Of Journeys ‘Faoi scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine’ On that migrant’s journey, Paused in Bethlehem, No room at any Inn, Was all the rest foretold, Of words upon the Mount, And abundance of fish, Of miracles and glory, Humiliation Gethsemane and Golgotha? The migrant journey resumed Was not the script of prophets Informed by uncertainty? Did it not offer a foretelling, Of all the migrant journeys to come, Sometimes in the warmth of sharing Too often in the shadow of fear. Nothing is fully foretold. All journeys reveal, What we do in the shadow Of each other, Making a welcome, Reaching for fear, Bolting the door On which the notice announces, There is no room. Yet unbowed By any response, The migrants’ journey as before, In uncertainty, In hope, Continues. Michael D. Higgins November 2019
With every good wish for a peaceful and happy Christmas and New Year Beannachtaí na Nollag agus Athbhliain faoi shéan is faoi shonas
UACHTARÁN NA hÉIREANN President of Ireland 2019
PEACE, JUSTICE AND STRONG INSTITUTIONS
Áras an Uachtaráin, Phoenix Park, D08E1W3. @PresidentIRL
Áras an Uachtaráin, D08E1W3 Image www.president.ie Madonna and Child (The Litta Madonna), 1490, Leonardo da Vinci @PresidentIRL Photograph ©The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg/photo by Vladimir Terebenin