Mary White (Fianna Fail)

My proudest achievement is as chairwomen of Gaisce, the President's Award, for which, Senator Ross should be pleased to know, I received no stipend for three years, no travelling expenses and no gift of any kind. I was asked by President McAleese to try to get Gaisce, the President's Award, into Northern Ireland. I achieved this, not on my own, but shoulder to shoulder with the Departments of the Taoiseach, Education and Science and Foreign Affairs trusting me and letting me get on with it, while giving me full support. I got my train fare to Belfast, but that was it.