An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-25
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Mark Daly (CC), Administrative Panel

Before I call the next speaker, on the Greek national day I welcome to Seanad Éireann the Greek ambassador to Ireland. Of course, Greece is a country associated with creativity, resilience and the democratic spirit, a spirit that is needed now more than ever. From philosophy to science, from the arts to mathematics, Greece has offered and enriched the world with its ideas and its enabling of civilisation. It is important to acknowledge that not only did Greece give us democracy - the very word itself and the roots of that word - but it also gave us theatre. At this time when Kerry, and Ireland I suppose, celebrates the winning of an Oscar, we also acknowledge that the very word "thespian", the word for actor, derives from Thespis of Icaria who was the first ever performer who stepped onto a stage and portrayed another character. That was a radical idea at the time, indeed, democracy was a radical idea, when Greek civilisation created it. Theatres around the world owe their very existence to Greece, for which we are eternally grateful. This year is an important year for Greece because of the fact that it is 130 years since the birth of the modern Olympic Games in 1896. I was in that stadium and finished my one and only marathon in that stadium.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-25/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:46+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-25