I hope that you will forgive me if I pay particular tribute to RTÉ. It was very generous of them to broadcast live both the Consistory this morning and the Mass of the Rings tomorrow. Again I know this will be appreciated by many people at home and by many Irish people abroad. I would ask Joe Little to convey my sincere appreciation to those responsible for this decision in RTÉ.

I know that Martin Long will give you a copy of the full text of the address I will give shortly to our guests here at the Irish College Reception. I apologise sincerely that simply due to pressures of space in the College I am not in a position to invite many people, including all of you, to join us for the reception. I hope that you will accept my invitation to join Martin and Fr Tim Bartlett for lunch with my sincere gratitude and
compliments.

I am very happy to answer questions shortly, though due to the pressure of time I will have to keep this very short. If you want to make an arrangement with Martin for me to answer questions at some other time over the next few days I will do my very best to oblige.

Maybe I could just make a number of initial comments for the time being:

Today has been a very joyful day, a day of many graces. I am very honoured and humbled that Pope Benedict XVI has created me a Cardinal and I hope that the people, priests and religious of Ireland will see in it an expression of our Holy Father's particular regard and affection for them, for the people and for the Church in Ireland.

I am particularly grateful for all the prayers and good wishes which have accompanied me through these last few days, good wishes from literally thousands of people who are glad for the Church and for Ireland itself at this joyful event. I wish to acknowledge in particular those many expressions of support and encouragement I have received from members of other Christian Churches and other faiths in Ireland, including some from people who are also members of the Loyal Orders. Their sentiments have been a real encouragement to me. They are one of the many reasons I have great hope for our future, one rooted in the mutual respect and dignity that comes from our Christian faith.

I am also very grateful to the President, Mary McAleese, the Secretary of State, Mr Shaun Woodward, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern, Minister Paul Goggins and all the other representatives of Government, North and South, who have joined us for this occasion. I am particularly pleased that we are able to have present members of the Northern Ireland Assembly, including Deputy First Minister, Mr Martin McGuinness and the leader of the SDLP, Mr Mark Durkan. Their presence too is a symbol of hope for our future and I take this opportunity to ask people to pray that our peace process in Northern Ireland will continue to be a source of hope and inspiration to peace-makers across the world.

I would also like to take the opportunity today to pay tribute to the priests and religious of Ireland, including those who work abroad.

These have been difficult, at times traumatic years for the Church in Ireland. Yet in the midst of some of these challenges, not least the appalling and criminal behaviour of some of their colleagues, the overwhelming majority of priests and religious have continued to serve their people with quiet devotion and outstanding generosity.

Today I believe, is in some way about them. It is about the quiet acts of kindness, the supportive, prayerful presence in times of tragedy and joy, the effort to build community and bring dignity, comfort and hope those in need. These are the things which have been the hallmark of generations of Irish priests and religious at home and across the world. It is a legacy I believe Ireland can be proud of. These are her sons and daughters and their generosity and commitment is celebrated in many parts of the world.

Being created a Cardinal today is about representing the bonds of affection and unity between the Office of Peter and the Irish Church. So I have no hesitation in saying to the priests and religious of Ireland today: "Take heart! Today is recognition of your service, of your efforts and your generosity. Today the Successor of Peter has not so much honoured me as honoured the people of Ireland and in a special way her priests and religious."

I also ask the people of Ireland to give fresh heart to their priests and religious. The years ahead will bring a new emphasis on the role of the lay faithful. This is welcome. It is also appropriate and necessary. But you only have to visit the parishes, the youth groups, the schools and the community projects around the country to know the special affection and regard so many people have for their faithful, generous and hard working priests and religious. They have a unique and irreplaceable role in our society. I ask people to continue to give them their support, to encourage many young people to follow their example and to pray that Ireland will always recognise in justice and gratitude the valued role of her faithful priests and religious.

Two weeks ago Father Peter McVerry addressed the priests of the diocese of Armagh that I am so privileged to serve. He told us that the passion of God is compassion, especially for the poor and the vulnerable of our world. My hope is that through God's grace, Ireland will continue to be known as a country which values and defends the irreplaceable role of faith, a faith which is compassionate and has at its heart a concern for the vulnerable and the poor.

My hope is that we will see our tradition as a country of faith as an asset, something which motivates and inspires our compassion for the world. That out of our new diversity and the particular lessons of our history, we will bring to the great issues of our day the insights and values which flow from faith in a God who has created and loves the world. I pray for a deep renewal of that faith. I pray that many Irish people will rediscover the joy which has brought such fulfilment to my own life, the joy of following Jesus Christ.

Respect for our neighbour, defence of the inherent dignity of the human person, generosity in service of others, concern for those most in need, turning the other cheek, going the extra mile, these are the things which have made Ireland the generous and peace-making country that it is. These are the things which flow from faith.

Finally, for my own part, as I thank his Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for the great privilege he has bestowed on me today, and through me on the whole Irish Church, I take to myself this prayer of St. Patrick: 'But what can I say or what can I promise to my Lord, as I can do nothing that He has not given me? May He search my heart and my deepest feelings…. may God never permit it to happen to me that I should lose His people which He purchased in the utmost parts of the world. I pray to God to give me perseverance and to deign that I be a faithful witness to Him to the end of my life for my God.'

Thank you and I hope you will enjoy the rest of our time together.

Further information:
On his creation as a cardinal, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, assigned to Cardinal Brady the
titular Church of St Cyricus and Julitta, who were martyrs. The story is that Julitta, a widow of
Iconium, took her three year old son, Cyricus, to Tarsus, the native city of St Paul, to escape
persecution. Here, however, she was recognised and accused, suffered with her child a series of
tortures, which, however, rebounded in some way against the persecutors whom Cyricus attacked.
Eventually, Julitta and her son were executed and their relics were saved by other Christians. Cyricus
was supposed to have come from Antioch, a child martyr of immense popularity.

The connection with France was strong, partly because of some relics brought back from Antioch.
Charlemagne, in a dream was saved from death by wild boar on a hunt, by the appearance of a child
who promised to save him from death if he would give him clothes to cover him. The Bishop of
Nevers interpreted this to mean that he wanted the Emperor to repair the roof of the Cathedral,
dedicated to San Cyr. Hence Cyricus is represented in icon as the child riding on a wild boar. He was
the patron saint of children and his feast day is 16 June.

Cardinal Brady is particularly pleased that the Church is at the heart of classical Rome – within sight of the Forum and the Arch of Titus and the Mamertine Prison – reminding him of more carefree days and times as a teacher of Latin and Roman Art and architecture. The most gratifying feature of this Church is that it contains the tombs of students of the Irish College – possibly contemporaries of Cardinal Brady's grand-uncle, Fr Bernard Brady, former parish priest of Belturbet.