President heralds a new beginning of hope

A NEW sense of hope and confidence is needed to rebuild Irish society and the economy, according to President Michael D Higgins.

Conscious of the need to close a chapter that left Ireland wounded as a society with unacceptable levels of unemployment, mortgage insecurity, collapsing property values and many broken expectations, the ninth President of Ireland wants to open a new chapter where Irish people can dare to dream.
“Every age, after all, must have its own Aisling and dream of a better, kinder, happier, shared world,” he said.
In his inaugural speech in St Patrick’s Hall, Dublin Castle shortly after receiving the seal of office, the ninth President acknowledged opening a new chapter would require a transition in political thinking, the view of the public world, in institutions, and, most difficult of all, in people’s consciousness.
President Higgins, who was reared in Ballycar, Newmarket-on-Fergus, turned to an old Irish proverb – our strength lies in our common wealth – to explain the need to build an active, inclusive citizenship based on participation, equality, respect for all and the flowering of creativity in all its forms.
During his Presidential campaign, he encountered pain, particularly among the most vulnerable of society. However, he also recognises the will of all people to move beyond anger, frustration or cynicism and to draw on their shared strengths.
The former Labour Deputy pledged the next seven years of his Presidency would be a period of transformation, recognising and building on the many positive initiatives already underway in communities, the economy and in individual and collective efforts throughout the country.
“It will be a Presidency that celebrates all of our possibilities. It will seek to be of assistance and encouragement to investment and job creation, to innovation and original thinking – a Presidency of ideas – recognising and open to new paradigms of thought and action.
“It will aspire to turn the best of ideas into living realities for all of our people, realising our limitless possibilities,” he said.
He pledged to seek an inclusive citizenship where every citizen participates and everyone is treated with respect, including the marginalised and those in institutional care.
Highlighting the importance of fostering creativity, he explained this would lay the groundwork for sustainable employment, enriching Ireland’s social, cultural and economic development.
He encouraged every Irish person at home and abroad to engage in the Constitutional Convention planned by Government.
During his Presidency, he plans to hold a number of Presidency Seminars, which may explore themes such as the restoration of trust in institutions, the ethical connection between economy and society and the future of a Europe built on peace, social solidarity and sustainability.
The first seminar will focus on being young in Ireland. It will address issues of participation, education, employment, emigration and mental health. He also hopes the seminars during the next seven years might encompass consideration of global issues, stressing the importance of the ethical connection between politics, economy, development and society.
He lamented the rise of greed and egotism based purely on material considerations during the Celtic Tiger that tended to value the worth of a person in terms of the accumulation of wealth rather then their fundamental dignity.
“That was our loss, the source in part, of our present difficulties. Now it is time to turn to an older wisdom that, while respecting material comfort and security as a basic right of all, also recognises that many of the most valuable things in life cannot be measured.
“Our successes after all in the eyes of so many in the world have been in the cultural and spiritual areas – in our humanitarian, peace-building and human rights work, in our literature, art, drama and song – and in how that drama and song have helped us cope with adversity, soothed the very pain which they describe so well and opened the space for new possibilities.
“Our arts celebrate the people talking, singing, dancing and ultimately communing with each other. This is what James Connolly meant when he said, ‘Ireland without her people means nothing to me’. Connolly took pride in the past but, of course, felt that those who excessively worshipped that past were sometimes seeking to escape from the struggle and challenge of the present.
“He believed that Ireland was a work in progress, a country still to be fully imagined and invented, and that the future was exhilarating precisely in the sense that it was not fully knowable, measurable.
“The demands and the rewards of building a real and inclusive Republic in its fullest sense remains a challenge for us all but it is one we should embrace together,” the President stated.
In spite of entering the Presidency with a sense of humility, he expressed confidence in the great capacity of Irish people not only to transcend present difficulties but to realise all of the wonderful possibilities that he believes await us in future years.
Acknowledging there can be no greater honour than to be elected President of Ireland, he said he accepts and appreciates the great responsibilities of that office.