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President Michael D Higgins at The
Inishowen Gateway Hotel, Buncrana
15.09.14
President Michael D
Higgins' address during the presentation of the Tipp
O'Neill Diaspora Award at the Inishowen Gateway
Hotel, Buncrana, on Friday, September 12, 2014.
TONIGHT we mark and celebrate the many members of
our global Irish family who make us proud and
represent us so well in countries around the world.
As a nation we are very conscious of the great debt
of gratitude we owe to the many members of our
Diaspora who remain loyal to the country in which
they or their forefathers were born; generously
supporting and encouraging those who remained at
home and helping to shape and craft the modern
Ireland we know today. The story of Ireland in the
second half of the nineteenth century has been
written by American Irish scholars who are now
succeeded by a new generation of social historians
on both sides of the Atlantic. It is a most powerful
case history of people becoming victims of an
abstract ideologically driven economic theory.
Ireland’s migration story is one of dispossession,
hunger and forced exile. It is a story that contains
hardship, destitution and great suffering. It is
also a story, however, of many twists and turns and
new beginnings, woven throughout with tales of
opportunity seized, innovation and re-invention; and
above all, the importance given to education and to
participation in public service and politics. It is
those stories we celebrate here this evening as we
gather for the presentation of the third Tip O’Neill
Diaspora Award.
Throughout our history, emigration has been a
feature of Irish life, rarely voluntary, most often
enforced by circumstance. Although we are an island
of just some six million people, we have a worldwide
diaspora of 70 million. Over half of those, some 44
million, live in the United States, a place with
which we have deep and profound ties of history and
kinship.
Earlier this year I was privileged to make my second
visit to the United States as President of Ireland,
and visited Chicago, Illinois and Bloomington,
Indiana. I met many members of our Irish American
family during that visit and was greatly struck by
their great commitment to maintaining and deepening
their connection to Ireland and the Irish people.
It was a commitment manifested in many ways; through
the work of organisations such as the Irish
Fellowship, the Ireland Network and the Chicago
Sisters City Committee who network and advocate on
behalf of Ireland as we play our part on a global
stage; through creating vibrant communities
determined to keep Irish culture alive and vibrant
and relevant and to pass that heritage on to future
generations of Irish Americans; and, importantly,
lobbying too for immigration reform and better
living and working conditions for the many
immigrants who continue to follow in the footsteps
of those who have gone before.
It was uplifting and inspiring to be reminded of the
generous and supportive global family we, as a
nation, have been gifted with. I am delighted,
therefore, to be here tonight for an award presented
in memory of one such member of our far flung
family, the late Tip O’Neill.
At the time of Tip’s death in 1994, Bill Clinton
movingly summed up the life and persona of that
great man in the following words:
"He loved politics and government because he saw
politics and government could make a difference in
people's lives. And he loved people most of all."
Tip, with his great compassion and his commitment to
the principles of equity and justice, was unafraid
to engage in tough principle-driven politics, while
at the same time demonstrating the skills to achieve
bi-partisan cooperation. This was and is a rare
combination.
Throughout his long and distinguished career, which
culminated in becoming Speaker of the United States
House of Representatives, he spoke to and for both
the Irish community and all vulnerable residents in
the United States. He firmly believed in the
responsibility and capacity of government to bring
about social change and its duty to resolve many
social problems, and one of his great legacies is
the improvements he achieved in the lives of his
fellow Irish Americans, as well in the lives of many
marginalized groups he supported in America.
I first met Tip O'Neil with Teddy Kennedy during the
1980s when we were both concerned about some radical
proposals being introduced by another Irish
American, who happened to be President, concerning
Central America. Tip O’Neill, and Senator Edward
Kennedy took the necessary principled position but
did not allow this difference with the incumbent
President to disrupt dialogue on other issues. Tip
O’Neill was the great judge of the value of
bi-partisanship and of what should be bipartisan
while respecting difference.
Tip O’Neill was also, of course, one of the most
important US advocates for peace in Northern
Ireland. His vision and his determination to make
Ireland a better place were crucial in the
negotiations that led to the Anglo Irish Agreement
in 1985 and the establishment of the International
Fund for Ireland.
It is a fitting tribute therefore, that this
prestigious award be established in his memory and
presented to other members of our Diaspora who have
made their own unique contribution both on the
global stage and on the maintenance of links between
Ireland and our global family.
This evening I have the great honour to present this
award to Therese Murray.
I hope that Therese will not mind if I draw a
connection between her political achievements and
that of the other great figures of Boston-Irish
Democrats. We celebrate here tonight both Therese
and Tip O'Neil but there are so many others that
have made an immense contribution the public life of
the United States, while at the same time
championing the cause and image of Ireland in the
world. Over my political career I had the great
pleasure of meeting many of these leaders and
representatives and on behalf of the Irish people I
want to express our enduring gratitude for the
support that the activists and elected
representatives of Massachusetts have given to
Ireland.
Therese has pursued a hugely successful career in
American politics, now holding the position of
Massachusetts State Senate President. Your record of
legislative achievement is substantial and
broad-ranging. Children's rights, mental health,
affordable housing and education are all areas of
interest which I share. That you have also
successfully delivered reforms in areas as diverse
as criminal justice, small business, public sector
hiring and pensions is a testament to a politician
of great skill and immense intellectual ability.
There can be no doubt that, since being first
elected as Senator in 1992 you have worked
tirelessly with such principle and courage for the
community she represents and has achieved
improvements in the lives of the people of her
State.
That your greatest achievements are in the area of
healthcare reform is a testament to your capacity
for leadership - and more than anything a testament
to your courage!
Therese Murray, like Tip O’Neill, has remained
deeply connected to her Irish roots and heritage. I
understand that your father's people are from Cork
and your mother's from Limerick. My mother's were
from Cork and my father's Limerick - so I know that
you are blessed with the finest of heritage!
Indeed her work on developing economic ties between
the island of Ireland, particularly the North-West
region of Donegal and Derry, is worthy of special
mention tonight. The North-West has faced, and
continues to face, challenges unique to its
geography and the complexities the political border
places on economic development of this region.
Therese works in the most positive way to help
communities on both sides of the border to overcome
those challenges. She has visited Donegal and she
has encouraged others to visit the county and the
region. She has welcomed many visitors from Ireland
including official delegations from Donegal who have
enjoyed her hospitality in the State Capital on
Beacon Hill and her commitment to reinforcing the
very strong cultural, economic and political ties
that are forged, on the bonds of kinship and
friendship that join our two great nations,
represents all that is good and commendable about
Irish people across the world.
In Therese’s own memorable words:
“Our nations’ borders and the oceans that separate
us are not, and cannot, be barriers to finding
solutions for the issues we all face”,
She is a true friend of Ireland and this award
tonight further strengthens the links between
Massachusetts and Ireland, especially those links
here in the North West. There can be absolutely no
doubt that Therese is such a worthy recipient of
tonight’s award, and a fitting successor to its two
previous recipients, Niall O’Dowd and Brian
Schweitzer who have also made their own unique
impact as members of our wider Irish family.
Is mian liom comhghairdeas a dhéanamh le Therese as
ucht an ghradaim seo a bhaint amach, agus gach rath
a ghuí uirthi agus í i mbun a cuid oibre
thábhachtach amach anseo.
[I would like to congratulate Therese on being
chosen for this great honour, and I wish her every
success as she continues with her important work.]
Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir. |
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