WIP Congressional Forum Speech

by Darragh Minogue

On the 30th of June I spoke at the 11th Annual Washington Ireland Program Congressional Forum. Having struggled with public speaking in the past, I feel the program gave me a massive opportunity to overcome this fear and finally speak on what I believe in. I hope this speech resonates with some of you as I share my journey of self discovery.

Watch the speech online here.

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Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for being here today especially our co-sponsors. I am privileged and honored to stand before you as a representative of the Washington Ireland program class of 2010. A class dedicated to service and leadership.

My name is Darragh Minogue and I am a 21 year old international relations graduate from County Wicklow and next year I will commence my masters in development Management in the UK. My journey on the Washington Ireland program is a quite interesting one. This is actually the third time I have applied for this program. Four years ago I applied as a naïve seventeen year and I saw it as an opportunity to gain experience and improve myself as a person. I thought the program might answer some burning questions as to who I really was, and what I’m supposed to do.

From early on in childhood my parents have always thought me the true value of education, and made certain I realize how fortunate I am. Growing up during the internet revolution, I felt part of a borderless world. I became quickly aware of the pervasive issues in the international sphere and could see parallels between the problems of our past and those occurring around the world today.

Four years ago my application for the Washington Ireland Program was unsuccessful but it was probably the best thing that could have happened. Paul Costello the former executive director of the Washington Ireland Program invited me to the information night and saw something in me and he said I needed to develop it further and reapply in a few years. So at 19 I embarked on a journey and worked for a HIV NGO in Nigeria, it was there that I found my calling and was opened up to the sometimes harsh realities of our world and the complexities of grass root approaches to development. During my time there, I was saddened that our efforts were stunted by poor leadership, authority and lack of education and we painfully couldn’t make the progress what we wanted. When I was 20, I applied again but again did not make the WIP class of 2009. After yet another year of experience I took inspiration from Nelson Mandela in that I realized “there is no passion to be found playing small in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living”. I applied for the class of 2010 a much more self-assured person and ready for the challenge.

When I ask myself why I’m here, my answer is simple. I want to be at the center of where big decisions are made that affect the people I couldn’t. I must admit however, prior to arriving in D.C. my preconceptions of the U.S. political system and its foreign policy was not entirely positive. However my internship in Congressman Paynes office has overwhelmed me by his efforts in advocating for states and people around the world. He stands up for those who cannot necessarily defend themselves on the international stage. Having served as a Congressman for 22 years, Congressman Payne is a true civil servant. He recognizes the need and campaigns for U.S involvement around the world on the issues such as poverty, HIV AIDS, and even genocide. And so I have come a long way, I have gained practical experience and I am now standing in a building where things get done that not only affect U.S citizens but citizens around the world.

We know today the gap between the rich and the poor is widening across the world. It is creating a dire situation which is neither socially just nor economically sustainable. My work in Africa has taught me about the incredible resilience of the African people for whom poverty is a reality not because they don’t work hard, but because there are too many obstacles in their way. I stand before the class of 2010 today and urge them to remember that we too faced similar situations not too long ago. Sacrifices were made on your behalf so that you could be here today. Our shared humanity places obligations on all of us, as individuals, as communities and as states and we must act on them. This is not simply a political issue- it is above all a question of morality and justice.