REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND, MARY McALEESE AT THE AUSTRALIAN IRISH SOCIETY
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND, MARY McALEESE AT THE AUSTRALIAN IRISH SOCIETY’S ST PATRICK’S DAY BALL, SYDNEY
Dia dhíbh a chairde. Tá lúcháir mhór orm bheith libh tráthnóna ag an tionól seo de Ghaeil agus de chairde na hÉireann. Míle buíochas libh as an chaoin-chuireadh.
Ladies and gentlemen, tonight is a very special occasion in the annals of the Australian Irish family in Sydney.
Tonight, we gather to celebrate the contribution of the Irish and the Australian Irish in building up the fabric, the identity and the spirit of this most Irish of Australian cities. We come together on the eve of Sydney’s great St. Patrick’s Day Parade, to celebrate the strong and enduring links which bind Australia and Ireland, a heritage created by poor generations with great courage and sustained by a new generation grown tall and confident but conscious of the sacred trust, the remarkable resource that heritage is.
And, not least, we gather here this evening to celebrate the Silver Anniversary of the Australian Irish Society’s St Patrick’s Day Ball in Sydney. One very special person who deserves mention tonight is the President of this Society, Mrs. Patsy Daggett, originally from Ballindereen in County Galway. Patsy, we want you to know that we warmly appreciate the huge commitment which you and the dedicated members of your Committee have made to establishing this Ball as one of the world’s premier events in the St. Patrick’s season.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Tonight’s celebration is faithful to two great Irish characteristics, our love of company and craic and our generosity to those who are less fortunate. I am thrilled, as a Dominican girl myself, that the proceeds of this evening will go to St. Lucy’s Special School for the Blind, founded by the Dominican Sisters in Flatbush in 1938. It gives our gathering a depth and focus I think St. Patrick would be proud of.
Patrick himself is probably the world’s best known emigrant and maybe it is his profound understanding of the emigrant heart that lies behind his popularity all over the world. From Seoul to Sydney, from Moscow to Beijing, there will be St. Patrick celebrations and believe it or not most significant of all, Belfast City Council will hold its first ever official St. Patrick’s celebration - a sign of just how changed is the political landscape of Northern Ireland and a hopeful sign of happier more relaxed and mutually respectful times to come.
When I was last in Australia in 1998 on a State Visit, the Good Friday Agreement had just come into being. After its euphoric reception the people knuckled down to the hard slog of building a strong enduring peace out of the shards of distrust, hurt and hatred. It has been a tough and testing time but also a miraculous and a reassuring time for all its ups and downs. The coming months will see the Irish and British Governments and the parties working together to build on the many gains of these past almost five years, consolidating them into the platform from which Northern Ireland completes its transition to a peaceful, just and egalitarian democratic society.
In our efforts to secure lasting peace and reconciliation in Ireland, we have been strengthened by the overwhelming interest, support and encouragement of our global Irish family and in particular our extended family here in Australia. There has never been any doubt about how deeply we cherish that affinity and support and how deeply grateful we are for such a heritage but now for the first time the Irish Constitution gives formal recognition to its importance to the Irish people. Article 2, which was changed in 1998 as a result of the Good Friday Agreement, now reads:
“The Irish nation cherishes its special affinity with people of Irish ancestry living abroad who share its cultural identity and heritage”.
Tonight, we thank St. Patrick for the gift of the special affinity and the many blessings, comforts and opportunities it has brought to us over the centuries. Today, the children of a modern, successful and wealthy Ireland, and a modern successful and wealthy Australia, look to the future with a firm self-confidence. There is a saying that those who drink the water should remember with gratitude those who dug the well. We do that tonight. May St. Patrick continue to watch over, guide and bless his adopted family in Ireland and Australia and wherever they gather in his name around the world. I wish you a memorable evening and a great St. Patrick’s Day.
Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil libh arís as ucht an cuireadh a thug sibh dom bheith anseo libh tráthnóna. Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh go léir.