President Mary McAleese

I was editing the “shOUT Stuff” page, and wanted to add a quote from the President’s speach at the LGBT youth forum that was here in Galway in October 2008, and this quote struck me so much that I wanted it to have a post all to itself here on the shOUT front page:

The job that you are doing is about the business of creating a better world. An open world, a world free of homophobic bullying and bias. A world where people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, at whatever time of their lives they discover that about themselves that they can feel, ‘So what? So what? That’s the world. I live in a world where that’s everyday. Where nobody passes a remark on it. Nobody comments. This is how life is.’ I feel very strongly that what you are doing is such an important step by step by step growth, helping not just yourselves but actually at a much bigger level, helping all of us as community, as society, as Mums, dads, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins, friends, colleagues to one another to be a loving caring community. You’re helping us to grow and to go that journey.

So, thank you for your courage and thank you for going that journey and thank you in particular for growing that journey. Go raibh mile maith agat.
- President Mary McAleese. October 2008

Mike and Dani at the shOUT stand for the President’s visit.