Michael D. Higgins

“ Formidable flows of trade and investment across the Irish Sea confer mutual benefit on our two countries. Be it in tourism, sport or culture, our people to people connections have never been so close or abundant, interdependent.
Generations of Irish emigrants have made their mark on the development of this country. And as someone whose own siblings made their home here at the end of the 1950s, I am very proud of the large Irish community that is represented in every walk of life in the United Kingdom. ”

“ It is here, in this historic building that, over the centuries, the will of the British people gradually found its full democratic voice. It is inspiring to stand in a place where, for more than a century, many hundreds of dedicated parliamentarians, in their different ways, represented the interests and aspirations of the Irish people. ”

“ The people of Ireland greatly cherish the political independence that was secured in 1922 – an independence which was fought for by my father and many of his generation. The pain and sacrifice associated with the advent of Irish independence inevitably cast its long shadow across our relations, causing us, in the words of the Irish MP Stephen Gwynn, to:
"look at each other with doubtful eyes." ”

“ Today, as both our countries work to build sustainable economies and humane and flourishing societies, we would do well to recall the words of the Magna Carta and its challenge to embrace a concept of citizenship rooted in the principles of active participation, justice and freedom. ”

“ Such reflection will offer us an opportunity to craft a bright future on the extensive common ground we share and, where we differ in matters of interpretation, to have respectful empathy for each other's perspectives. ”

“ They are also words which echo with a particular significance when we have indeed so recently seen the adverse consequences of a discourse that regards politics, society, and the economy as somehow separate, each from the other ”