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Proclamation for 2007 Message from President McALEESE Beannachtai na Feile Padraig ar chlann mhor dhomhanda na nGael, sa bhaile agus ar fud na cruinne, ar ar la naisiunta ceiliurtha. A very happy St. Patrick's Day to all those taking part in this year's festivities which link Ireland's global family and its many friends in a huge celebration "of the green" all over the world. It was Irish emigrants who introduced their vibrant culture to a multitude of new homelands and we have them to thank for the tide of affection and enthusiasm, which the name of St. Patrick evokes far and wide. Today a prosperous Ireland is itself attracting immigrants from many far off shores and they are adding greatly to our legendary cultural buoyancy. The Irish love of music, dance, fun and friendship will be showcased in every continent thanks to the work of countless committees whose passion for Ireland and her unique heritage has seen the St. Patrick's Day pageant grow into a truly global phenomenon. I thank them all for this outstanding network which connects Ireland to her children and her friends in such a joyful way. I hope that their commitment and dedication will be repaid by the best St. Patrick's day celebrations ever. Enjoy them wherever you are and may St. Patrick bless each one of you. MARY McALEESE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND Proclamation for 2006 Beannachtai na Féile Padraig oraibh go léir, sa bhaile agus ar fud an domhain. I wish to send warm greetings on this St Patrick’s Day to Irish people at home and abroad, and to Ireland’s friends around the globe. Today is a day of celebration in Ireland and for our global Irish family throughout the world. Over many decades the people of Ireland, resolute in their belief in freedom, democracy, and human rights and the pursuit of truth, justice, and peace, have worked to create the successful Ireland of today. We can all bear witness to the arduous trials of our predecessors. Yet, through it, and perhaps because of it, we have built a new confidence and sense of direction – our collective aim to create a better Ireland and a better life for our children and our children’s children. Many years of hard work have gone into our economic development which has blossomed in recent years. We have created a society in which the traditional welcome for the stranger is extended to people from many countries whose endeavours have contributed hugely to our economy and to enriching our cultural diversity. We are building new communities, transforming inhabitants into neighbours and neighbours into friends. Our national emblem, the shamrock, itself teaches us to honour unity in diversity even as it celebrates diversity in unity. Our country today is vibrant, cosmopolitan and filled with energy, and with our own distinctive national character, and our international relations are playing an important part in our maturing as a nation and deepening our understanding of our place in the world. The world is ever-changing and we accept that we need to change with it. Greater understanding of our fellow members of the European Union, and of the wider world, is a central part of meeting the challenges, and seizing the opportunities, which lie before us. I am confident that the strength of Ireland’s culture and values will stand to us in the future. To my fellow Irish citizens, and to our friends celebrating this day with us, may I say, in the words of St Patrick himself: A blessing on their peaks, On their bare flagstones, A blessing on their glens, A blessing on their ridges. Like the sand of the sea under ships, Be the number in their hearths; On slopes, on plains, On mountains, on hills, a blessing. I wish all of you a very happy and peaceful St Patrick’s Day. Go mbainimis ar fad sult agus aoibhneas as an la speisialta seo. MARY McALEESE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND Proclamation for 2005 ST. PATRICK'S DAY MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT McALEESE St Patrick's Day is a day of national joyful celebration treasured by the people of Ireland both at home and in their many adopted homelands throughout our world. Wherever we are, this day reminds us of our shared heritage and our membership of a remarkable global family. We are the adopted children of St. Patrick, the outsider whose great gift to Ireland and her people was his exhortation to love one another. Each generation has interpreted his message in very different circumstances. Many left Ireland with very little: yet no matter how poor or oppressed they were they remembered those who were even worse off at home and they created vital networks of care for each other. Today we honor our patron saint in very exciting times. Modern Ireland is economically successful and culturally vibrant as never before. It has made a huge contribution to the ongoing Peace Process and is a respected, dynamic partner in the European Union. It is a home to newcomers of many cultures, faiths, nationalities and identities. A land of opportunity now, the changing face of Ireland grows more fascinating each day. Behind this welcome peace and progress is a traditional value system which links us to St. Patrick. It continues to infuse our restless ambition for a fully inclusive society where all participate in life's banquet and none are mere spectators. Wherever Irishmen and women gather this day I know they share that ambition and take pride in it. As our global Irish family and friends celebrate this day through the expression of our culture and heritage in our language, literature, games, poetry, music, and dance, I hope that the legacy of St. Patrick will long encourage us to treasure our strong community spirit and tradition of welcome and care for one another. Enjoy St. Patrick's Day 2005. MARY McALEESE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND Proclamation for 2004 President's St. Patrick's Day Message - 2004 by Mary McAleese Beannachtai na Feile Padraig ar chlann mhor domhanda na nGael, sa bhaile agus ar fud na cruinne, ar an la naisiunta ceiliurtha seo. A Happy St. Patrick's Day to Ireland's sons and daughters, and indeed to our adopted brothers and sisters, throughout the world. This St Patrick's Day is a particularly special time for Ireland. Today our national day is celebrated during Ireland's Presidency of the European Union, when the European family of nations is about to adopt many new members. These are times of great hope for the nations of Europe and this great project will surely be a beacon to the other nations of the world. We welcome those new members and look forward to a future of friendship and fellowship with them and their peoples. St Patrick himself was, of course, a great European whose vision was not bounded by narrow