PRESIDENT MARY McAleese has sent greetings to "the Irish family at home and abroad" as 2008 comes to a close. In her annual Christmas message, Mrs McAleese acknowledged Irish people were facing uncertainty in the new year.
"Most of us are reflecting on the great changes and global economic turmoil that have occurred in the latter half of the year. Much of the news that we have received recently in Ireland has been worrisome and we face a more uncertain new year than we've seen in quite some time," she said.
However, Mrs McAleese said it was important to take pride in the lasting legacy of peace and reconciliation that had been accomplished on the island.
"None of these things happened by accident, but by commitment and they made this generation Ireland's most capable, problem-solving generation ever. Facing into the new year we will need to draw on that generation's skills and our strengths as a nation," she said, adding: "We also have the solidarity and support that comes from membership of the European Union." Mrs McAleese said these resources would help Irish people muster the confidence to get through tough times ahead and restore growth and opportunity for all.
Meanwhile, the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr John Neill, said Irish society needed "a wake-up call".
The Archbishop said that only a few weeks ago, "we discovered in quick succession the amazing tales first of the scandalous opulence and spending of those entrusted with public responsibilities".
"We live on reports of bad news," he said, while good news stories were seldom told. "We need to discover something more of the goodness that is still out there, the people who are there for others, the people who are working hard not just for themselves, but to keep others at work, the acts of love and kindness that actually tell a real story and a human story. Christmas is not just a festival of tinsel; it is a festival of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ," he said.
In the North, the Church of Ireland primate, Archbishop Alan Harper, said individuals must learn to take risks for progress, harmony and peace.
The Catholic primate Cardinal Seán Brady said it was too easy to be pessimistic and to focus on the negative in the current economic climate. "The child in the manger beckons us to a future full of hope," he said.
The Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Right Rev Ken Good said: "In our relative poverty this Christmas, expensive gifts to one another may not be possible or even advisable, but nor are they necessary. Agreeing with one another a realistic upper financial limit on the price of the gifts we give and receive may be a good idea this year."
