Adressing the importance of the input of the Irish here in Australia during the last one hundred years . This equation has brought a hallmark to the Australian way of life and with todays mulittalented and multi-cultural societry there comes a time to look back down the road .
The continuing growth of Australia's National Folk Festival and the significant input of a young culture that currently has just celebrated it's
Centenary of Federation .

It is worth mentioning during this centenary of Federation
that the Irish have played a major role providing an identity
to the character Australia is proud of today .
For all Australians it is a time to reflect back through the years
and give recognition to the Irish for having made such an impact on Australia and now as we have reached an important milestone on the journey to celebrate the Irish/Australian connection .

You will find the Irish where there within all the ranks during
a hundred years of service here in Australia .
Military , Religious , Education , Politics , Sport , Music , and the
the Arts have all benefited by the Irish impact .

Soldiers had a mission to fight for the peace we share today .
They gave their lives and left us a legacy worth protecting .
The vocations of teaching has a mission . They are building a legacy of tomorrows where poverty and ignorance will be a thing of the past .

Musicians and bards had a mission to write songs and poems for the future . Today we share an image of what life was like for them . They left us a legacy .
That legacy has become a vital source of strength and courage
that has made Australia a proud and competitive nation .

The world today is gripped by wars and conflict , thankfully here in Australia we can live together in peace . Our multicultural
society is a witness to the rest of the world that there is a way
to live as one even though we are different .
The answer we seem to have found .
As Australians we must never become lost or confused amidst all the aggression that surrounds us in the world today .

Here in Australia we love life and invite all other countries to
share our vision of hope , so we all can Advance Australia fair .

The Folk Festival in Canberra is a one off situation that gives you the ability to capture a dances in the company of strangers .
To sing and to give a expression of the world we live in .
Isn’t it really what life is all about ?
C’est La Vie , a sense of mysticism in the world we live today .
What a great wealth we hold .

Some of the people who came along to perform at The National this year where from County Cork , Irish Fiddle player Liz Doherty Nancy Kerr from the UK and Chris Duncan another two talented fiddle players .
From South Australia Irish groups Trouble In The Kitchen ,
Colcannon and from Queensland a new band on the scene who call themselves The Jar .
Jennifer Strutt and Margaret Winnett taught Irish Step Dancing .
The Congo All Stars where there as was a Junk Band thrown in for extra measure .

The extraordinary talented Scottish songwriter Eric Bogle was there .
Eric wrote a song around Bobby Sands that is included on the
2001 National Folk Festival CD .