PRESIDENT MICHAEL D Higgins has called for equitable and universal access to vaccines against Covid-19 and an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine in his annual St Patrick's Day message.
Reflecting on the past two years of the pandemic, the President said it was "inspiring and moving to see how our people sought to respond" to that time.
He paid tribute to those who lost loved ones during the pandemic, and said "warmth, awareness and cohesion of community remains an essential component of human life."
"That collective and public spirited human interaction are the essential elements that bind our communities together and form the essence of any true republic we may wish to achieve, now or in the future.
However, he said "what a failure on vaccines the world has suffered."
"Universal and equitable access to vaccines is not only a critical component in our fight against the pandemic," he said. "It is also a recognition of the shared humanity by which we are bound together and which is so essential to the crafting of an ethical world.
"In our inter-dependent world, we must ensure that in relation to the pandemic that we cross its finishing line together, no nation left behind."
Speaking about Ukraine, he said:
"I know that the hearts of Irish people and Irish communities across the world go out to all of those who are suffering from this completely unacceptable, immoral and unjustified, invasion and violence to their lives.
"Our greatest hope for a future of hope and peace springs from the open hearts and doors of those saying ‘tar isteach’, come in."
"They are also the values that must lie at the heart of any true spirit of global citizenship. A dark shadow has now been cast across our world as we witness the unfolding events in Ukraine."
He called on the people of the world to unite with urgency in demanding an immediate ceasefire, respect for humanitarian law and the withdrawal of Russian troops in Ukraine.
"We must all play our role with a restoration of independence and security to a nation that has demonstrated such courage, resilience and love of their country in recent times."
President Higgins said the values of which he speaks must "be extended far beyond our shores."
"Values which have such power to transcend oceans and borders and enable us to stand in solidarity with those in the developing world who continue to suffer the severe effects of the pandemic.
"Every year, as we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, we join together as one global Irish family united by a shared heritage, history and culture. We do not allow boundaries and distance to stand in our way, but reach across them generously in a spirit of unity and friendship. We have a better future to make together. That great spirit is one we must extend to all those with whom we share this planet."
He also spoke about Africa, "from which comes images of desertification, of fellow humans and animals dying, and the parched earth itself, due to a climate change for which they are the least responsible, as they appear on our screens we are again listening sadly to the rhetoric of war.
"The armaments industry absorbs our human, intellectual and technological resources while children die, and conflicts deepen. Militarism dominates the discourse where thoughts of peace might have flourished.
Speaking about St Patrick, he said his life "was one defined by a transformative spirit and a will to not only envision but to create a better world."
"St Patrick came to Irish shores as an outsider, an exile, a migrant.
"He left behind him a profound and generous legacy which can shape the future of this island and the lives of generations of citizens to come. He is in all our traditions. We invoke him together."
"On this St. Patrick’s Day let us resolve to recover a space for the discourse of peace in our lives."
He finished by wishing all people, regardless of their Irish status "a very happy and peaceful day."
Watch the full message below:
Watch the message in Irish below:
Full transcripts of the President's speeches, in English and Irish can be found here.
