Esteemed guests, patrons, partners, the team at the Centre for Democracy and Peace and fellow graduates, thank you for being here tonight.
It is a real privilege to stand here as part of the 2025–26 Fellowship, representing not just my own experience, but the shared journey of this entire cohort.
I want to begin with a word: shine.
On our very first day, at Stormont, Eva shared that this was her word of the year. At the time, it felt like a simple, hopeful idea. But over the course of this fellowship, I’ve come to see that shine is not just about brightness or success: it’s about courage, connection, and the willingness to show up fully, even in unfamiliar or uncomfortable spaces.
There’s a line often attributed to Marianne Williamson that says:
As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
And I think that captures something essential about this programme.
Because what the Centre for Democracy and Peace has created is not just a Fellowship. It is a space where people from very different backgrounds are encouraged to bring their full selves, to listen deeply, and to grow.
I want to take a moment to recognise those who make that possible.
To the patrons and partners of the Centre: your support underpins everything we’ve experienced this year. You invest not just in programmes, but in people, in relationships, and in the long-term future of leadership across this society.
To the entire CDP team: your work often happens behind the scenes, but it is absolutely central to everything we’ve achieved. Eva and Zac, the level of care, organisation, and energy you brought to this Fellowship has been extraordinary. From Stormont, Oxford, Dublin and everything in between, you created something very special.
For many of us, one of the standout moments of the fellowship was the Oxford residential.
It was intense, it was packed, and if we’re being honest, there were a few mornings where some of us were perhaps not at our academic best after the previous night’s networking.
But that was part of it.
Because what happened in Oxford wasn’t just academic enrichment—though there was plenty of that—it was about connection. We arrived as individuals who had only met a few weeks before, and we left having built relationships that will last far beyond this programme.
That, to me, is where the real value of this Fellowship lies.
It gave us the opportunity to step outside our usual circles—to meet people we might never otherwise have encountered, from different sectors, different communities, different perspectives—and work together on projects that challenged and inspired us.
And that matters.
Because if there’s one thing this Fellowship demonstrates, it’s that leadership doesn’t sit in one sector alone. It exists across politics, business, the public sector, and the community and voluntary world. And the future of this place depends on those leaders being able to understand each other and work together.
Which brings me to something quite symbolic about today.
I was asked to speak, alongside Gareth Wilson from the DUP.
Now, in many contexts, we would be described as political adversaries.
But what this Fellowship gave us was something different.
It gave us the chance to speak, to listen, and to get to know one another as people, not just as positions or political values.
And in doing that, it showed what is possible when we create the space for it.
Because building those bridges—across political divides, across sectors, across communities—is not a by-product of the Centre for Democracy and Peace. It is its purpose.
And it is needed now more than ever.
So, as we leave this Fellowship, I come back to that word: shine.
Not as something individual, but as something collective.
To shine a light on ideas.
To shine a light on collaboration.
To shine a light on the kind of leadership that brings people together rather than drives them apart.
And perhaps most importantly: to create spaces where others feel able to shine too.
To my fellow graduates: thank you.
For your openness, your honesty, your humour, and your willingness to engage fully in this experience.
It has been a privilege to learn alongside you.
And to the Centre for Democracy and Peace: thank you for giving us the opportunity to do so.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh.
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