Speech at St. Patrick’s Day Reception
Áras an Úachtaráin, 17th March 2014
Tá an-áthas orm féin agus ar Sabina fáilte a chur romhaibh anseo inniu chuig Áras an Uachtaráin agus muid ag ceiliúradh Lá Fhéile ár n-éarlaimh Pádraig.
[Sabina and I are delighted to welcome you all here today to Áras an Úachtaráin as we celebrate the feast day of our patron saint, Patrick.]
St Patrick’s life was one defined by a great spirit of friendship, generosity and concern for his fellow citizen. It was that great spirit which lead to him becoming our beloved patron saint, and a man whose name is synonymous with a version of Irishness of which we remain very proud.
Difficult times can strengthen a community and a society, and there can be no doubt that St Patrick’s values of pastoral concern and human solidarity were much in evidence during the recent storms and floods which caused so much distress around the country. All of you have been invited here today because you embody that great spirit of humanity and compassion and caring, as so evidenced by your heroic and unstinting work during that demanding time.
I am delighted to be able to welcome so many of you to Áras an Uachtaráin, to be able to express to you face to face how much I value, we as a nation value, your contribution and the spirit of active participation and human solidarity that provided such a light in the darkness of those difficult days.
Each and every one of you worked generously and tirelessly throughout the flooding to ensure that everything possible was done to limit damage and restore the services upon which so many depended as quickly as possible, with the safety and well being of our citizens remaining paramount at all times. The work you did was never easy and often arduous, involving much personal sacrifice and risk, but it was work you undertook willingly because you are people who believe in, and give testament to, an active and fully engaged citizenship; people whose practice is not to stand back and wait for ‘someone else’ to sort out a problem or find a solution.
That commitment to public service is often handed down from generation to generation. This was brought home to us again most poignantly with the tragic death of Michael O’Riordan while working alongside his son serving the community of West Cork in the aftermath of the recent storms. I know I speak for you all when I say that our thoughts are with Michael’s wife Mary and his family today, and I would like to take this opportunity to express once again the sympathy of the Irish people to Michael’s family and to the wider community of Skibbereen for their great loss.
Faoi scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine.
We have, as a nation, always identified a spirit of community as a fundamental element of our Irishness. In an increasingly busy, competitive and globalised world, retaining that great sense of community as the cornerstone of our society has become ever more important and at times increasingly challenging. In a modern and technological age, it can be very easy for communities to become soulless spaces where we do not know our neighbours’ names, where we spend more time engaging with social media than with the people who live right beside us, and where there is a real danger of losing sight of the value and importance of connecting with others.
It is uplifting, therefore, to look around today and be reminded of the great spirit of citizenship and community that still exists in this country; to see that, despite the rampant materialism that so recently threatened the fabric of our society, we are still in our essential being a decent people, a people who have not lost that fundamental instinct to act in the common interest, to respond to those in need and to say a resounding ‘yes’ to the challenges facing our communities. I am truly delighted to have the opportunity, today, to recognise the valuable, in fact crucial, contribution you have made to our society in recent weeks. It is an example to every sector of our people.
Today, as on every 17th March, we celebrate our patron saint and, with our wider Irish family around the world, reflect on our shared past; celebrating the unique culture and heritage which make us proud of our Irishness.
But today we also celebrate the need for a spirit of citizenship which is such an important element of that Irishness; a spirit that augurs well for this country as we continue to work together to craft a better future, one that is built on a spirit of co-operation, real participation by all our citizens and a collective will to make this country a better and fairer place for our children and grandchildren to live in.
If we are to continue to transform our society and to build an active and inclusive citizenship, that transformation must be rooted in the best instincts of both head and heart. We are fortunate to have publicly minded people like you who have demonstrated such a generous instinct to reach out to others and who, despite the great pressures put on your services and resources during recent times, you still rose so magnificently to the challenge of responding to fellow citizens who were in need of your skills, support, and expertise.
Anseo in Éirinn níor ligeamar i ndearmad riamh an tábhacht a bhaineann leis an bpobal – is é a shainíonn muid, agus a thugann ár bhféiniúlacht, ár n-aontacht, ár ngaol agus ár muintearas dúinn.
[Here in Ireland we have never lost sight of the fact that community is important - it defines us, gives us a sense of identity, of unity, of kinship and of belonging.]
But keeping a sense of community at the heart of our societal values needs to be worked at, and often renewed, in our thinking and our policies. People like you are a great reassurance that we will continue to strive to keep our great spirit of community alive and well, and to retain community and family at the heart of our society.
As President of Ireland, I express my gratitude to all of you for doing your duty so professionally and so compassionately in recent weeks. I wish you well for the future and thank you for making the journey here today to celebrate the feast of St Patrick at Áras an Úachtaráin.
Finally, I would like to thank all those who have helped with this event, especially the Shannon Vale Ceili Band for providing such beautiful musical entertainment, the first-aiders and the staff here at the Áras who have all worked so hard to make today a success.
Go n-éirí go geal libh ‘s go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.