Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen
You are all very welcome to Béal na mBláth.
I wish to extend sincere thanks to Simon Coveney for his heartfelt and thought provoking discourse on his hero Michael Collins.
I am also delighted to congratulate Simon in his recent election to the European Parliament. I have no doubt but that he will discharge his responsibilities on Munster and to Ireland with great competence and integrity.
I have been thinking about some of the great leaders of our time – John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, and of course, Michael Collins.
I have been thinking about what they have in common – they were all idealistic, courageous, charismatic, dynamic, and dedicated and they all died in their prime from a killers’ bullet. Somebody or some body of people believed they were too dangerous.
I have also been thinking about why we all come to this poignant place each year.
What makes you loyally return here year after year? What makes distinguished guests like Simon Coveney, to readily respond, year after year, to an invitation to speak here?
I have asked myself the question – what is the relevance of Michael Collins’s life and death to us in the opening years of the 21st century.
I am asking this question again today.
Of course, we come to celebrate the achievements of a great man but I think it’s much more than that.
We are drawn to idealism – courage – strength.
We envy and admire strength. We crave the passion of idealism and we soak up the excitement of courage.
We seek these qualities in others but don’t always recognise them in ourselves.
Is it that we think it’s too dangerous to put our heads above the parapet.
Another great leader, Nelson Mandela, thankfully still alive despite sustained attempts to silence him, spoke on this to his people. He said - “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It’s our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?”
Michael Collins believed in his light, in his power, in himself. We are drawn to this. This made him the man, the leader we admire.
All it takes is one person to make a difference.
The only person I can answer for is myself. I must be responsible for and own my own life. It is my obligation to demonstrate respect and responsibility towards others but in doing so it is my right to expect the same in return. The more we do this the more that the work, social, religious, financial, and political systems we inhabit will begin to devolve structures and policies that reflect such responsibility.
We can achieve it all! Honest government, safe streets, a peaceful and just society.
It begins and ends with each one of us – the power is ours. One person can make a difference – they shot John F Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Michael Collins – this proves that one person makes a difference.
Rekindle your idealism, dig up your courage, find your strength, and enjoy the excitement of engaging in your own life.
What is a hero – a hero is an ordinary person who puts his or her head above the parapet – a person who shows us ordinary people that we too can be extraordinary.
You come here today to pay your respects to a great hero – but today it is our turn to take up that mantle and be heroes in our own time – in our own lives.
The famous words spoken by Dick Mulcahy to the Army at the time of Michael Collins’ death are as relevant now as they were all those 81 years ago – and I quote
“Every dark hour that Michael Collins met since 1916 seemed but to steel that bright strength of his and temper his gay bravery. You are left, each, inheritors of that strength, and of that bravery. To each of you falls his unfinished work”.
Remember - one person makes a difference!