Lights at Aras shine for flood and abuse victims
Wednesday December 02 2009
FAMOUSLY, a light always shines in a window of Aras an Uachtarain, maintaining an old tradition of welcome and hospitality for the Irish diaspora.
Yesterday, more lights were switched on at the Aras by President McAleese. And, again, those forced from their homes and their land were uppermost in her thoughts.
"There are an awful lot of boys and girls at the moment in Ireland whose homes have been flooded," the President told a group of 150 children at the Christmas tree lighting.
"Lots of people, mommies and daddies, and grannies and granddads who should be putting up their Christmas trees this weekend; well they're just living through an awful nightmare of loss and destruction."
"Ireland has had to live through the very worst that nature could throw at us (but) Irish people have shown their very best in reply," she added.
President McAleese said she hoped to soon gain entry to her own home in Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, which has been "marooned" for two weeks.
She implored people to help organisations working with flood victims, saying: "Please, if you can, help all those agencies whether it's the St Vincent de Paul Society or the Irish Red Cross or a local organisation."
Aware of her young audience, the President said the tree was to be lit for those abused as children by the clergy.
"Their stories were either ignored or suppressed," she said. "But nowadays those stories are being brought into the light and they are being told.
"We wish to all of those children the gift of peace of mind this Christmas. And we thank them for their courage and perseverance."
Earlier at the Aras, Mrs McAleese received the winners of the National Children of Courage Awards -- for children with "a life-threatening illness, disability or chronic disease" who have shown "tremendous courage and bravery".
Among the eight winners on the 20th anniversary of the awards was Emily Ann Daly from Croom, Co Limerick. The two-year-old has survived numerous serious operations to treat a cystic hygroma and vascular malformation.
Also on the list was Jamie Murphy, the 11-year-old from Kilkenny who hit the headlines this year after travelling to London for life-saving surgery.
All the winners were due to travel to Disneyland following their day out at the Aras.
- Jason O'Brien
Irish Independent
