It is my pleasure to be here tonight to celebrate the Sunday Independent/Irish Nationwide Person of the Year Awards for 2005. This is a great occasion that shines a light on the wealth of talent, courage and vision that exists in all walks of life in this country.
I would like to begin by thanking you for the warm welcome to the Berkeley Court and to congratulate Irish Nationwide and the Sunday Independent whose generosity has made tonight possible. It is great to see such major players come together to acknowledge the qualities and ideals of service that each recipient of these awards embodies.
As we are all waiting with baited breath to hear the identity of the Person of the Year for 2005, I will not keep you long. However, I would like to convey my warmest congratulations to each award winner on gaining distinction for their particular achievements this evening.
The value of these awards is that they acknowledge people across all walks of life – be it in my own political profession, in sport, in adding a certain colour and vibrancy to Irish life or indeed in acknowledging people who have endured immense tragedy and setbacks in their lives, yet have had the strength to carry on with courage and dignity. Despite the range of people being honoured, they are united by common qualities. Determination, team spirit and flexibility of approach apply in each and every case.
For many of the recipients, this past year has proven to be a very trying one – particularly in having to face the loss of loved ones. The courage and integrity that you have shown in the face of such loss is an inspiration to us all. You have found your lives utterly changed in an instant and yet you have stood shoulder to shoulder and have gone on to support others facing a similar fate.
Whilst I do not wish to single out individual award winners this evening, I am sure you will not mind if I do mention two particular monthly award recipients.
Ann McCabe, widow of Garda Jerry McCabe, and Robert McCartney’s partner Bridgeen Hagans and his sisters – Gemma, Donna, Paula, Claire and Catherine - have suffered appalling personal loss. They have been recognised across the world for their bravery and their integrity. They have shown that there cannot be peace without justice. I promise everyone that we will keep doing all we can to get justice for Robert McCartney and to make sure the men of violence who killed Jerry and Robert go out of business for good.
Moving to other award recipients of the night, on the sporting scene, we have had some wonderful highlights this past year. It is only right therefore, that some of our great Irish sports heroes be honoured this evening. As we are all aware, sport is a rallying force in this country. It unites people across parishes, towns, cities and sporting clubs. And, there is nothing quite like the euphoria that is felt when we see our national heroes vanquish the opposition. To all of you who have provided us with such glorious moments this past year, I pay real tribute.
We, in Ireland, are of course blessed to have one of the most gifted and passionate sports commentators covering some of those great moments on our airwaves week in and week out. And, I am glad to see that he too is being honoured this evening.
This award ceremony holds particular significance for me given that I am amongst some of my own political colleagues to receive an award this year. Too often, we politicians spend so much of our time warding off the critics, so it is great to be up here now basking in their praise!! Over the past year, both my Cork and Kildare – well, now technically European! – colleagues have proven that through independence of mind and clarity of vision, it is possible to overcome the scepticism and the opposition and emerge successful at the other end. I am delighted to see both of these formidable politicians being honoured.
I am privileged myself to be accepting an award this evening in recognition of work during the Irish Presidency of the European Union. The success of our Presidency can be put down to many factors, chief amongst them being the massive team effort that was put in by my colleagues, Government officials, public bodies and many, many other individuals and groups. The very fact that Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy is also being honoured this evening just goes to prove the extent of the effort involved from so many different sources. I am delighted to accept my award tonight on behalf of everybody right across this country, who pulled out all of the stops to ensure the success of our Irish Presidency.
Finally, may I say, once again, sincere congratulations to each and every nominee on your success. The diversity of your achievements shows that the fabric of society, the success of our economy and the pride we can take in being Irish, relies on the personal qualities you have exhibited in abundance this past year.
Thank you.