MORE THAN 50 young adults from around Ireland were presented with Gaisce gold awards by President Mary McAleese at a ceremony in Dublin Castle yesterday.
The young men and women achieved four personal goals, in areas such as community involvement, skill, physical recreation and adventure, to qualify for the awards presentation at the State Apartments.
Recipients travelled from Cork, Offaly, Limerick and Waterford to take part in the ceremony, marking the 24th year of the programme.
Mrs McAleese said: “Those who receive today’s gold award are part of a generation asked to cope with a world grown cynical and indignant as it comes to terms with the extensive damage inflicted by a dysfunctional global financial system.
“In these days, which are dominated by angry talk of greed and acquisitive self-indulgence, there is something both noble and reassuring about this day and this ceremony . . . it is a story of unselfish investment and of rich civic and personal dividends that no stock market will quote.”
Of the Gaisce winners she said: “They each . . . chose to push themselves way out of their comfort zones, to make life tough on themselves, to learn about their strengths and weaknesses, to assert their curiosity about life and about what good they can bring to their own lives and the lives of others.”
Ms McAleese also praised those who supported the young people in achieving their goals.
Among the recipients were Emma Farrell from Wexford, who completed the Dublin City Marathon and walked the Great Wall of China; Christine Carty from Offaly, who completed a 100km “medieval walk” in Germany; and Stephen Kiely from Limerick City, who took a scuba diving course.
The President’s Award is given at three levels: bronze, silver and gold. Once the challenge agreed between the participant and their leader is achieved, the participant earns the award.