The following is the full text of Mrs McAleese's speech at the inauguration ceremony in Dublin castle today.
A Uaisle,
Is le gairdeas croí, le buíochas agus le humhlaíocht a labhraím libh anseo ar maidin, agus mé ar tí tosú amach ar an dara tréimhse seacht mbliana de sheirbhís an phobail. Is mór an phribhléid dom a bheith tofa arís mar Uachtarán na hÉireann. Is é mo ghuí agus mo rún daingean dualgaisí na hardoifige seo a chomhlíonadh go hionraic, coinsiasach.
I begin this second term as President of Ireland with fresh anticipation, proud to represent one of the world's most successful and dynamic countries with a rags to riches, conflict to peace story that I know inspires many in a troubled world.
Ireland has vaulted from the despondency of "ceann faoi" to the confidence of "can do" in a remarkably short time. With so much changing both at home and in the world around us, today is a good opportunity to take stock and reflect on the Ireland that I will represent in a role outside of politics but inside the lives of our people.
We are a country of newly opened doors instead of emigrant boats, flying on two wings, propelled by the combined genius of our men and our women. We wrestle with our prosperity almost as much as we relish it. We are loudly impatient for many frustratingly inadequate things to be better. We worry about matters that hollow out our optimism like youth suicide, racism, binge-drinking, street crime and corruption. We know our current economic success cannot be a destination in itself but a route to one of our primary ambitions as a nation - to bring prosperity and security to every single citizen. We have struggled with that other ambition for the unity of our island, agreeing overwhelmingly to an honourable compromise in which we acknowledged the right of the people of Northern Ireland to decide their own destiny and declared our desire to work with them in peaceful partnership.
Cherishing the best, of our past we turn to our future not knowing exactly what it holds but with a clear idea of the hard work ahead of us, work for all of us as citizens and not simply for government alone.
We are busier than before, harder to please, less heedful of the traditional voices of moral guidance and almost giddy with greater freedom and choice. Our Constitution is an important ethical compass directing us to a practical patriotism, "to promote the common good", to choose responsible citizenship over irresponsible individualism. Our population is growing, new neighbourhoods of strangers are springing up, immigrants bring with them different cultures and embrace the richness of ours, as I have observed in the schools where their children speak to me proudly in Irish. Infrastructure of all sorts is struggling to catch up, including the human infrastructure we offer each other through friendship and community solidarity. The cushion of consumerism is no substitute for the comfort of community. And if our country is to be strong and resilient in the face of its problems and its ambitions in this time of transformation, it needs strong resilient communities.
I have been privileged as President to see the colossal work undertaken by the individuals, organisations and partnerships that supports and sustains our nation's great heartland of community. Community cannot be created by government and it doesn't happen by coincidence. We make it happen ourselves by unselfishly committing our talents, our money and that precious commodity, time, to the service of each other. It will be my mission to nurture and celebrate commitment to community and to responsible citizenship and to encourage self-belief among the most marginalized. I intend to reach out to our wonderful young people, willing them on to become good leaders rather than the badly-led - problem-solvers rather than problems. When I look at the solid work and great imagination that have created our economic miracle, our peace process, our vibrant culture, our respected place in international politics; when I remember the massive effort that gave us the Special Olympics, I am reassured that there is little we cannot deal with effectively if we work together.
If community solidarity is vital to social stability and progress at home, global solidarity is equally vital in world affairs, all the more so in an era when the multilateral ethos of the United Nations has come under strain. Today November 11 this Armistice Day, a commemoration of those dreadful years when Europeans killed each other in their millions. How different Europe is now. On May 1 st, Áras an Uachtaráin hosted the Day of Welcomes as the European Union grew to twenty-five member states and their leaders gathered under one roof for the first time since the First World War. Ireland has played a hugely significant role in the development of our Union and its values of democracy, human rights, respect for difference and consensus-based politics. The opportunities created by enlargement are waiting to be harvested and I look forward to promoting our country within the Union and to showcasing our membership of the Union around the world.
Ireland's fortunes are linked to global politics as never before and though we are a small peripheral island we have a fascinating and exceptional engagement with the world that spans every conceivable connection - from centuries-old ties of religion and kinship, through championing of the world's poor, to trade in the most sophisticated modern technologies in which we are market leaders. As President I have a key role in the renewal and development of ties to our global Irish family, Ireland's unpaid ambassadors, who make our name and nature known throughout the world. We have experienced the considerable benefits that flow from those intimate friendships. As one of the world's leading export nations we have also come to realise the vast potential that lies in befriending and trading with countries not so well-known to us. I will continue to make it my responsibility to assist in the development of our trade in new markets, to get to know new peoples and their cultures and so help to secure both our nation's wellbeing and global solidarity.
The great divide between rich and poor nations, already worsened by the calamity of Aids and knowledge poverty, has become more complex still as East/West divisions sharpen alarmingly and dangerous tensions fester. Neutral Ireland is uniquely qualified for the crucial, painstaking work of establishing understanding and trust across those cultural chasms. We are widely respected. We have a talent for friendship, a history of transition from a third-world to a first-world country and a wholehearted commitment to international institutions and international law. I look forward to playing a part in building the human bridges of mutual respect and care which are so necessary to end the cycle of human misery and to keep our world safe.
Seven years ago the bridge of peace on this island was a structure in the making. Today more people than ever are committed to its construction and the once massive gulf of mistrust has been reduced to one last step. I use this occasion to ask the hesitant to muster the courage to complete the journey across and let the bright new landscape of hope reveal itself. For my part, I pledge to do my best to make us comfortable in each other's company and unafraid of a shared future.
Many people are working hard to make ours a country, a people and a time to be proud of. I offer thanks to them and for them. I thank everyone who has helped me these past seven years and who gave me the confidence to stand again. I again ask those of faith to pray for me and for our beloved country so that in these coming years we will leave a legacy of good for our children - a legacy so memorably anticipated by Seamus Heaney on 1 stMay when he exhorted us to:
" Move lips, move minds and make new meanings flare."
Dia dar gcumhdach agus dar stiuradh! Go raibh míle maith agaibh.