horizons. Around the world, on this day, we come together to celebrate the music and song, the wit and humour, the friendship and fellowship that is our heritage and our pride. Many friends will join in the festivities here in Ireland and abroad, and will carry with them the richness of fluent and open friendship that signifies our Irishness. Our greatest gift as a people is our openness to new experiences and genuine curiosity about other cultures, while we continue to inspire other nations with our legacy of resilience, versatility, and enthusiasm for whatever the future holds. That great capacity to adapt underlies much of our economic and cultural successes over the past decade. These shared gifts have sustained and encouraged us through every challenge we have faced throughout history. I am delighted to join with all members of the Irish family and our many friends throughout the world in honouring St Patrick on this special day. Go mbainimis ar fad sult agus aoibhneas as an la speisialta seo. MARY McALEESE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND Proclamation for 2003 St Patrick's Greetings from President Mary McAleese - 2003 by Mary McAleese Every year the President shares St Patrick's Day wishes with the Irish around the world. This is her 2003 greeting: Beannachtai na Feile Padraig oraibh go leir. Warmest greetings to Irish people around the world on St. Patrick’s Day. On this day of celebration we honour Ireland’s great patron St. Patrick and remember with gratitude the legacy of a man who came among us as an unwelcome stranger. Today his name carries our island’s culture and identity to virtually every corner of the earth and in his name people around the world, with and without Irish ancestry, will gather as we do, to commemorate his Feast Day. Through our annual celebrations we confirm the importance of those unique links of friendship which Ireland is privileged to have, the care of which falls to each successive generation. St. Patrick’s Day challenges us to focus on the qualities and values that make us proud to be Irish. Our celebrations around the world with such a huge shared effort exemplify our love of country, culture, heritage and hospitality. May they lift hearts, create happy memories and inspire us to renew Patrick’s vision for Ireland as a generous, tolerant, inclusive and peaceful place. I extend my very best wishes to Irish people everywhere for a most enjoyable celebration of this special day. Go neiri go geal libh. MARY McALEESE Proclamation for 2002 2002 St Patrick's Greetings from President Mary McAleese by Mary McAleese Beannachtai na Feile Padraig ar chlann mhor dhomhanda na nGael, sa bhaile agus ar fud na cruinne, ar an la naisiunta ceiliurtha seo. Warmest St Patrick's Day greetings to every member of our global Irish family and to our many friends around the world. On this famous day of celebration we gather together drawn by the deep affection and pride which the name of Ireland evokes. It is a day of fun, of music, laughter and joy and it is a day to bring to mind memories some of which lift our hearts and others that weigh us down with grief and sadness. The tragic memory of September 11th still haunts our minds and thinking back to that dreadful day we can see clearly how much we needed the strength and comfort of friends, how much we depended on each other for reassurance that we would and could transcend this darkness and find again the light of hope. On that day the thoughts of Irish people everywhere turned to their loved ones far away. We were grateful for those who were safe and our hearts broke for those who suffered loss and injury. Today, as on every St. Patrick's Day we turn our hearts and minds again to each other across seas and continents and we affirm our deep bonds of affection and care for one another, bonds which time and tides cannot weaken. Irish men and women have brought the name of Ireland to countless lands. They brought with them our culture and our unique history and they introduced many strangers to St Patrick and his people. They earned respect and admiration for the way in which they enriched their new homelands, often overcoming huge obstacles and difficulties. Today Ireland, the land that people once routinely left to seek opportunity is itself a land of opportunity and we too are being enriched by the cultural diversity brought by immigrants to our shores. On this day we remind ourselves again of the many gifts brought to Ireland by our most famous immigrant, St Patrick. Although he first arrived among us over fifteen hundred years ago there is still a remarkable timeless integrity about his message of love, patience, forgiveness and tolerance. He believed these virtues could work miracles in transforming human relationships from conflict to harmony. May his generous spirit inspire us today and every day and may you all enjoy a celebration on this day. MARY MCALEESE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND Proclamation for 2001 MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT McALEESE ST PATRICK'S DAY 2001 Beannachtai na Feile Padraig oraibh go leir, sa bhaile agus ar fud an domhain. From Ireland's capital city, Dublin, I extend warmest St Patrick's Day greetings to every member of the Irish family at home and abroad, to the many newcomers who are making their homes in Ireland, and to the friends of Ireland everywhere on this, our special day of celebration. Today we pay tribute to Ireland's wonderful rich cultural heritage, not just here on the island of Ireland but in countless locations, big and small, right across the world. Ireland owes an enormous debt of gratitude to the legions of men and women, boys and girls, whose passion for every facet of Irish culture has allowed it to flourish so spectacularly, extending its reach from our small native home to every one of the earth's continents. The voice of today's Ireland speaks more of celebration than of lamentation. A new heritage of prosperity and peace is being crafted by a generation which has known more hope, more success, more opportunity than any other. The past which shaped us no longer shackles us. Ireland has moved into a new era and confidence in the future is its hallmark. If, as the poet O'Shaughnessy says "Each age is a dream that is dying / Or one that is coming to birth", then this St Patrick's Day we can surely be said to be celebrating a dream that is coming to birth. Wherever you are celebrating, I am delighted to join with you in honoring St Patrick on his day, the day of the Irish. Rath, sonas agus san ar mhuintir na hireann agus arr gcairde uilig ar fud na cruinne. Go mbainimis ar fad sult agus aoibhneas as an l speisialta seo. MARY MCALEESE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND |
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