REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A RECEPTION IN ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN TO MARK THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT A RECEPTION IN ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN TO MARK THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ICA
A chairde, cuireann sé áthas orm agus ar mo fhear chéile, Mairtín, fáilte a chur romhaibh go léir chuig Áras an Uachtaráin inniu.
It is a great pleasure for myself and Martin to mark the 90th anniversary of the Irish Countrywomen's Association by offering a warm céad míle fáilte to each and every one of you and to thank particularly those of you who have travelled long distances to be with us today. This has been a year of particular celebration for every ICA member and while they cannot all be here I hope you will bring back to your regional and local organisations my best wishes and congratulations on everything you have accomplished in these nine decades. And you are entitled to reflect on those years with pride and with gratitude because on their sound foundations you can look forward to building an even more remarkable future in this new millennium.
I hope you will relax and enjoy this afternoon and will leave with fond memories of your visit to the Áras.
Among our guests today is the Association’s Vice President in Connaught, Aileen Heverin, author of the book on the history of the ICA. I would like to wish her the very best with tomorrow’s launch. I have no doubt the book will make for fascinating reading and not just for ICA members but for a much wider audience, for in the story of your organisation will be charted the story of modern Ireland and the huge changes in Irish life since the foundation of your Association.
Today’s generation of young women may find it hard to believe the limitations on the role and place of women in early 20th Century Irish society. Few of them had access to a decent education or the opportunity to make careers outside the home. Some professions and universities were closed to them. Indeed they were not permitted to vote. The huge reservoir of talent which resided in half the population of our country was only partly tapped, its impact largely limited to the sphere of the home. No one would deny the vital importance of the role of the home both then and today but thankfully, in today’s Ireland, women have opportunities to extend the reach of their genius into almost every aspect of Irish life.
While we have already achieved much, we know we have still only scratched the surface of what is possible. We take enormous pride in what women of previous generations have achieved on an individual basis. But no matter how great the personal endeavour and success of each person, there is a level of synergy that we are missing out on if we all stay in our own boxes, failing to tap into each other’s insights and experience. Those of you involved with the ICA know that there is an additional energy that arises when individual efforts are channelled into a common pool. You have all felt it, have all drawn from it. It can be as simple as knowing there is someone we can call on, someone who will give us the benefit of their experience or bolster our confidence at a crucial time. It can be as complex as trading experience and wisdom and discovering that things we only half knew or intuited had a matching half in someone else, and we felt the power of these two things as they docked and made a completely new kind of sense to us. We can achieve only so much by working on our own. Our collective capacity to shape the future is a power of a different order entirely.
From the beginning of its history, the ICA recognised the importance of education, training, information, personal development and networking, if women were to make improvements in their own lives and the lives of their children. For many women the ICA provided the chance to learn new skills and to make new friends within their communities. For some it was a crucial release from the loneliness and isolation that can come from location or sometimes from family circumstances. Through your work the contribution of women to the fabric of society came to be better understood and appreciated, better valued by women themselves and by the broader society. Rural women experienced a new solidarity and friendship which held isolation at bay. Urban women came to know their rural counterparts better and indeed each came to know themselves better. The benefits that have flowed from the ICA have been felt in thousands of lives and homes, in generations of homemakers, rearers of who have come to see themselves differently because of your work. You have contributed to the rapid improvement in the status of Irish women and they in turn have contributed hugely to making Ireland the prosperous country it is today.
As we enter into a new millennium – a new century full of changes both in family life and structures – with new developments in agriculture continually impacting on rural life – with greater concentration of people in our cities and towns - it is a tribute to the ICA that it continues to enjoy the support of women throughout Ireland. The number of branches continues to rise and by encouraging women who live in cities and towns as well as in rural areas to join the ICA, your popularity and prosperity is ensured as you continue to provide a forum for the development of Irish women.
I am delighted to share in your celebrations today and I hope you enjoy your day in the Áras. I would like to say a special word of thanks to our entertainers for today’s reception – Catherine Tarrant our harpist who greeted you in the Front Hall, and our group of harpists in Seomra de hIde who hail from Loreto Convent on the Green, Denise Kelly, Eilish Dowling Madeline Staunton and Amy Mc Donnell. Obviously great things beckon for our accomplished musicians.
I would like to thank you for making the journey to Aras and I wish your National President Breda Raggett and everyone associated with the ICA continued success in the years ahead.