Irish Community Reception, Sydney

Irish Community Reception

Speech by Michael D. Higgins President of Ireland

Paddington Town Hall, Sydney

Thursday, 19th October, 2017

I am delighted to be here in Sydney and to have the opportunity to meet you all this evening. Thank you to Paddington Town Hall for providing us with such a wonderful space for our reception.

The Irish nation stretches far beyond the boundaries of our small, island state and one of the great pleasures of our visits abroad are the opportunities Sabina and I get to visit and meet with representatives of the vibrant and diverse Irish community organisations that exist right across the globe.

And so I am very pleased to be able to acknowledge and thank you in person, the representatives of the Irish community living in Sydney and New South Wales who do so much to help each other, to support your homeland in so many ways, and who are such valued ambassadors for Ireland.

We can all be proud of the great contribution our Diaspora has made across the generations to their new homes across the world, making such a significant impact as they have in the areas of business, public service, education, health, sports and the arts and so many other important areas which lie at the heart of a vibrant society. Your presence here this evening is a testament to that.

Between 1840 and 1914, approximately a third of a million Irish people emigrated to the Australian colonies. Although outnumbered by expatriates from Britain and the United States, the Irish were to become an important force in the building of modern Australia, their impact a deep and lasting one. Today, over 90,000 Irish-born people live in Australia and 2 million Australians record their ancestry as Irish in your national census.

The migratory stories of the many Irish who have travelled to Australia across the decades and the centuries are myriad and complex. They are stories that have created a profound link between our two countries, and a friendship that stretches across the many thousands of miles that separate us.

Some emigrants came here as prisoners, many convicted for their role in seeking and fighting for an independent Ireland. Others came in a spirit of optimism and hope, inspired by a vision of a better life for themselves and their families. Many, particularly those who arrived on Australian shores after the Great Irish Famine – An Gorta Mór – came as refugees from hunger, oppression and grinding poverty, their journey a desperate search for new beginnings.

For some, the journey to Australia was prompted by a desire for adventure and a sense of new possibilities. For others, it was a sad but necessary leave taking, driven by the need to support themselves and often the loved ones they had reluctantly left behind in Ireland.

Whatever the individual stories, the influence and contribution of Australia’s Irish community is woven deeply into the rich and multi-cultural tapestry of modern Australia. Through distinguished careers in politics, law, industry, and academia; active engagement in education and in the development of the Catholic Church; a proud and generous sharing of our culture and heritage; and the development of settlements and the creation of strong communities, the role played by Irish men and women in the building of modern day Australia is a profound one.

And the contributions of the Irish community to Sydney and New South Wales are significant. As we all know, the Irish were well represented among those who arrived with the First Fleet and after. Yesterday Sabina and I visited Hyde Park Barracks and the Monument to the Great Irish Famine where we had the opportunity to acknowledge the dire circumstances which led to so many leaving Ireland to come here, either willingly or not.

And as we passed by the first statue erected in Australia to honour a colonial governor, I was reminded that once

here, whatever the circumstances were that caused them to leave their homeland, the Irish were determined to build new lives and in seeking a better and fairer way to live, influenced so deeply the development of the society around them.

The statue is of Sir Richard Bourke, the Irish-born governor of New South Wales from 1831 to 1837 and who introduced reforms for the more humane treatment of convicts, established trial by jury and was an active advocate for the education of the poor. Though dedicated to one man, that statue is a reminder of the incredible contribution of many thousands of Irish immigrants who have come to this land over the generations since 1788, bringing with them their skills in areas such as manufacturing, agriculture, science, the law, medicine, mining and engineering which were to prove so vital to New South Wales’s economic and cultural development.

This commitment continues today with so many Irish men and women using their education, talent and creativity through their jobs, hobbies and volunteer positions to contribute so positively to every aspect of Sydney life.

It is therefore extremely fitting that the GAA has chosen Sydney to be host for its first international hurling festival. To be held in November 2018 at the Sydney Showgrounds, the festival will bring together the All Ireland and the League Champions in what will be the first elite level hurling competition to be held outside of Ireland. I am confident that, with all your support here this evening, the festival will be a huge success and will bring in many new fans to one of the world’s most spectacular and historic sports. I will of course be watching with particular interest as one of the teams participating will be the current All-Ireland Champions, my home county of Galway!

You will all be aware that Ireland has recently come through a chapter of severe economic crisis; a time which brought difficult challenges and much hardship to many of our citizens. We are determined to learn from the experience. We greatly appreciated the support of our Irish family abroad, who supported, encouraged, advised and criticised as is always required if real change is to be achieved. It was a reminder of our great fortune in having a generous and pro-active global family, who remain deeply connected to the country of their birth or the birth of their forefathers.

Those challenging years have been a timely reminder of the importance of strong and dynamic Irish communities abroad as so many left Ireland to find support, assistance and family in the global Irish diaspora. I am deeply grateful for the generosity with which the Irish community in Australia unfailingly and generously reached out a hand of friendship to these new arrivals as they began the challenging task of building their new lives in one of the furthest places, geographically, from Ireland. And as things improve back in Ireland, it is essential that we continue to remember and celebrate the role of the Irish community abroad and all that it does to support Ireland and the wider Irish family.

Finally, I must say again how wonderful it is to be here tonight with such an impressive, vibrant and diverse community to celebrate together our Irishness and our friendship. Successive generations of Irishmen and women have made the long journey south to the possibilities and opportunities of Sydney and each generation has left its own unique mark on the city and the state. You too will leave your indelible mark on your community and your society here as you weave the best of your Irishness with all the possibilities and opportunities of life in Sydney and New South Wales.

I thank you all for coming here today and wish you continued success as you craft, together, a shared future in this evolving and increasingly interdependent world, full as it is not only of great challenges but also of immeasurable potential.