REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE 10th ANNIVERSARY OF LEEDS IRISH HEALTH AND HOMES, HINSLEY HALL,
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE 10th ANNIVERSARY OF LEEDS IRISH HEALTH AND HOMES, HINSLEY HALL, LEEDS, THURSDAY 13 APRIL 06
Dia dhíbh, a cháirde go léir. Tá mé iontach sásta bheith anseo libh inniu.
I am delighted to be back in Leeds to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Leeds Irish Health and Homes. Thank you for inviting me here today and for the very warm welcome you have extended to Martin and me.
And what a ten years it’s been! This organisation has grown from having one employee supporting eight tenants to 20 staff and many volunteers supporting over 150 people on a weekly basis. It is a good time to draw breath and look back with pride at what has been accomplished and pride in the people who made it all happen.
Your tenth birthday coincides with the centenary celebration of the death of that great Mayoman and one-time Haslingden resident, Michael Davitt. His towering thirst for social justice for the poor and oppressed became a restless but focussed energy which changed the course of Irish and British histories. His name is of course, strongly associated with your work through the home for vulnerable elderly Irish people which bears his name. Like Davitt they left their native home, driven out by poverty and lack of opportunity. They made new lives here and Irish men and women have made a hugely significant contribution to life on this other shore but the emigrant heart knows two different heartbeats, where he is and where he has come from. Sensitivity to that twin track reality is of special importance to the vulnerable Irish elderly here and it is a particular strength of the services provided by Leeds Irish Health and Homes as I know from talking earlier to the residents of Davitt House. The transfer of Davitt House to Leeds Irish Health and Homes was carried out with the utmost regard for the needs of the residents and the community and that is a credit to the Trustees of Davitt House and to Leeds Irish Health and Homes.
I congratulate all who contributed to the recent Róisín Bán exhibition and book which celebrates and highlights the story of the Irish community in Leeds and I wish you success with your endeavours to bring the exhibition to other locations around the country.
Ireland is proud that so many Irish people who settled here have done enormously well and are represented in every sphere of civic life, where they helped enrich the economic, political, social and cultural development of this city. The Leeds Irish Centre, which I visited on a previous trip to this city, is still a vibrant showcase of Irish culture and Irish values from its outreach to the elderly Irish to its love of music and dance. Leeds Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Eireann and the Leeds Irish Music Project combine with the various Irish dancing schools to ensure that Ireland’s distinctive cultural identity is expressed through song and dance throughout the year giving new generations access to the culture of their parents and grandparents and giving their neighbours the gift of cultural diversity.
The success of Leeds Irish Health and Homes is not just down to the remarkable people who have built it up but also to the Irish community in Leeds who have given their time and money to support the work and have helped to grow the organisation of today. The Board of Management has been ably chaired by Mary Sheard for the last decade. I congratulate you Mary and wish your successor Mel Nally the very best of Irish luck in carrying on your good work. I wish continued success to your Director, Ant Hanlon who was the single employee of Leeds Irish Health and Homes back in 1996 and who has steered this ‘currach’ well over the last ten years.
Leeds Irish Health and Homes has been fortunate also to receive funding from Leeds City Council and the Leeds Primary Care Trusts, as well as from the Government of Ireland in Díon grants. Not only does that money vindicate the excellence of the work but it ensures that this important work can go on. May the success of these past ten years give you reassurance and energy for the ten to come. Once again, thank you all for your very warm welcome today.
Go n-éirí go geal libh agus go raibh maith agaibh.