Remarks at the Official Opening of the New Community Crèche
Saint Mary’s Park, Limerick Wednesday, 19th October 2011
Dia dhíbh go léir inniu. Tá an-áthas orm bheith anseo libh ar an ócáid speisialta seo.
Míle bhuíochas díbh as an gcuireadh agus an fáilte a thug sibh dom.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is a very special pleasure to be back in Limerick for the official opening of this wonderful and sorely needed new community crèche. I would like to thank Brendan Kenny for his kind invitation and to thank each of you for the warm welcome I always get here.
The Limerick Regeneration Programme has notched up another achievement. I was privileged to open the new community centre in Southill and the youth centre in Ballinacurra Weston, projects like this crèche that were once just dreams or ideas on a page. Now after a huge amount of hard work and a determination not to give up no matter what, there is another milestone reached and another resource at the heart of community, strengthening it, strengthening children and families so that their future can be better and better.
This is Limerick at its best - the Limerick of decent people investing in community and in each other, the Limerick that refuses to let the image of their city be monopolised by a minority of irresponsible citizens. Helen Keller’s famous words are very apt here today “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” This community has people of great vision and the tenacity to bring their vision into reality. Here are people who see problems and hunt for solutions, who face set-backs and do not give in to despair or surrender, who just keep trudging on, taking small steps towards big destinations.
Today is one of those big destinations and this crèche will change life for the children and the families who use it. My grandmother who had eleven children and sixty grand children used to remark that "what's learnt in childhood is engraved on stone." Engrave well and a child gets a great start. And as the old Irish proverb taught us, a good start is half the work. This crèche is all about engraving well so that Limerick’s children and young people get a confident and sure start in life. Our hope for them is that they will grow strong and grounded, will develop their talents and skills conscientiously so that they grow into responsible, well balanced citizens, with good coping skills and good caring sensitivities, the kind of people who make good parents, good neighbours, good employees and employers, people to be proud of, people who take pride in their community.
I congratulate Deirdre McMahon, the crèche manager and the crèche staff. Looking after sixty five little ones is no mean feat! But Deirdre and her team are doing a wonderful job creating a safe, happy place for children and giving parents peace of mind and freedom to work or train or take on courses or simply have time to recharge their batteries.
The people who conceived and drove this project put in long hours and hard work - not for their own benefit but to benefit the entire community. I thank in particular the dedicated members of the King’s Island crèche committee - chair, John Buttery, and his predecessor, Annette Kearney; Josephine Walsh and Marie McGrath members of the committee from St. Mary’s Park; and, Niki McMahon, Marion Doherty and Breda Collins. I hope they each feel fulfilled and energised by their success and that all those involved in regeneration of this area feel the same today. They will need that energy for the tasks that lie ahead for regeneration is a process that is as much psychological as physical.
I came here at the start of this process when all this was just a lot of words in a document and a lot of hope. Over the years I have seen those words turn into action and into landmark achievements and we have talked here and in Áras an Uachtaráin about progress and the tough realities of maintaining momentum during times of economic hardship. The evidence is here of how a community can triumph over disadvantage, negativity and difficulty, not by wishing for a magic wand but by sheer relentless planning and pushing through all sorts of obstacles to the finish.
Things are not the same as when I first came. They are better - a lot better thanks to your faith and your pride. I have only great memories of Limerick and of great Limerick people - thank you for those memories and for this crèche where a new future is opening up for our children.
I am delighted to declare the new community crèche officially open.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir