Ireland Funds Australia Dinner

Speech by Michael D. Higgins President of Ireland

Museum of Australia, Sydney

Friday, 20th October, 2017

Is mór an pléisiúir dom a bheith anseo inniu i Músaem na hAstráile.

It is a great pleasure to be here in the company of so many great friends of Ireland to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Ireland Funds Australia. May I thank the Chair of the Funds in Australia, Yvonne LeBas, Kieran McLoughlin, CEO of the Ireland Funds and Teresa Keating, Executive Director of the Ireland Funds Australia for their kind invitation to speak here this evening.

At the outset, may I congratulate you on your achievements during these three decades – the Ireland Funds Australia is one of the most active and fastest-growing chapters of the Ireland Funds worldwide, which has raised almost $600m for 3,000 not-for-profit initiatives across the island of Ireland and among Irish communities overseas.

What is even more impressive than these numbers is the generous spirit of community which lies at the heart of all the achievements they made possible. It is your ability to look beyond the horizons of our normal, everyday lives and to envisage the real impact in terms of solidarity and transformation that we can all make on the lives of our fellow citizens that truly defines the ethos on which the Ireland Funds was founded. What must have begun as a modest exercise in practical philanthropy has become a powerful force, driven by a determination to make Ireland a better place, and its relationship with the fullness of Australian life an opportunity that is forever deepening in terms of cooperation.

Mar Uachtarán na hÉireann, as President of Ireland, may I express my respect and gratitude for the mission and work of the Ireland Funds.

In a healthy and functioning society we should all accept the responsibility of making a contribution to our community. It is in all our interests that the bonds of community be strong, that we be aware of our achievements together and the possibilities we share. Nationally, regionally and internationally, the issue of social cohesion is becoming even more important. The range and breadth of the initiatives undertaken by Ireland Funds Australia to ensure a better quality of life for our citizens at home and abroad is impressive, encompassing as it does over 100 projects in education, science, youth and academia. These initiatives are an inspirational example of the positive social impact that can be achieved when we operate in a spirit of ethical awareness and generous philanthropy by actively engaging with the community for the benefit of all.

We have all now agreed that the future of Northern Ireland will be achieved by efforts at freeing young people from the dangerous legacies and prejudices of the past. Ireland Funds Australia has supported Integrated Schools, educating Catholic and Protestant children jointly, and Northern Ireland Children’s Enterprise.

The importance of a quality education for young people, regardless of their background and social context cannot be underestimated. An empowering and nurturing approach to the education of our young people is the most critical factor in enabling our children to become independent minded, yet socially informed and responsible, citizens committed to democracy who will not be afraid, who will be encouraged to question, to think critically and to envision the possibilities and the means to a better and fairer society. This is so obvious in Ireland but also, may I suggest, in Australia.

I was so pleased therefore to learn of an initiative with the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, which committed significant funding for indigenous scholarships at four leading Australian schools for the next 5 years.

Figures published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show secondary school retention rates for Indigenous

students are still well below the average for non-Indigenous students. In 2014, only 59.4% of Indigenous students completed their schooling up to Year 12, compared with 84.8% of non-Indigenous students.

The work of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation seeks to reverse this trend. In 2014, Australian Indigenous Education Foundation Scholarship Students achieved a 92% retention and Year 12 completion rate – almost double the national average, and the highest Year 12 completion rate recorded by any federally funded program in Australia, a clear example of making a difference in the lives of some of the more vulnerable in our global society.

I was also pleased to hear that the Fund is supporting Science Gallery Melbourne this year. The University of Melbourne has secured the rights to Australia’s only node in the highly successful Science Gallery International network, founded at Trinity College in Dublin. Inspired by the innovation at the inaugural Science Gallery in Dublin, the Ireland Funds Australia have partnered with Science Gallery Melbourne for a recent exhibition and when it opens in 2020, Science Gallery will be a public-facing, dynamic and engaging space to inspire young adults into the STEM workforce. With 75% of future jobs in Australia expected to require STEM qualifications, Science Gallery programs will surely help spark the minds of tomorrow’s innovators.

Since the earliest days of settlement, Sydney has been a major destination for Irish migrants. The Ireland Funds Australia, University of New South Wales and the Irish community have shared a longstanding history as champions of the endowment campaign for Irish Studies at the University which was launched in 1998.

The Ireland Funds Australia Chair of Modern Irish Studies was funded for a five-year period from 2010 to 2015. As a result, University of New South Wales has become a hub of activity where researchers exchange ideas, students learn about Irish literature and culture and the community immerses itself in the richness of understanding the Irish experience. There is much that connects our islands and the Institute of Irish Studies plays a huge role in shaping that relationship, through its research, events, student programmes and expertise, promoting a vision of constructive relationships between our two countries that preserves our

By teaching Irish studies and global literature at University of New South Wales they are helping to educate and inspire a new generation of students who might otherwise remain unaware of the momentous Irish contribution to Australia and the world. The Fund is seeking to create a subvention to endow the Irish studies Chair at University of New South Wales to ensure that the work in research, teaching and community engagement continues.

One of the finest names we recall when we speak of the Irish abroad in contemporary times was Australian Rules football legend, the late Jim Stynes, and I was so pleased to see his statue at the Melbourne Cricket Ground when I was in Melbourne last week. It is a fitting tribute to the man who made such a contribution to the sport and wider society in Australia. Jim established the Reach Foundation, which strives to ensure that every young person has the support and self-belief they need to fulfil their potential and dare to dream. Jim Stynes was inspired by his need to give back to the community that was so good to him by reaching out to disaffected youth to nurture and encourage them to dare to dream and to be the best they could be.

I was very pleased to present Jim’s wife, Sam, with a richly-deserved posthumous Presidential Distinguished Services Award in 2012 for his work with the charity, which helps 30,000 young people every year to cope with the struggles of modern life.

The Jim Stynes legacy also inspired Tony Griffin in Ireland to found Soar, an early intervention programme for young people.

These are just some examples of initiatives promoted by Ireland Funds Australia, which have channelled creativity, created peace, supported communities and most importantly of all had an impact on the lives of people, unparalleled by any other organisation in Ireland.

The Ireland Funds Australia has benefitted from outstanding leadership in the thirty years of its existence and we should acknowledge the significant contribution of the current Chair, Yvonne Le Bas, and former Chairs, John O’Neill, Alan Joyce and Charles Curran. They are supported by a very active and generous board, who I was so pleased to meet earlier this evening.

In conclusion may I suggest that the context of the Ireland Funds is an exemplar of the values of openness, generosity and hospitality. You are recognised as one of the most dynamic and successful Diaspora and Philanthropic Organisations in the world. We are proud of the work you do and are grateful for it. We thank you for doing it, because it is making a real difference to the lives of people on the ground. You are a vital part of the new Ireland which is being created, one which we hope has learned many lessons from the financial crisis of the last decade.

May I wish you all every success and thank you again for the generous welcome you have extended to myself and Sabina and the delegation travelling with me. It has been a great pleasure to join you tonight and we congratulate you on reaching your thirtieth anniversary.

Gur fada buan sibh agus go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir. Mar Uachtarán na hÉireann gabhaim buíochas libh as an obair thábhachtach atá ar siúl agaibh.