Reception for the Irish Community and Business Contacts, Auckland

Reception for the Irish Community and Business Contacts

Speech by Michael D. Higgins President of Ireland

Auckland War Memorial Museum, Auckland

Sunday, 29th October, 2017

Ar an gcéad sul síos is mian liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil libh ar fad as an fíorchaoin fáilte a d’fhear sibh romham féin agus Saidhbhín inniu. Go riabh míle maith agaibh.

Ambassador, Honorary Consul McMahon, Professor Gaimster, thank you for making the arrangements for this afternoon’s reception to be held here at such a prestigious venue, the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

Sabina and I are delighted to have the opportunity to welcome so many members of the Irish community and those promoting business links between our two countries as we prepare to leave New Zealand later this evening. Thank you for your very warm welcome.

We need only glance at our surroundings to understand the importance of heritage and memory in New Zealand. There are a number of remarkable exhibitions in this museum, including one on the Treaty of Waitangi, which we were fortunate to have the opportunity to learn more about yesterday, when we visited the Waitangi Museum and the previous day at the He Tohu exhibition at the National Library.

This is of course a War Memorial Museum and if future generations are to benefit from learning from the mistakes of the past, then it is vital that we seek to recall the horror from the accounts of those who experienced it. We do this while remembering the personal bravery of the people who fought, suffered and died.

Many Irish citizens fought either as members of the ANZAC forces or alongside them, including at Gallipoli. It is important not to let the memory of such horrors fade.

President Higgins and Sabina with Minister Charles Flanagan at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, at a reception hosted by the Chargé d’ Affaires of Ireland to New Zealand 28

May I thank those who provided us with the poe-feer-ee - it is the most authentic form of welcome. The Maori culture is an important part of New Zealand’s national tapestry and being given the opportunity to engage with a small part of it is a wonderful experience. On my last visit to New Zealand in 1999, speaking at a symposium about the connection between culture, democracy and public service I said:

“the more unified and homogenised our political structures become, the more people will turn to indigenous cultures for an expression of themselves. We live by stories and the principles by which stories are selected, the skills with which they are told, and their resonance or otherwise in our own culture is a fundamental democratic concern.”

In the world we live in today, with a myriad of global challenges that will affect the future of the planet we live on, indigenous cultures take on an ever-increasing importance as we strive to reconcile the everyday conflicts of ethics, economy, ecology and human rights.

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.

The prominence of the Irish community in New Zealand is of great interest to those of us gathered here today.

May I take this opportunity to thank the people of New Zealand for the welcome they have extended to the thousands of Irish people who have made this country their home over the past few centuries. The people of Ireland take great pride in the contribution that many of these new arrivals have made to New Zealand.

Among the early contributions was that of Irishman John Robert Godley who founded Christchurch and Irishman William Hobson who played a key role in the Treaty of Waitangi negotiations. We Irish continue to take a keen interest in New Zealand today. With approximately one in six New Zealanders claiming Irish ancestry, our histories are very much intertwined. I hope that our countries will be equally close into the future as Irish people continue to visit, study, work and settle here.

May I also thank those here who work to promote greater awareness of the historic and cultural links between Ireland and New Zealand, as well as those encouraging and facilitating potential business and trading opportunities.

It is important to us both to remember and celebrate our shared history, even as we look to the promise of the future and as one of the means of giving voice to those cultural links, I hope that you all enjoyed the cultural performance here this evening.

Despite the great distance between our two countries, I suggest that we are anything but strangers. We are both small countries, proud of our democratic traditions and our commitment to international institutions – a commitment expressed best, perhaps, by our shared abhorrence of the threat posed of nuclear weapons and we have been partners with great effect within the multilateral system. Given our shared characteristics and our shared values, I believe there is much we can continue to achieve together.

Irish citizens have been in New Zealand since the early days of European settlement here and they continue to come here today to seek out new opportunities. We have also welcomed many New Zealanders to Ireland, particularly tourists and the young people able to avail of the Working Holiday Visa programme, which offers them a fantastic opportunity to really experience Irish life and thinking and see how much we have in common. I hope many more New Zealanders continue to visit us in future.

President Higgins speaking at a reception for the Irish community in Auckland

New Zealand is also an important and growing trade partner for Ireland, particularly in a post-Brexit environment. We can become, for example an even more important bridge to the more than 500 million people who are fellow members of the European Union. There are lots of opportunities for New Zealand companies in Ireland. Likewise, New Zealand is an increasingly important market for Irish companies both in its own right and as a base for the Asia Pacific region.

Following Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, we in Ireland recognise the importance of expanding and deepening our international trading relationships in the 21st century. Almost nine out of ten Irish companies plan to extend into new international markets over the next twelve months.

Agriculture, agri-business and agri-technology are of course of great importance to both the Irish and New Zealand economies. I was very pleased that New Zealand Trade and Enterprise had a stand at this year’s Ploughing Championships in Tullamore. Enterprise Ireland has been a regular at the Fieldays in Hamilton for over a decade.

At my meeting with the Governor General earlier this week, I was very pleased to announce the Irish Government’s decision to open an embassy in New Zealand, which will deepen our friendship, strengthen our cooperation and further develop our trade and economic links. New Zealand’s recent decision that it will open a resident Embassy in Dublin in the near future is also an indication of the strength of our relationship.

I know that a love of sport is also something the people of Ireland and New Zealand have in common. This summer, Ireland was thrilled to host the Women’s Rugby World Cup. Some of you may have enjoyed divided loyalties on that occasion? The Black Ferns of New Zealand, of course, brought the trophy home, an indication of the strength of the game in this country. [New Zealand beat England 41-32 to win the Cup.]

Ireland is now bidding to host the Rugby World Cup in 2023. A few weeks ago, a crowd of 82,000 filled Croke Park for the All-Ireland Football Final. I’m looking forward to seeing the same ground filled with 82,000 rugby fans for a World Cup final, when maybe Ireland can meet the All Blacks. After many years of effort and heartbreak, Ireland finally managed to beat the All-Blacks in Chicago earlier this year and we very much look forward to resuming this contest in the future.

New Zealand has been good enough to offer new opportunities and a new life to many Irish people for generations. The Irish who came here brought with them their strength, determination, creativity, ambition and resolve to build successful lives and a thriving society. As part of our Diaspora, they have of course also contributed to the development of Ireland. Having travelled all over Ireland and met with representatives of Irish communities worldwide, I can assure you that Ireland really does cherish its special affinity with people of Irish ancestry living abroad, as stated in our Constitution.

It is a special privilege for Sabina and I to be here with you this evening to celebrate that affinity, to pay tribute to the work of Irish citizens in New Zealand and the many links that have been forged between the Irish and New Zealanders in history, culture, diplomacy and trade.

Mar fhocal scoir, is mian liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil libh arís as an fáilte a d’fhear sibh romhainn inniu, agus gach rath agus beannacht a ghuí oraibh don todhchaí.

Slán agus beannacht.

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