Speech at St. Flannan’s College
Ennis, Co Clare, 20th March 2015
Tá áthas orm a bheith anseo inniu agus is mian liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an tOirmhinneach Joe McMahon agus le Carmel Honan as ucht a gcuireadh caoin. Dar ndóigh, ba cheart do buíochas a ghabháil chomh maith le Richard Esedebe, an scoláire tríú bliana a chur tús leis an chuairt seo trí iarraidh orm bhur nGaelbhratach a bhronnadh oraibh anuraidh. Chuaigh a litir i gcion go mór orm, scríofa mar a bhí sí in ár dteanga dúchais, agus léirigh an litir cé chomh dáiríre is atá pobal na scoile seo faoi chur chun cinn agus úsáid na teanga álainn Gaeilge.
[I am delighted to be here today and would like to thank the Reverend Joe McMahon and Ms. Honan for their very kind invitation. Of course, I should also thank Richard Esedebe, one of your third-year students who initiated this visit by kindly asking me to present you with your Gaelbhratach award last year. I was most impressed by that letter, written in our vernacular, and speaking of the great dedication of this school to promoting the continued use and relevance of our beautiful native language.]
Faraoir, ní raibh sé ar mo chumas glacadh le cuireadh Richard anuraidh. Ach is mór an onóir dom labhairt libh anseo ar maidin agus tá áthas orm go raibh mé in ann glacadh leis an gcuireadh bliain níos déanaí. Is mian liom buíochas a ghabháil le Sean Lyons dá bheannú ceolmhar agus leis na scoláirí ar fad dá dtaispeántais ilchultúrtha beannaithe.
[My schedule didn’t allow me to accept Richard’s invitation last year. But a year later, I am honoured to address you here this morning and delighted to have been in a position to accept the invitation this time. I would also like to thank Sean Lyons for his musical greeting, and the pupils for that great multicultural display of welcome.]
Is mór an pléisiúr dom é filleadh ar an áit seo a raibh ról chomh lárnach aici i mo shaol. Maraoin libhse, is anseo a chaith mé mo bhlianta múnlaitheacha, ag foghlam ní hamháin an méid a bhí ar an churaclam scoile, ach go leór scileanna saoil eile, ar nós an cairdeas, an dílseacht, an obair bhuíne agus an tábhacht a bhaineann leis an t-achmhainn atá ionainn ar fad a bhaint amach.
[It is a great pleasure to revisit a place which has played such a significant role in my life. It was here that, like you, I spent some of my formative years, learning not just that which was laid out in the school curriculum, but so many other important life skills such as the value of friendship and loyalty and teamwork and the importance of reaching one’s full potential.]
My teachers and fellow pupils, and the overall ethos of this school, helped to shape my belief in the necessity of social justice and taught me about compassion and the power of possibility even in difficult times. St. Flannan’s is a place that holds many memories for me; memories that have survived over the decades since I studied within these walls; memories as permanent and lasting as the names that have been carved in the old clock tower by generations of St. Flannan’s pupils.
It is uplifting to be here today and to know that St. Flannan’s continues to be guided and inspired by the tradition on which it was founded, a tradition beautifully summed up in this school’s mission to help its students “discover and develop personal talents and resources and to set themselves high standards of achievement and behaviour.” It is a mission which tells me that, at its very heart, St. Flannan’s College is still the same place that I, and many former pupils, remember with fondness and gratitude.
There can be no doubt, of course, that new and excellent facilities have contributed to the capacity for learning and development among students in St. Flannan’s. Indeed, I was pleased to learn that while the pursuit of high standards remains a core objective here in Flannan’s, such excellence is not narrowly defined, or limited to academic achievement and exam success only, but also embraces the maximisation of students’ development in co-curricular areas.
The range of opportunities provided to students at this school to develop their talents, interests and personalities is impressive and includes traditional music, a Students’ Council, an annual arts week, a Gaelbhratach Committee, school tours, and a remarkable science club which has seen St. Flannan’s students visit NASA to compete with students from all over the world. Of course, Flannan’s retain a sporting pedigree the envy of Munster and beyond, and while new schools may come and go and although you have had a long break between wins by your own high standards, the name of St. Flannan’s still stands proudly at the top of the Dr. Harty Cup Roll of Honour.
Even more inspiring, however, is the philanthropical and humanitarian values which are part of the ethos of this school, strongly embodied in the social immersion programme which sees students visit and work with the homeless on the streets of Calcutta every Easter. That is something to be very proud of and an activity on which I would particularly like to commend you all.
When you come back to your old school it can, at first, seem to be greatly changed from the school you were a part of many years ago; your teachers and friends long gone, the rooms often altered beyond recognition. Today St. Flannan’s is a multi-cultural, co-educational school which has progressed and developed significantly as it continues to play a central role in the life of the citizens of Ennis and its environs. The whiteboards, the modern sports facilities, the laboratories, and even part of the building itself did not exist in my day.
But revisiting your old school makes you realise that the four walls and the classrooms that once circumscribed your world are just a very small part of the overall experience; and that it is the ethos and spirit of the school that really defines your schooldays and the lasting impact they make on your life. If that ethos remains strong and central to the school, then the school remains unchanged.
Like my own, and the many other generations that have gone here before you, the pupils here today will leave this school and go out into the world to place their unique mark on their communities and societies, and in the worlds of business, public service, the arts, sport, and many other different fields of life, retaining and always benefitting from the culture and ethos of St Flannan’s.
And wherever you may find yourselves in the world in future years, I am sure you will always remain connected in a profound way to the people you share this hall with today; the people who have played such a significant part in your formative years and who will remain central to your memories of the place you will, as I do today, always think of as ‘your’ school.
Mar fhocal scoir, is mian liom buíochas a ghabháil libh arís as ucht fáilte a fhearadh romham anseo inniu, agus as ucht seasamh le spiorad agus le héiteas na scoile seo atá gar do mo chroí. Guím gach rath agus beannacht don todhchaí ar gach scoláire atá anseo inniu.
[In conclusion, may I thank you once again for welcoming me here today, and for upholding the spirit and ethos of the school I remember so well. I wish each and every pupil here today every success and happiness in the future.]