Michael D Higgins has warned that racism is "increasing rather than decreasing" in his St Patrick's Day speech.
In a ten-minute speech ahead of Friday's celebrations of St Patrick's Day, President Higgins said that we can all learn lessons from St Patrick's life, and that we have the power to create a diverse and diverse and inclusive world.
He said: "There are many powerful echoes from Patrick’s life that resonate with our contemporary circumstances, ones that have brought new forms of slavery into being, where racism is increasing rather than decreasing, in so many parts of a world, where a poisonous xenophobia, new and recalled, has taken hold in so many places.
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President Higgins added: "It is in these spaces where fear is being sowed." He also noted how St Patrick's story as a migrant is a reminder of the "resilience and necessary courage of migrants" as well as the contributions they make to Irish society.
President Higgins also mentioned the issues of global hunger and poverty, and he thanked the Irish people for welcoming Ukrainian citizens fleeing the war in their home country. He said: "It is heartening to see the welcome that so many households and schools have extended here in Ireland and elsewhere."
President Higgins also highlighted St Patrick's great respect for nature, and that we should also take responsibility for our environments in the face of climate change. He said: "We all must now take responsibility for our role in the climate crisis and play our part in decarbonising our economy and society so that we may inhabit a sustainable world, one that preserves the planet for future generations and all those who inhabit it."
Ending his message on a positive note, President Higgins encouraged the people of Ireland to look to St Patrick's life and legacy to address and help local and global issues.
He added: "Rather than list the points of darkness that challenge us in our contemporary circumstances, let us instead be guided by the points of light."
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