'A rich seam of civic spirit runs through our country like a central nervous system'

Over the past few months, we have been bombarded with headlines that fill so many hearts with fear for the future. A wave of job losses after almost full employment, and the sudden slowdown in our economy after a period of unprecedented growth, have provoked deep and pervasive anxiety. Revelations about unacceptable financial and banking practices have provoked deep and righteous anger. The ghastly return of violence in Northern Ireland, just as the peace process was coming strongly into its own, has added more chill winds to this very testing period in our history.

Anger and anxiety are one thing; despair is quite another. Despair paralyses us. Our anger and anxiety, by contrast, are the fuel that generates a powerful, shared determination to do what it takes to rebuild our prosperity and protect our peace. Why should a people who have worked so hard to change their history for the better be defined, whether at home or abroad, by the bad conduct of a few? All over Ireland, there is so much evidence of all that is positive, decent, dynamic and good about the Irish people. That is where we must now place our hope and build our future.

There is a rich seam of civic spirit running through our country like a central nervous system. It is generations old. Our emigrants, too, planted it wherever they went. It renews itself miraculously in every generation, this fierce sense of community and of responsibility for one another. In every parish you will see it at work, day in and day out. A quiet army of volunteers is looking out for the young, the old, the sick, the lonely, the retired, the poor, the jobless, the disabled, the newcomer – they are fundraising and planning community projects, not for themselves but for others, drawing them into the centre of things, making as real as they can that ambition set out in the Proclamation, to cherish the children of the nation equally. Many of those who lost their jobs recently have turned their time and their talents immediately to volunteering, something that speaks volumes for their character and their courage.

This work of care for one another started in tough times and continued through the years of the boom when Irish men and women used the extra money in their pockets to help others, whether it was the Special Olympics or victims of the tsunami or the many thousands of other good causes at home and abroad. In times of adversity, of which there have been many, these are the people and this is the generous spirit that has defined us and our massive emigrant global family. Good people leading good lives, doing their best for themselves, their families, their communities and our country.

It is a spirit to be proud of and to draw on once again as we face a national and a global economic crisis. It is the Ireland we insist on being defined by. Our centre, our core is strong and it will hold no matter what the threat to our hard-won peace or our hard-earned prosperity. The root and branch solidarity shown in the face of lethal attacks by dissident republicans has been both remarkable and reassuring. It will help us face down those who would demolish the politics of peace and partnership which offer such a changed and hope-filled landscape to future generations. The power of that solidarity should not be underestimated. It can and it will help us all to transcend these times of economic gloom too.

As we approach our national day, our minds are drawn to the frightened young emigrant slave who became our great national saint, his name revered all over the globe. At the beginning and end of his famous 'St Patrick's Breastplate' he says, "I arise today, through a mighty strength". That mighty strength is in our DNA and it has given us much to celebrate and be proud of. Already our people are adjusting and adapting to these new times, finding ways to navigate them as individuals, as families and as communities. Their lived lives, their sacrifices, creativity and generosity allow us to celebrate what is good about our country and to reflect wisely on the values and vision which drive us as a nation. It behoves us now to nurture our long-established tradition of investing in community, of planning for the long term and building for the generations to come, and to shun the pursuit of short-term, illusory goals which yield little for the majority of individuals and even less for society. Our financial capital may be lower than it was but our social capital is a source of renewable energy like no other. It endures, it survives through all life's ups and downs, and so will we, together.