REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT THE OPENING OF THE NEW DEVELOPMENT AT FOTA WILDLIFE PARK
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT THE OPENING OF THE NEW DEVELOPMENT AT FOTA WILDLIFE PARK MONDAY, 11 APRIL 2011
Dia dhíbh go léir a chairde. Is mór an onóir agus pléisúir dom bheith anseo inniu.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your very warm welcome to Fota and thank you in particular to Barry Murphy, Chairman of the Board of Governors for the invitation to officially open this wonderful new development at the Wildlife Park. Obviously having lived next door to the zoological gardens for fourteen years gives me some level of qualification for the job! It has certainly given me an insight into the phenomenal work involved in upgrading and developing such facilities and into their enduring popularity with the public for while Dublin Zoo and Fota Wildlife Park are very different experiences and attractions they both are greatly loved places and enjoyed by huge numbers of our citizens and tourists.
Now over a quarter of century after Fota’s official opening it has undergone a magnificent transformation with the education complex, the new entrance gate, the administration building, the shop and café and the new animal exhibit, all major initiatives which add hugely to enjoyment of the Park and which blend so seamlessly and sensitively into the Park’s beautiful natural surroundings. Some of us arrive when the work is done - like visitors at a Station Mass. But although we come to admire and celebrate the finished job we also come to thank and congratulate the many men and women who did the hard slog that brought this development from an idea to a lived reality.
It took quite a big team - the Board and the staff of the Park itself who recognised the need to upgrade the facilities to cope with the increased visitor demand; the architects and designers who planned these buildings to be efficient in their purpose, aesthetically pleasing and environmentally friendly; the construction staff who converted the plans into attractive places to work and visit; the project management team who oversaw the development and kept everyone on target; the staff of the Park who continued to look after the animals and welcome visitors despite the building disruptions; the members and hundreds of thousands of annual visitors whose support for and love of Fota inspired the development; the funders; the local Cork community whose pride in this place is part of its story too – thank you all for your imagination, patience and hard work.
Back in 1983 at the official opening of the Park my predecessor, Dr. Patrick Hillery, referred to it as not a place of captivity, confinement or restraint but a place of ‘harmony and trust.’ It is that harmony with nature and the trust that underpins the Park’s relationship with wildlife that has brought growing numbers of visitors here each year. Some come to simply admire this remarkable habitat, others to learn from it and to deepen their knowledge of the science and the issues which impact on this place and more generally on our planet. Here they can put into a working context major concerns around conservation, biodiversity, the environment, endangered species, climate change, ecology ….. Thank you to the education staff whose own passion for their subject brings these topics alive and sends more of our citizens away from here with a shared sense of responsibility for our awesome natural environment.
Thank you to all those who create safe habitats here for animals, especially those animals whose future in the wild is very precarious. The reach of Fota’s concern does not end at the perimeter of the Park itself but is evident in projects both at home and abroad which you fund and support whether it is in Vietnam, Ecuador or Madagascar or closer to home in Cork harbour to mention just a few. Fota’s commitment to mutual support and solidarity, both nationally and internationally, can make a critical difference in terms of maintaining the delicate balance of our world’s eco-systems. They have many predators out to damage or destroy them or careless as to their future so they badly need champions and advocates like the folk at Fota.
If the meerkats and mangabey monkeys could talk I am sure they would tell you how impressed they are with the engineering efforts on their behalf. And as a Down woman still reeling from that one point defeat in Croke Park last September better known here as that one point win for Cork, the arrival of 18ft Walder from Cumbria is very worrying, for my memory of that game is that we didn’t have anyone tall enough at midfield to get first catch of the ball …. I fervently hope that Walder won’t tog out as full forward in Croke Park in September. Life goes on here each day with new arrivals and sad farewells. It is a life like no other on this island - for it brings to us the world of exotic wildlife, in a natural and engaging landscape that we would otherwise have to trot the globe to come across. Now that experience is set to be richer and better than ever.
Congratulations again to everyone who has been involved in this project especially to Barry Murphy and the Board of Governors of Fota Wildlife Park, the Park Director Sean McKeown, the dedicated Park staff, architects and builders and all those who today feel pride because something they did is showcased here and will be everyday for decades to come. It will all be measured in time in the joy brought to visitors and the safe haven created for animals. It is a great credit to you all and I wish you all every success in the future. Go raibh míle maith agaibh.