REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE ON HER VISIT TO THE STONEYBATTER COMMUNITY EDUCATION & TRAINING
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE ON HER VISIT TO THE STONEYBATTER COMMUNITY EDUCATION & TRAINING RESOURCE CENTRE
Tá lúchair mhór orm go bhfuil mé ábalta bheith anseo maidin inniu, agus ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a chur in úil daoibh as an chuireadh, agus as fáilte a bhí caoin, cneasta agus croiúil.
I am delighted to be here with you this morning in Stoneybatter and I want to thank you for the wonderful welcome you extended to me on my arrival - it’s lovely to be amongst such friends and neighbours!
I’m amazed by the information I read about this centre and by what I’ve just seen at the exhibition outside. You have quite a story to tell. A thousand stories in fact - of the 1000 young people who have passed through the centre since it opened in 1987, each one of their lives changed because this place was here and it was here for them. They left with heads held high, with confidence in the future because of the training and education they received here thanks to that great national skills builder - FÁS.
Some countries have huge natural resources of gold or oil or valuable minerals. Our great natural resource is the talent and genius of our people. Just as you have to mine for gold or drill to find oil, you have to educate to draw out the talents and skills each human being has. Many a person came through this door unaware of the extent of their ability to learn new skills. Many a person discovered to their surprise that they had a talent only a good teacher could spot and nurture and help blossom.
Education is the key to unlocking so many doors, first of all the door to the self, the most important door of all, for when we know our gifts, when they blossom as it was intended they should, we have the chance to live lives that are fulfilled, to make a contribution to our families, our communities and our country. We know that the huge economic and cultural success that Ireland is enjoying these days owes a lot to the fact that more people than ever are now getting a decent education, an education that prepares them for today’s world. That is exactly what is on offer here- a flexible range of courses from Safety Awareness to IT Skills, from Catering to Junior and Leaving Certificate Courses and many more. I’m sure you’ll forgive me for giving a special mention to your involvement in the Wider Horizons Project where preparatory programmes were held in my own lovely adopted village of Rostrevor.
My family first moved there over twenty-five years ago. We were strangers, leaving behind us the trauma of life in Belfast hoping to make a fresh start in a place we did not know well, among people we did not know. I am always deeply grateful to the people of Rostrevor for their openness to the stranger and their genuine welcome. It is exactly the kind of welcoming attitude that is fostered here too. This place is founded on the philosophy that everyone, regardless of colour, creed or gender, has something to offer and it is only through bringing people together, showing respect for difference, that barriers of every description will tumble. Your determination to create a positive environment by encouragement and praise has yielded great results and it is not surprising that it should. Make a person feel good in themselves and about themselves and you release an energy and generosity that builds us up humanly. Make a person feel small, or resentful and you build up festering fears that drag us down. It is important to acknowledge the inclusiveness and tolerance openly promoted at this centre, particularly at the moment, when racism and hostility to those who are different, is rearing its ugly head, bringing so much utterly unnecessary hurt and anxiety into people’s lives. It is somehow appropriate that such a different message, such forward thinking and simple decency should be coming loud and clear from one of the oldest and warmest communities of Dublin City.
There is an old Irish proverb: Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí - praise our young and they will blossom. Nowhere is that more evident than here - the goals and awards you have achieved are living testament to that ideal. And you should take a just and righteous pride in those achievements. Of course praise should not be reserved for the youth only. The more mature among us need the odd word of praise and encouragement also!
Since I have come into Office, I have been astonished by the marathon work of Volunteers throughout Ireland, and today is no exception. I find myself amazed by those who voluntarily set about filling voids in our society. There are two types of people those who moan about the things that need to be done but wait for somebody else to do it and those who get up, get out and do something about it themselves. It is so easy just to sit down at the end of a hard day’s work, relax in front of the television and tell yourself all those problems belong to someone else. The members of your Management Committee don’t do that. Instead, they involve themselves in this Centre, officially attending monthly meetings, and more importantly unofficially dropping in during the week, just to see how things are progressing, consolidating their combined time, talents, energy and enthusiasm into a resource put at the service of others.
The combination of your innovative staff, headed by Denis Ward, your voluntary Committee, chaired by Brendan O’Shea, the City of Dublin VEC, the NCVA and the dedication of everybody involved, has certainly proved to be a remarkable success.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody involved in the organisation of today’s gathering, particularly Denis Ward who was brave enough to invite me! A constant source of pride and reassurance to me, is the number of people working quietly and enthusiastically throughout this country building up community, strengthening us as a society. They do not do it for thanks, or recognition but they are the unsung heroes of our time and if they were not around, if their work went undone our world would be a lot less hopefilled. The hive of activity here in this old cinema in Stoneybatter is a place of hope, and I warmly congratulate you for what you are doing. It is my fervent hope that you will continue your dedicated work for many years to come, and that your enthusiasm will be as contagious as the good humour so clearly evident here today.
Go maire sibh.