President Higgins' last big push to hear the voice of the diaspora - Seeking a new vision of Ireland
Posted on Wednesday, September 26, 2012 at 11:18 AM
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| Ireland's President Michael D Higgins wants to hear from the Diaspora |
The President’s landmark series of Young & Irish seminars may nearly be at an end (the final seminar takes place this weekend in Galway) but there is still a chance for young Irish people abroad to have their say on the burning issues affecting them, with the deadline for submissions to The President being the 29th September. In fact, that’s why the seminars are so-called.
Speaking to a small group of reporters (of which I was one) on Saturday in Monaghan, President Higgins revealed that originally the title of the series was Young in Ireland, but was amended to facilitate the great throngs of young people who have since left the country and to make sure they were not forgotten. Higgins takes his role as President of all the people of Ireland very seriously and is confident that the emigration of now is not the same as that of the 50’s or 80’s, due in no small part to the advances in technology. He said that Ireland’s young people abroad, no matter how let down by the country they’ve felt, are determined not to turn their back on the country and noted that submissions to him both foreign and domestic were very similar in tone and scope. No matter where they were, young Irish people’s hopes and dreams for the country were one and the same.
One thing that has been remarkable about the seminars so far is the way in which the young people attending have responded to the President, and how he responded to them. During the day he said that no young person wanted anything at the expense of anyone else, they just wanted a better Ireland. In a world where young people are often portrayed as selfish, wanton and inert, it goes a very long way to hear someone in authority say that as clearly as President Higgins. Young people respond to him because of the clear respect he shows them, and his want and need to go to bat for young people is clear.
And ultimately, that is what we all, not just young people need: someone to go to bat for us. To fight our corner. To be an assuring force in a very uncertain world. The scope of the Being Young & Irish seminars is very wide and everything from education and innovation to tourism, sport and national pride have been mentioned in the discussions, and they’re vitally important things. But, the world could be instantly made better with two things taken into consideration: that your opinions and aspirations as a citizen no matter your status matters, and that the hard work and effort you do to express them and make it real is appreciated. President Higgins knows this, and lives this.
All over the world, young people from Ireland are currently living and working, trying to make their way in the world, but not giving up hope on the country from whence they came. If you’re one of those young people, The President wants to hear from you, and though your vision for Ireland might be several years down the road, Michael D Higgins wants to travel it with you.
You can submit your vision of Ireland to the President by the 29th September at http://www.president.ie/makeasubmission/
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IrelandNorth | Sep 28, 2012, 08:52 AM EDT
There's no way in hell, short of being a Mahatma or levitating Buddah or gravity defying/aqua planing Messiah, that a President on €400k, (or Taoiseach on €200k) p/a (plus the same again in expenses) can understand an unemployed person, young or old on €188 p/w. Though I don't doubt his sincerity.
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Newrone | Sep 27, 2012, 03:47 PM EDT
Don't know Higgins on "Magnum P.I.", but then I'm not American. Never heard of Jodi Kantor either. Is he/she Irish?
Anyone is free to resent the Irish at their will.
Not sure what your point is actually, Phlutie.
Seanmor: As far as I'm concerned, he does also represent and speak for the Irish abroad, over whom the Dáil has very little jurisdiction. And I'm sure an Uachtarán would welcome contributions in Gaeilge.
Anyone is free to resent the Irish at their will.
Not sure what your point is actually, Phlutie.
Seanmor: As far as I'm concerned, he does also represent and speak for the Irish abroad, over whom the Dáil has very little jurisdiction. And I'm sure an Uachtarán would welcome contributions in Gaeilge.
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PhlutiePhan | Sep 27, 2012, 12:28 PM EDT
JFK is the most famous example of the diaspora. Higgins on "Magnum P.I." is more well known than the present. Obama is not Irish and actually "resents" the Irish according to Jodi Kantor. Gerry Adams actually runs Ireland and his views of radical socialism. Higgins is only a shill.
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MickRegan | Sep 27, 2012, 08:32 AM EDT
It might be more encouraging if the present government would engage with the skills on offer now from those who emigrated in the last few decades. The loud silence from Ireland with regard to offers from those such as the ITLG sends out a very negative message. Why would those leaving today believe that Ireland might be interested in them in the future, especially when we're turning away help when the country's back is firmly to the wall. Logic?
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Seanmor | Sep 26, 2012, 03:11 PM EDT
Paragraph 2 of the above item states:
"Higgins...as president of all the people of Ireland...". Does "Ireland" in this case mean the whole Irish nation or merly the part of country over which the Dáil has jurisdiction? Ceist eile: An mbíonn cead ag na hÉireannaigh óga an Gaelige a úsáid nuair a larhraíonn siad leis an Uachtarán?
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