President Michael D Higgins calls for 'a renewed sense of solidarity' in Christmas message

President Higgins concluded his speech by saying: 'May I wish all the Irish at home and abroad, and those who live and work with them, a very happy and peaceful Christmas and a New Year full of promise, health, and fulfillment.' Picture: Maxwell’s

President Michael D Higgins has called on the nation to remember those in the "most horrific" circumstances of war and displacement in his Christmas message for 2023. 

He also said that while for many Christmas is a time of "experienced or recovered sorrow", it is also a time to "remember the vulnerabilities that should be shared, and addressed, by us all" especially those who are at risk, excluded and margninalised on the simple basis of "being perceived as different, as 'the other'." 

He used the message to remember all the children in Gaza and Israel who have been "darkened by the taking of so many lives, and too many young lives in particular, in recent months." 

"All our hearts are made heavy by these terrible losses. So many families across our own island too will still be feeling the loss of family members to conflict, as this year we marked the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement," Mr Higgins said. 

We Irish are all too aware of the horrors that can be committed, including due to the distortion and abuse of religious difference, when violence is allowed to quench the desire for a shared peace. However, history tells us, and we are conscious of it, that peace can be built, however fragile and cautious those first initial steps must be.

He also reflected on the war in Ukraine and said the loss of life in each conflict is a "stark reminder of the price paid" for lost shared space of diplomacy, abuse of power, and the importance that must be attached to the strengthening of the ideals of peace. 

In his annual message, the President also welcomed Ireland's work for peace and thanked the Irish soldiers who will be overseas this Christmas — away from their families. 

"Their absences from home will mirror the experiences of many others who, owing to various circumstances, find themselves forcibly separated from the embrace of their loved ones," he said.

He also expressed gratitude to migrants whose presence "enriches our culture" and now called Ireland their home, and hoped that this Christmas season may be a time for "understanding and appreciation for one another."

Mr Higgins urged the Irish people to recognise that "our differences" are the threads that "weave the intricate rich fabric of our shared identity." 

We, as Irish people are all too aware of how, for so many reasons, people have had cause to move from their places of birth in search of a better life, of security itself.

He also thanked those who have come to live and work in Ireland and who "play such important roles in our health and care systems, amongst so many other important roles." 

Mr Higgins also highlighted the "stark reality" of rising global hunger that needs to be collectively addressed and said the unsolved crisis of hunger, inequality, and biodiversity loss are "all exacerbated by climate changes" that amplify poverty, forced migrations, and famine. 

The President finished his message with a note of hope, asking society to forge together "a renewed sense of solidarity, one that is shaped to fit and encompass all the citizens on our vulnerable planet." 

"May I wish all the Irish at home and abroad, and those who live and work with them, a very happy and peaceful Christmas and a New Year full of promise, health, and fulfillment."