Irish President Mary McAleese has upbeat message for America
By: Niall O'Dowd | Published Thursday, June 17, 2010, 6:38 PM | Updated Friday, September 9, 2011, 9:41 PM
Irish president
Mary McAleese is on a mission of great importance to the
United States this week.
She is by far
Ireland's most popular elected official, and with her country mired in doom and gloom, the personable president will spend the next four days in the
New York area reviving the image of a dynamic Ireland.
She certainly got off to an impressive start at the first ever Irish Lifesciences award hosted by our fellow publication
Irish Voice newspaper. She spoke at the Irish Consulate in New York before a packed room.
McAleese came out swinging, talking about the incredible creative potential in Ireland and the journey from poverty to prosperity that the country undertook in the space of a few decades.
She talked about the 500 American companies who have found Ireland an amazing country to invest in and the large numbers of Irish companies who have greatly added to America by locating here.
She also talked about the awardees for the Lifesciences,including Dr. James Watson, discoverer of DNA, perhaps the greatest singular scientific breakthrough of the 20th century.
She talked about how their forbears, many of whom would have been famine era migrants could never have imagined the success their offspring enjoyed in America today.
Above all she kept the message positive and upbeat, something we desperately need to hear from Ireland these days where sorrow and shame over the downfall of the Celtic Tiger has become a national obsession.
The reality is that Ireland fell hard, but other countries,
Greece,
Spain, etc, have fallen harder. And when it comes to picking ourselves up, dusting off and starting again, well we Irish in America know all about that
McAleese knows that and her remarks reflected that confidence that the Irish will rise again.
It was a very welcome message.
8 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.DennisQ | May 27, 2010, 03:21 AM EDT
There's a certain mentality that blames every economic crisis on the poor. ("Why, if they just pulled their weight, this would all be over with . . . )" The Celtic Tiger was a will o' the wisp. There never was anything particularly Irish in the reasons corporations chose to locate in Ireland; they just got a good deal there. Now that capital is scarce, the Irish are just another hungry mouth to feed.
FastEddy | May 21, 2010, 11:11 PM EDT
The Celtic Tiger will rise again ... as long as you keep your taxes flat and lower than the rest of the Euro-Trash.
irishwxman | May 21, 2010, 03:47 PM EDT
Chris is correct. She may be popular, but she spends more time in England than her own country. She has no real power. The Taoiseach is the real Irish leader...and he sucks too!
irishwxman | May 21, 2010, 03:46 PM EDT
Here's a crazy idea...STOP ALL THE BLASTED ENTITLEMENT PROGRAMS!! If the Irish government would just stop giving out welfare to every single non-Irish person on that island, they might have a better economy. You think France and Germany got the wealth they have by massive entitlements? NO! Give the money back to the taxpayers so they can spend it and get the economy booming again. Ahern had his faults but he got the tiger roaring.
bronxjames | May 21, 2010, 01:09 PM EDT
This person could never be considered to represent Irish People. During her time as so called President of Ireland successive so called Irish Governments have been stealing from Social Welfare Recipients and denying people protection by law. Does any country need a president committing crimes against humanity? WANNA TRADE AN OBAMA FOR A MCALEESE?
ChrisButler9999 | May 21, 2010, 10:53 AM EDT
This person could never be considered to represent Irish People. During her time as so called President of Ireland successive so called Irish Governments have been stealing from Social Welfare Recipients and denying people protection by law. Does any country need a president committing crimes against humanity?
figtirish | May 21, 2010, 10:39 AM EDT
I agree- she's the best politician Ireland has
Fran Connor | May 21, 2010, 09:53 AM EDT
This lady is a great spokesperson for Ireland.