PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE:ST PATRICK'S Day is a reminder of the enduring solidarity of the global Irish family, President Mary McAleese has said.
In her St Patrick’s Day message, she also praised volunteers whom she described as “the backbone of the country”.
The President will attend Mass at St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral on Marlborough Street, Dublin, today before viewing the parade in O’Connell Street. She will also host a reception at Áras an Uachtaráin.
In her message, Mrs McAleese passed on her best wishes to everyone celebrating St Patrick’s Day.
“All across the world, on this our famous national day, Irish people and their friends join in joyful, fun-filled celebrations of our great heritage and fascinating culture,” she said.
“It’s a day that reminds us of the enduring solidarity of the global Irish family, the strength it gives us and the pride.”
She said the country should take hope and inspiration “from past problems transcended”, from the growing peace, and “from the depths of courage and generosity which underpin the rich community and civic life we enjoy”.
The President said St Patrick was an immigrant, but was also a volunteer.
“It is volunteers at home and abroad who not only fly the flag for Ireland on St Patrick’s Day but, all year round, build up and sustain a culture of generosity that enriches life in so many different ways,” she said. “They are the backbone of our country and they are its heart and its soul.”
Volunteers mobilised today under the banner of St Patrick, she said, “in a national and international showcase of the indomitable Irish”.
“In this year with its special focus on volunteering and on this day of parades, music, dance and colourful spectacle which is so reliant on volunteers, I send my warmest wishes and thanks to all who organise and participate in this great global festival,” she said.
