Congressional Forum Speech

On Wednesday, 9th July, I had the privilege of speaking at the Congressional Forum. The event was attended by my fellow WIP team mates, host family members, WIP alumni, associates of the program and congressmen. I would like to thank the congressmen who attended for the talks they gave which demonstrated the enthusiasm and interest they show for Ireland and its progress in the future. I would also like to thank the management team for organising the event, which turned out to be a tremendous success. Here is my speech:

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.

Indeed President John. F. Kennedy was right when he echoed those words. Change is the law of life and Ireland as a nation has been no exception to that rule.

The good Friday Agreement which was signed by leaders of both governments in 1998 marked the beginning of a hope for peace, a hope which has at long last manifested itself into the fabric of society in Northern Ireland. And indeed more work remains to be done, bridges must still be built and grievances mended but the present situation proves that change for the better is possible when leaders are willing form both sides to engage in meaningful dialogue.

My name is Luke O’Donnell and I am from the Republic of Ireland, which has experienced its own unprecedented change in the last 10 years. Indeed in 1998, we were in the midst of our ‘Celtic Tiger.’ We transformed ourselves into one of the most thriving economies in Europe, attracting foreign investment, increasing employment and living standards and creating an educated workforce. It is true that many other countries are today using Ireland as a model for economic success.

My background is in the area of pharmacy and the pharmaceutical industry itself is one of the main contributors to our economic success in the past 10 years. Today it contributes 29.7 billion euro to our total exports, is the largest payer of corporation tax and is a direct employer of 17,000 people.

Presently, I am interning at the Lombardi Cancer Research Centre, one of the best in its field and if I am to take something back with me, it is that dedicated, technical research is needed in curing cancer as well as other ailments. In the past 10 years, Ireland has grown in the biopharmaceutical area and has become a leading participant in different areas of scientific research.

As a nation that has undergone such radical change, we are faced with challenges in the road ahead. Some of these are unique to our own country, like the maintenance of peace in Northern Ireland, while some are being faced on a global scale, like climate change. And yes we will as all nations do, face tough times in the road ahead.

We may stumble in our efforts, we may not succeed first time, many may doubt us, but I am certain from our accomplishments in the past, that we will reach our goals in the end. We should be optimistic and instead of seeing the difficulty in every opportunity, try to see the opportunity in every difficulty.

My hope for the future is also that Ireland will continue its cultural and economic ties with the United States. It is no coincidence that an Irish man like myself is here speaking today. Instead the reason lies in our deep routes associated with this country that date back to the waves of Irish immigrants that landed here in decades past. No one can argue against the huge American investment that has seen our country grow economically over the past decade nor can one argue against the unparalled support America has given in shaping the peace in Northern Ireland. I hope for the future those ties can be maintained and that Ireland can act as a ‘bridging stone’ for the US to the European Union as is evidenced by the fact that a former Taoiseach of Ireland, John Bruton is the European Ambassador to the US.

What the past has taught us is that any challenges we face in the future must be solved through meaningful dialogue. We cannot live in a society of difference if we cannot speak, talk, vocalize and verbalise with each other.

We cannot share differences of religion, culture, ideas, place, history and form unless we dialogue with each other.

We cannot understand our neighbour unless we dialogue with them.

And we cannot understand our enemy unless we dialogue with them.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I leave you with these words once spoken by the Dalai Lama:

The reality today is that we are all interdependent and have to co-exist on this small planet. Therefore, the only sensible and intelligent way of resolving differences and clashes of interests, whether between individuals or nations, is through dialogue.