REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A GARDEN PARTY TO MARK THE CENTENARY OF THE ICA
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A GARDEN PARTY TO MARK THE CENTENARY OF THE IRISH COUNTRYWOMEN’S ASSOCIATION
Dia dhíbh go léir agus céad míle fáilte.
Good afternoon everyone. Martin and I are delighted to offer each of you the traditional céad míle fáilte - one hundred thousand welcomes - to Áras an Uachtaráin as we mark the Centenary year of the Irish Countrywomen’s Association in the company of representatives from every part of the country. This association of women has kept faith with its founding mission through risings, wars, mass emigration, rapid urbanisation and any number of recessions.
But from Bree, Co.Wexford one hundred years ago to Áras an Uachtaráin today there is still a clear need for the kind of focused and structured solidarity you offer which at the individual, human level provides important opportunities for friendship and social inclusion and at community level provides a formidable advocacy on important women’s issues and social issues. In a world that still tends to overlook the achievements of women your founders and members were pioneers of education for women, of access to good health care for women. You championed rural electrification and piped water, innovations today’s sophisticated children would have difficulty believing were absent from so many homes only a short couple of generations ago.
That this organisation has survived and thrived through so many different Irelands is a testimony to its adaptability and the investment made by its guild members in each generation. Now, as urban as it is rural, its core is, of course, friendship. As Abraham Lincoln said "The better part of one's life consists of friendships" and for many, ICA membership has given them a supply of friendships and memories to enrich a life and to last a lifetime. Long before we had internet social networking, you were the original social network where women of all faiths, politics, persuasions and backgrounds found and forged common cause.
On display here today are samples of the legendary craftwork for which the ICA is famous, for investment in education and training has been a strong element of your success and, in particular, care for the transmission of traditional crafts has been a strong focus of your care for our social history. As knitter, sewer and quilter who was taught those skills by my mother and grandmother, I love to see them so cherished and of course I love the quilt created by an ICA women’s meitheal - an object that is at once beautiful and useful. In the past so much of the creativity, ingenuity and craft genius of women went into utilitarian and comfort things like sweaters, socks, gloves, scarves, dresses, quilts and cushion covers - and here too the world generally ignored or overlooked their genius - but not the ICA who have always accorded it the respect and admiration, the worth it is due.
Those pioneering women who laid the foundation of the Association in Bree in the early 20th Century would, I have no doubt, be very proud of the leaders and members who steer it in these still early years of the 21st century. Today it is a strong and influential organisation woven so deeply into the fabric of Irish life that its place in the coming century seems assured for it has opened its heart to Ireland’s many newcomers, made them welcome and once again shown the way to a future where people care about one another, invest in one another and accompany each other on life’s journey.
Today, I get a chance to say thank you for all that you bring to Irish life. I hope you enjoy your time here - the company, the craic, the food, the ceol, the chance to see the house and to make a new friend or two.
On your behalf and on that of Martin and myself, thank you to the entertainers, some from your own ranks who have to sing for their supper. Thank you to the choirs from the Tallaght and Ballybrack guilds, the set-dancers from Lusk and Ballymartyle. I am also looking forward to hearing, the legendary Johnny McEvoy, The Schola Cantorum choir, the wonderful Julie Feeney and the amazing Crystal Swing. Thank you to the Áras staff, St. John’s Ambulance Brigade, the Civil Defence, the Gardaí, the tour guides and everybody who has helped to make the day very special. But most of all, thanks to you for being with us.
Have a great afternoon and return home safely. Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.