Mary Robinson

“ Knowing our own history, I saw the tragedy of their hunger as a human disaster. We, of all people, know it is vital that it be carefully analysed so that their children and their children's children be spared that ordeal. We realise that while a great part of our immediate concern for this situation, as Irish men and women who have a past which includes famine, must be at practical levels of help, another part of it must consist of a humanitarian perspective which springs directly from our self-knowledge as a people. ”

“ I know there are fears that this Irish possession may be eroded in Europe. But this is the very moment when fear must not become fatalism. Why should the Irish language be threatened by Europe, when what we have, in fact, is an opportunity to take it with us as a precious and enduring frame of our self-perception. Providing, of course, that within this self-perception is also our sense of tolerance, our love of diversity, our cherishing of other traditions. Provided we always have in mind that no one is less Irish for not speaking it. ”

“ The solitary scene, no midnight hour
E’er seem’d so long and dreary.
While they stood,
Their hands fast link’d together, and their eyes
Fix’d on the troublous Ocean, suddenly
The breakers, bounding on the rocky shore,
Left the small wreck; and crawling on the side
Of the rude crag,—a HUMAN FORM was seen!
And now he climb’d the foam-wash’d precipice,
And now the slip’ry weeds gave way, while he
Descended to the sands: The moon rose high—
The wild blast paus’d, and the poor shipwreck’d Man
Look’d round aghast, when on the frowning steep
He marked the lonely exiles. ”

“ And I think this is the moment to stress that our presence in Europe itself is not simply a presence in the Community. It is also our involvement as a founder member of the Council of Europe, with its concern for social issues, for education and the environment, and its commitment — through the Court of Human Rights — to protection of individual rights, and its value as a framework which has a particular relevance to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. In these roles we have shown that we can be at our best: a nation which has learned from history but it is not limited by it. ”

“ The lord of the castle, from that fatal moment
When poor singing Mary was laid in her grave,
Each night was surrounded by screech-owls appalling,
Which o'er the black turrets their pinions would wave! ”

“ In fact, Irishness as a concept seems to me at its strongest when it reaches out to everyone on this island and shows itself capable of honouring and listening to those whose sense of identity, and whose cultural values, may be more British than Irish. It can be strengthened again if we turn with open minds and hearts to the array of people outside Ireland for whom this island is a place of origin. After all, emigration is not just a chronicle of sorrow and regret. It is also a powerful story of contribution and adaptation. ”

“ Which o’er the black turrets their pinions would wave!
On the ramparts that frown’d on the river, swift flowing,
They hover’d, still hooting a terrible song,
When his windows would rattle, the Winter blast blowing,
They would shriek like a ghost, the dark alleys among!
21Wherever he wander’d they followed him crying,
At dawnlight, at Eve, still they haunted his way!
When the Moon shone across the wide common, they hooted,
Nor quitted his path, till the blazing of day.
His bones began wasting, his flesh was decaying,
And he hung his proud head, and he perish’d with shame ”

“ I chose the title of this speech — cherishing the Irish diaspora — with care. Diaspora, in its meaning of dispersal or scattering, includes the many ways, not always chosen, that people have left this island. To cherish is to value and to nurture and support. If we are honest we will acknowledge that those who leave do not always feel cherished. As Eavan Boland reminds us in her poem The Emigrant Irish:
Like oil lamps we put them out the back, Of our houses, of our minds. ”

“ For, like some fav’rites, she was bent
On all things, yet with none content;
And still, whate’er her place or diet,
She could not pick her bone, in quiet.
Sometimes, new milk Grimalkin stole,
And sometimes—over-set the bowl!
For over eagerness will prove,
Oft times the bane of what we love;
And sometimes, to her neighbour’s home,
Grimalkin, like a thief would roam,
Teaching poor Cats, of humbler kind,
For high example sways the mind! ”

“ Through you, who are representatives of all the people, I speak of them also. I feel for the conscience and concern they brought to their decision. I know, as you do, that the dissent of one time is the dialogue of another. All of us today in Ireland — those who voted "Yes" and those who voted "No" — now face the future. And it is that prospect, both bright and challenging, which I want to speak about.
Under the Constitution the President can exercise a right of address. It can be exercised in two ways. Either the President can speak to the nation, or to the Oireachtas. ”

“ Famine is not only humanly destructive, it is culturally disfiguring. The Irish who died at Grosse Ile were men and women and indeed children with plans and dreams of future achievements. It takes from their humanity and individuality to consider them merely as victims.
Therefore it seemed to me vital, even as I watched the current tragedy in Africa, that we should uphold the dignity of the men and women who suffer there by insisting there are no inevitable victims. It is important that in our own commemoration of famine, such reflections have a place. ”

