bhuíochas díbh as an gcuireadh agus an fáilte a thug sibh dom.
It is a pleasure to be here at the Reading Irish Centre today to meet with you all and to see the marvellous work done here by the Centre and the Hibernian Society. I would particularly like to thank Seamus McAdden, Chair of the Reading and District Irish Association, for his kind invitation to join you today.
We have a saying in Ireland, as you know, ‘giorrian beirt bothar’ - two shortens the journey. Irish men and women have made countless journeys, many of them the lonely one-way journeys of the emigrant to new homes, new countries and new cultures. I’m sure there are many here who know only too well the conflicting emotions on those journeys – the anticipation, the excitement of new possibilities, the optimism but also the loneliness, the homesickness, the uncertainty. Those journeys and those lives, torn between the old home and new homeland, were made much easier to bear by Irish Centres like this one – a place where people could hear familiar voices, share experiences, listen to the music of their own rich culture, enjoy the craic and talk of news from home.
Irish men and women came to Britain in their thousands. Their children and grandchildren were born here. Today a confident and educated generation looks with pride on those forbears who struggled long and hard to make possible the success and prosperity which the Irish in Britain have now achieved. The contribution that the Irish community made and keeps making to modern British society is a source of pride to all of us. Those who came in the lean years of the forties and fifties, who found the courage to start a new life abroad, embody a strength of spirit and generosity of character that should not be allowed to fade from memory for the money that they faithfully sent back each week from meagre and hard-earned wages not only helped support parents and younger siblings but helped Ireland to go from poverty to prosperity.
Despite the great successes enjoyed by so many Irish people who have emigrated to Britain, there are also those for whom life here has been a struggle and those for whom loneliness and social isolation still shape their daily existence. The struggles of these individuals have been intensified by the passing of time and the aging process. Over many visits to Britain through the years, I have seen time and again how our big Irish family keeps watch over each other. I have admired its care, in particular, for those in most need of looking after. This traditional Irish culture of care for one another is still very robust and very much alive here in Reading, and is something really special. It takes effort but that effort is willingly made and rewarded by a community of friends rather than streets of strangers.
Your work here of individual care is the most important work of all, for it is here that people experience a deep sense of belonging, of not being among strangers but among friends and family. That is a longstanding Irish tradition and one that helped and continues to help many an emigrant through the tough, testing and lonely times. You can be rightly proud of the wonderfully positive impact you are having each day on the lived lives of the Irish community here.
The partnership between the Reading Irish Centre and the Hibernian Society is a great example of how a social centre can adapt to meet the changing needs of the local Irish population and remain at the heart of the Irish Community. I am proud that your efforts are recognised by the Irish Government which has provided substantial financial support for your activities and the redevelopment of the Centre. Of course this financial support is of limited use without the dedication and commitment of the many volunteers who happily and regularly give their time and their best to make the Reading Irish Centre a place of welcome and community.
Thank you for all you do here in the cause of others. I know your efforts are vindicated by the lives you touch and enhance. Through your generosity, time and commitment, you are making an immensely valuable contribution to the global Irish family and I thank you for that. I am delighted to wish the Reading and District Irish Association and the Hibernian Association every continued success.
Gurb fada buan sibh ‘s go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.