On Wednesday, July 30th, I had the absolute honour of speaking at the Embassy of Ireland. This is my speech.
Cead mile failte roaibh go Ambassaid na hEirinn anocht. I’d like to welcome you all to the Embassy of Ireland tonight, ladies, gentlemen, distinguished guests, class of ’08.
My name is John Callaghan. Home for me is a small, or in my vernacular, a “wee” village called Churchill in Donegal. I am studying towards a degree in English Literature and Russian in Trinity College, Dublin. When I say that, I usually get asked two questions, the answers to which are: Yes, I am aware that I’ll never get a job with that degree, and Yes, apparently I do speak Russian with a strong Donegal accent. This summer I had the honour of interning here, in the Embassy of Ireland.
I’d like to read you a short poem, if I may, by William Cullen Bryant, entitled To Cole the Painter departing for Europe.
Thine eyes shall see the light of distant skies;
Yet, Cole! thy heart shall bear to Europe's strand
A living image of our own bright land,
Such as upon thy glorious canvas lies;
Fair scenes shall greet thee where thou goest- fair,
But different- everywhere the trace of men,
Paths, homes, graves, ruins, from the lowest glen
To where life shrinks from the fierce Alpine air.
Gaze on them, till the tears shall dim thy sight,
But keep that earlier, wilder image bright.
I read this poem because, although written over 150 years ago, I think that the same message applies to me, and to my Class, tonight. Do not forget this land, do not forget these moments, and do not forget the lessons you have learned here.
When I think back on this summer, I will think of it in colours. I will think of the fireworks on the fourth the July. I will think of the red-shelled crabs that my host Mom Deb forced me to try. And I’ll admit, they tasted good. I’ll also think of the colours that, for 8 weeks at least, defined our personalities. Back in week 1 of our summer program we undertook a personality test that defined us as red, yellow, green or blue. Falling somewhere between Red and Yellow myself, it was certainly the first time, and more than likely the last time I will ever claim to be an Orangeman. But then again, WIP is all about pushing your boundaries. For now though, I’ll stick with my green shirt. Tonight, I am going to ask you all to think not of people as colours, but of knowledge as colour. If you can do that, then after you have heard the four speakers tonight, speaking of just some of the lessons they have learned this summer, then I hope you will come to realize the kaleidoscopic journey that we have been on.
Our first speaker tonight certainly enjoys colourful things, and I don’t just mean his language. Interning on capitol hill gave him the opportunity to observe some of the top leaders in America. He will now share what he learnt. Let me introduce to you the very tall Chris Joyce.
Thank you Chris. Leadership is an integral part of the program. The second core component is service which is also the topic of conversation for our next speaker. So, let me now pass you over to the capable, finely manicured hands of Maria McLoughlin
Thank you Maria. You may be wondering just how multi-cultural this program is, considering that our last two speakers have been from Galway and Mayo respectively, and things are only going to get worse as I introduce our next speaker, another Mayo woman. But, in our defense, Mary Munroe will now speak to you all about the lessons we learned from each other, the lessons we learned from our South African classmates, and how we inspired each other. It doesn’t get much more multi-cultural than that! The lovely Mary Munroe.
Thank you Mary. And now, we are down to our final speaker of the night. I would not dare say we have saved the best till last, 6 weeks in the diplomatic service has taught me to choose my compliments carefully, but I know she will not disappoint. Speaking about what leadership and service mean to her, and the many examples of leadership and service she has witnessed and participated in this summer, I am proud to introduce to you Heather McCormick.
Thank you Heather.
Our summer is coming to an end. But what about those “26 chicks” that Elaine MacDonald spoke of at our first event of the summer 48 days ago? Well, in four days time, those 26 chicks will fly home. Looking around the room at my fellow classmates, the great ’08, I still see colours, colour in their eyes, colour behind their smiles, and colour in the words they say. Like Cole, all those years ago, we will bring with us a canvas, blank now, but soon to be wonderfully bright. We will show our island a painting of our future, a future obtained through leadership and service, and coloured with the knowledge we have gathered this summer. To all of you who have made that happen, I say thank you. To my classmates, I leave you with the reminder that all we have done thus far is gather paint, the artistry is yet to come. In the words of Ivy Baker Priest, “The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning”. Thank you.