“ And the bright Sun-beams glitter’d on the breast
Of the green placid Ocean. To his Hut
The lorn Boy hasten’d; there the rushy couch,
The pillow still indented, met his gaze
And fix’d his eve in madness.—From that hour
A maniac wild, the Alien Boy has been;
His garb with sea-weeds fring’d, and his wan cheek
The tablet of his mind, disorder’d, chang’d,
Fading, and worn with care. ”

“ But we have reason to know in Ireland how powerful symbols are; that they carry the force of what they symbolise. Joyce's words remind us — that light reminds us — that the community of Irish interest and talent and memory extends far beyond our boundaries, far beyond Europe's boundaries. ”

“ Or paus’d the frantic Song to hear,
The burthen she would soft repeat,
“Who comes to soothe Poor Marguerite?”
And why did she with sun-burnt breast,
So wander, and so scorn to rest?
Why did the nut-brown Maiden go
O’er burning plains and wastes of snow?
What bade her fev’rish bosom sigh,
And dimm’d her large and hazle eye?
What taught her o’er the hills to stray
Fearless by night, and wild by day?
144What stole the hour of slumber sweet—
From the scorch’d brain of Marguerite. ”

“ We bring with us also our wealth of expression in the English language. I find it poignant that in a private letter Maria Edgeworth once lamented the bitterness of Irish life. "It is impossible to draw Ireland as she now is in a book of fiction" she wrote, "realities are too strong and party passions too violent". And like so many other citizens of this country, I am grateful that this did not deter our writers in the end. In novels, short stories, poems and plays, they have added immeasurably to the self-realisation of the Irish people. ”

“ If we expect that the mirror held up to us by Irish communities abroad will show us a single familiar identity, or a pure strain of Irishness, we will be disappointed. We will overlook the fascinating diversity of culture and choice which looks back at us. Above all we will miss the chance to have that dialogue with our own diversity which this reflection offers us.
This year we begin to commemorate the Irish Famine which started 150 years ago. All parts of this island — north and south, east and west — will see their losses noted and remembered, both locally and internationally. ”

“ She never knew one hour of rest,
Of ev’ry Saucy Boor, the jest:
The young despis’d her, and the Sage
Look’d back on Time’s impartial page;
They knew that youth was giv’n to prove
The season of extatic joy,
That none but Cynics would destroy,
The early buds of Love.
They also knew that Debby sigh’d
For charms that envious Time deny’d;
That she was vex’d with jealous Spleen
That Hymen pass’d her by, unseen.
102For though the Spinster’s wealth was known,
Gold will not purchase Love—alone. ”

“ It is vital that we consider it: that we bring to it all the Irish gifts of insight and argument. We need to reflect not simply on how we perceive and move towards European Union but on how we perceive ourselves in it. We need to reflect not merely on the shape of the emerging Europe, but on how we shape ourselves within it. ”

“ These young people leave Ireland to make new lives in demanding urban environments. As well as having to search for jobs, they may well find themselves lonely, homesick, unable to speak the language of those around them; and, if things do not work out, unwilling to accept the loss of face of returning home. It hardly matters at that point whether they are graduate or unskilled. What matters is that they should have access to the support and advice they need. It seems to me therefore that one of the best ways to cherish the diaspora is to begin at home. ”

“ Flow’d swiftly beside the green step of its door.
18The Summer Sun, gilded the rushy-roof slanting,
The bright dews bespangled its ivy-bound hedge
And above, on the ramparts, the sweet Birds were chanting,
And wild buds thick dappled the clear river’s edge.
When the Castle’s rich chambers were haunted, and dreary,
The poor little Hovel was still, and secure;
And no robber e’er enter’d, or goblin or fairy,
For the splendours of pride had no charms to allure. ”

“ I believe if they could see us — a sovereign democratic State reflecting on our place in a community of European nations, they would be satisfied. It is right, by way of honouring their memory, that we remember James Connolly's question today. Who we are as Irish people is about to be challenged and confirmed by new circumstances. I believe we are ready. Nevertheless it seems important that we continue to reflect on that challenge with a sense of what we bring to Europe, rather than what we lose by being part of it; that we assert our future in terms of the best values of our past ”

“ In each country visited I have met Irish communities, often in far-flung places, and listened to stories of men and women whose pride and affection for Ireland has neither deserted them nor deterred them from dedicating their loyalty and energies to other countries and cultures. None are a greater source of pride than the missionaries and aid workers who bring such dedication, humour and practical common sense to often very demanding work. ”