Madam President, speaking here in Dublin Castle it is impossible to ignore the weight of history, as it was yesterday when you and I laid wreaths at the Garden of Remembrance.

[To a woman whose cellphone rang during a formal meeting:] You'd better answer that. It could be someone important.

We lost the American colonies because we lacked the statesmanship to know the right time and the manner of yielding what is impossible to keep.

True patriotism doesn't exclude an understanding of the patriotism of others.

The world is not the most pleasant place. Eventually, your parents leave you and nobody is going to go out of their way to protect you unconditionally. You need to learn to stand up for yourself and what you believe and sometimes, pardon my language, kick some ass.

In the turbulence of this anxious and active world many people are leading uneventful, lonely lives. To them dreariness, not disaster, is the enemy. They seldom realize that on their steadfastness, on their ability to withstand the fatigue of dull repetitive work, and on their courage in meeting constant small adversities depend in great measure the happiness and prosperity of the community as a whole. ... The upward course of a nation's history is due in the long run to the soundness of heart of its average men and women.

[To the suggestion that Great Britain might someday want a Republic:] We'll go quietly.