THERE COULD not be a better time to be in Ireland, whether native or newcomer, President Mary McAleese said at a St Patrick's Day reception in Áras an Uachtaráin yesterday.
"We are on the verge of discovering what our fuller potential is as we work together to 'fill the centuries' arrears', to quote John Hewitt, that great Ulster poet," she said.
"We have seen all too brutally what hatred and mistrust reduced us to, and now, please God, we shall soon see what tolerance, respect and love can lift us to. We are at last living the truest legacy of St Patrick, for it was he who first introduced us to the commandment to love one another and to the role of love in building us up humanly," she said.
Yesterday was "already a very special St Patrick's Day for it is taking place against a backdrop not just of prosperity but of peace and partnership at a level not experienced before.
"A new cross-community administration in Northern Ireland has begun to build up good neighbourly cross-Border relationships which augur well for a future that will be very different from the past," she said.
Referring to St Patrick's immigrant status, she said this had "always been a source of courage and inspiration to the millions of emigrating Irish. Today we hope he also gives encouragement and inspiration to the many newcomers to Ireland. As they put down roots and make new lives here I hope they feel welcomed and included as part of the large international family that is Ireland today," she said.
