McAleese Builds Bridges Across Atlantic
By JESSICA KEATLEY
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MEMBERS OF THE IRISH COMMUNITY (L-R) FRONT ROW - Jim Carbin, Bernard and Margaret Ward, Bernadette (Bernie) and Jim Rochfort. BACK ROW - Sandra Nesbitt and unidentified man.
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VANCOUVER - As part of a wider U.S. and Canadian trip, the Irish President Mary McAleese attended a reception in Vancouver at the downtown Sheraton Hotel to meet with members of the Irish community.
Hosted by the Irish Ambassador to Canada, the reception was an opportunity for the Irish in Vancouver to meet with the President and mingle with other Irish ex-pats. In her passionate and almost entirely ad-lib speech, the President gave “a salute to the Irish community here in Vancouver,” who have firmly planted themselves “in the firmament of the Canadian community, and have done their country proud.”
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DR. LARRY CHEEVERS and Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan, enjoying the evening at the President of Ireland's reception at the Four Seasons Hotel.
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Touching on the outstanding progress Ireland has made in recent years, she spoke candidly; “the first industrial revolution had essentially bypassed Ireland but the high-tech revolution would not. We had no natural resources but the brainpower of our people,” McAleese said.
Speaking at the University of Washington, McAleese noted that “the keys to that achievement were Ireland's ability to entice multinational business investment with tax breaks and an intense focus on science and technology in secondary education.”
Ireland's success was fueled in part by U.S. investors who nurtured an entrepreneurial class that now invests in the United States and employs 65,000 American workers. Ireland's economic success has resulted in a flood of immigrants from all over the globe who have caught wind of the opportunities the Celtic Tiger promises to offer.
Last year, Ireland's population topped four million for the first time since 1871. “Our future is linked to the future of half a billion men and women from Estonia in the Baltic to Malta in the Mediterranean and we are part of an extraordinary adventure in democratic partnership that some might see as nothing short of miraculous.”
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PRESIDENT MCALEESE is shown here with the Honourable Jack Austin, P.C., Q.C, Minister and Leader of the Government in the Senate. He and his wife Natalie V. Freeman hosted an exclusive dinner for the President in the Vancouver Club Ballroom the night prior to her departure.
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Not one to shy away from reality, she was unflinching in her commentary on the Ireland of old and the treatment of its people. “You came over here at a time when your country couldn’t make the most of your talents, a shameful time for a country really.” However, she proudly recognized the “new” Ireland which has “finally managed to reverse the tide of emigration and no longer exports its people,” noting that “75 percent of people coming to Ireland are returning Irish emigrants from abroad.”
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DR. PAUL ROGERS of Children's Hospital in Vancouver and John Cheevers, the Honourary Consul of Ireland for British Columbia.
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Again paying tribute to the Irish community in Vancouver, the President went on to say that “being an emigrant carries with it a sense of grief, a sense of being lost which you wear with such dignity.”
After visiting Philadelphia to accept an honorary degree at Villanova University, the President travelled to Seattle, making it the first ever official trip by an Irish head of state to the area. She was accompanied by a trade delegation of 29 companies drawn from the aeronautical and high-tech sectors.
To coincide with the visit, Enterprise Ireland has been working to develop an Irish Professionals Network in Washington State, which aims to harness support for the development of Irish industry in the area.
The Presidential hand of support to the international Irish community most notably evinced itself in the Seattle trip and on May 23, the President gave a speech at the Microsoft Conference Center in Redmond at the Network’s inaugural meeting.
She also attended a number of business events hosted by Enterprise Ireland Seattle Trade Alliance as well as meeting members of the Irish Professional Network. After these “Irish” focussed engagements, she delivered a keynote address to the World Affairs Council and visited the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which funds HIV/AIDS programs worldwide.
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BRITISH COLUMBIA Premier Gordon Campbell met with the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, to discuss trade matters.
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Accompanied by her husband, Dr. Martin McAleese and Michael Ahern TD, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the President’s trip comprised many engagements focusing on a variety of subjects including global trade and social responsibility.
Last year, President Mary McAleese of Ireland won a second, seven-year term without opposition. Since her inauguration on November 11, 1997, the theme of her Presidency has been “Building Bridges.” A barrister, former Professor of Law and journalist, McAleese seems to embody Ireland’s transformation. Originating from humble beginnings in a Catholic ghetto area of Belfast, she is the first President to come from Northern Ireland.
The President’s trip ended as it had begun, with social responsibility again at the forefront of her agenda when she paid a visit to Cooke’s Studio Care, a Fast Track to Employment partner.
The President genuinely seemed to be taken aback by the beautiful city views of Vancouver and its surrounding territory, and noted that she “took the seaplane from Victoria, the memory of which will stay in my heart and mind for a long time to come.”
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Jessica Keatley is a freelance journalist from Dublin, specializing in features and entertainment writing. She is currently living in Vancouver.
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MEMBERS OF VANCOUVER'S IRISH SPORTING AND SOCIAL CLUB (L-R) SEAN O'NEILL, Cheryl Murray, Gavan Connolly, Keith Clarke, Germaine Gibbons, Kate MacNamee and Catherine Flynn.
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PICTURED at the Four Seasons Hotel are Nessa Flewelling, Maureen and Al Gerrard and Pat Cuff.
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ENJOYING THE HOSPITALITY at the reception at the Four Seasons Hotel are Betty Allen, David Allen, Larry Rabn and Helen Kelly.
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AT THE VANCOUVER reception (L-R) FRONT ROW - Dr. Tom and Desiree Cheevers and Frank Quinn. BACK ROW - Sean Holden and David Campbell of RE/MAX David Campbell Realty.
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GEORGE McDONNELL and his wife Teresa are shown here with John Carr at the Four Seasons Hotel reception.
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PAT WARREN with Sharon Brown and Brenda Warren at the reception held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Vancouver for Irish President Mary McAleese.
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PICTURED at the President’s reception are Courtney Meegan with her grandmother Mary Ann Meegan, owner of Meegan Insurance in Coquitlam.
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SHANNON MANDARINO and Jerry O’Keefe, President of the Irish Club White Rock.
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ENJOYING THE RECEPTION at the Four Seasons is an unidentified woman with Margaret (Peggy) Kendellan (a well-known Irish dance teacher from Ottawa, Ontario).
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MARY MCALEESE addresses the crowd from the podium in Vancouver.
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AT THE DINNER hosted by the Honourable Jack Austin, P.C.Q.C. Minister and Leader of the Government in the Senate and Ms. Natalie Freeman in honour of Her Excellency Mary McAleese President of Ireland and Dr. Martin McAleese at the Vancouver Club. Pictured are John Furlong, CEO 2010 Olympics and Christy Clark, former MLA.
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AT THE PRESIDENT’S RECEPTION and celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary are William (Bill) and Margaret Kelly, (Wm Kelly & Sons Plumbing Contractors).
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ENJOYING THE RECEPTION for President Mary McAleese are Angela Haaf, Sharon Creston, Tom O'Sullivan and Jacquie Metzlez, owner of the Wolf & Hound.
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