President urges public to ‘look to the future with optimism’

President Michael D Higgins has urged the public to look to the future with "optimism and confidence" amid indications that an economic recovery is occurring in Ireland.

In his St Patrick’s Day message, Mr Higgins said he hoped for a future “underpinned by solidarity, community and the fundamental values which must lie at the heart of any just and ethical society”.

“St Patrick’s Day also marks a season of regeneration and hope,” he said. “In recent times the people of Ireland have faced difficult challenges; challenges which necessitated much tenacity and fortitude as we were required to work through testing and dark days.

“As our economy now moves slowly towards what we hope will be sustainable recovery, we are once again encouraged to look to the future with optimism and confidence.”

St Patrick’s Day, Mr Higgins said, is a time to “come together to celebrate and share our rich culture and heritage” but also to reflect on the life of our patron saint, St Patrick.

“His story was founded on hardship, destitution and great sorrow; but became a narrative of courage, vision and opportunity,” the President said. “It is a story that has been relived time and again by the many Irish people across the centuries who have left their native land to create new homes and communities in countries around the globe, and it is an experience we share with so many migrant populations all across the world, something we must never forget.”

Mr Higgins said the “Irish family stretches far and wide” and that, as a nation, “we are very conscious of the great debt of gratitude we owe to the many members of our Diaspora who remain loyal to the country in which they or their forefathers were born; generously supporting and encouraging those who remained at home and helping to shape and craft the modern Ireland we know today.”

He said the many parades and celebrations held across the world in honour of St Patrick “bear witness to, and provide a focus for, that unique bond which joins in friendship and solidarity all the Irish people and people of Irish descent wherever they may be”.

“To all those who share this island, to Irish people by birth or descent wherever they may be in the world, to those who assist and welcome them, and to those who simply consider themselves to be friends of Ireland, I wish each and every one of you a happy St. Patrick’s Day,” he added.