PRESIDENT MARY McAleese has called on citizens to maintain a positive outlook through present difficulties and “rise to the challenge” that the country is facing.
Speaking at the Irish Book Awards last night, Mrs McAleese said she understood the distress many people are experiencing but asked people to keep supporting one another and remain optimistic.
Mrs McAleese said Irish people will “rise to this challenge” in a shorter period of time than imagined and said it should not be claimed that “Ireland is anything less than a great county”.
It is in Ireland’s best interests to lift our hearts, minds and voices beyond mere recrimination so that the country’s citizens can put the present difficulties behind us, said Mrs McAleese.
“Throughout our history, the Irish people have been tried and tested in all sorts of grim ways. We have proven ourselves to be extraordinarily resilient and now we need to draw on that resilience more than ever.”
– STEPHEN MANGAN