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Speech at the Tree Lighting Ceremony

Áras an Uachtaráin, 8th December 2013

Tá fáilte oraibh go léir chuig Áras an Uachtaráin tráthnóna.

You are all very welcome here this afternoon. The 8th of December is always a very special day in Áras an Úachtaráin. It is the day when we officially mark the beginning of the Christmas season by lighting up the big Christmas tree outside. All of you have been invited here today to share this special occasion on behalf of all the people of Ireland for whom the tree will be lit.

Christmas is a time of year that we associate with joy and expectation and wonder.  It brings with it a warm glow that lights up the darkness of mid-winter and makes our thoughts turn to family and friendship and Christmases past. Christmas is also a time when we begin to say goodbye to one year, and to look forward with hope to a new year to come. We know that the long dark nights of Winter will in the not too distant future turn to the brighter evenings and lengthening days of Spring, reminding us that life is an ongoing process and that there will always be opportunities for new possibilities, new beginnings and new growth.

Of course, nobody looks forward to Christmas more than our children. That is one of the reasons why today is such an important one in the Áras. It is a day when we get the opportunity to see this beautiful room filled with children and their families, all of you looking forward I have no doubt to the arrival of Santa Claus and to your Christmas holidays from school and to all of the magic that comes your way at this time of the year.

For the adults here today Christmas is probably as much a time of nostalgia and fond memories, as it is of anticipation and looking forward. It is a time when we remember loved ones no longer with us but who are still an intangible part of all our Christmases; and when our cherished memories of Christmases past inspire us to embrace even more fully the joy of spending time with our families, friends and loved ones.

At the very heart of Christmas lies the concept of family and community. From the lovely nativity scenes which remind us of the origins of Christmas, to the many family reunions and community events which take place over the festive season, it is a time of coming together in a spirit of kinship and friendship; a time of renewal, reconnection and reaching out to our family and neighbours. It is a time when we hear the call, and have the opportunity to express our solidarity with each other as a community.

All of the adults here this evening will know that – while full of joy for most of us – Christmas can also be a time of great sorrow or loneliness for some people; a time when the absence of loved ones, or being a long way from home,  can be particularly hard to bear.

And so this evening, as we light the Christmas tree in Áras an Uachtaráin, we will remember all of the people for whom it is being lit – we will remember our emigrants who will be with us in spirit even if they cannot make it home for Christmas this year; we will remember the bereaved for whom this Christmas will be a particularly sad and difficult time; we will remember the lonely, the ill, and the homeless; we will remember those who have come to Ireland in recent times to make a new home here and who will be bringing their own special memories to their Christmas celebrations; we remember the Irish Defence Forces who will be absent from home this Christmas performing peace-keeping duties in troubled parts of our world; and we remember all the people who will be working during the Christmas season including the Gardaí and all the emergency services and the medical staff in hospitals across the country. And, of course, we remember our own families and friends and neighbours who are such an important part of our own Christmas celebrations.

Finally, I would like to thank you all for coming here this afternoon and helping Sabina and I to carry on the great Áras tree lighting tradition. I would also like to thank the Áras staff who have worked so hard to decorate the house and to provide the fare you have been enjoying. Thank you also to our first-aiders and, of course, our talented entertainers, The Moon and Sixpence Puppet Theatre, the All Ireland Choir winners from the Presentation Secondary School in Ballyphehane and their accompanist Ursula O’Sullivan, the magical Paul Redmond  and to our MC today Blaithnaid Ní Chofaigh. I would also like to thank Santa for visiting us here during his busiest time of the year.

Tá súil agam go mbaineann sibh ar fad sult as an lá anseo agus go bhfanfaidh an lá go buan i gcuimhní bhur gclanna leis na blianta fada. Guím Nollaig Shona agus Athbhliain fé mhaise ar an uile duine daoibh.

[I hope you all have a wonderful time here this afternoon and create yet another special family memory to share in years to come. I wish each and every one of you a very, very happy Christmas and a peaceful, prosperous and joyful new year.]

Nollaig faoi shéan agus faoi mhaise daoibh go léir. Go raibh míle maith agaibh.