REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE GRADUATION CEREMONY FOR STUDENTS OF THE B.A. (HONS) VISUAL ARTS
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE GRADUATION CEREMONY FOR STUDENTS OF THE B.A. (HONS) VISUAL ARTS PROGRAMME, SHERKIN ISLAND
Dia dhíbh a chairde, I am delighted and honoured to join this unique, historic graduation
ceremony for students of the B.A. Visual Arts programme. Thanks to Daniel Reilly of the
Sherkin Island Development Society, the Dublin Institute of Technology and the West Cork
Arts Centre for inviting me. We gather on this one day knowing that it is the culmination of
over ten years of careful planning and pilot projects and that it marks something quite
remarkable and wonderful – the successful delivery of a fully accredited degree programme
on an island. There is blood, sweat and tears embedded in this day and I warmly congratulate
all those whose determination turned an ambitious idea into a successful reality.
William Butler Yeats once said “that education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a
fire”. The B.A. programme on Sherkin Island has lit a spark of learning that has spread well
beyond the students enrolled on the course and that will no doubt continue to blaze long after
today’s graduation ceremony is over. For many years, the youngest inhabitants have had to
leave communities like this one in order to gain a third level education and life-long learning
and continuing adult education was in scarce supply on the island. Now, through the
development of the B.A. in Visual Arts, a bridge has been built between the local community
and the higher education sector and we are seeing in a very real way that geographic location
is no real barrier to access to education.
In addition to the educational opportunities provided by the degree programme, other benefits
are accruing to the people of Sherkin as a result of the delivery of the course here. It is
fortuitous that the academic year runs through the off-peak tourist period and so the delivery
of the programme brings a welcome boost to the island’s economy during the months when
visitors are scarce. As well as supporting local businesses, I am told that the numerous social
gatherings associated with the programme have greatly enlivened winter evenings on the
island.
The B.A. in Visual Arts programme is distinguished from other degree programmes by its
emphasis on forging a learning environment in which the living patterns and knowledge base
of a community are respected and included. The relationship between student and teacher is
not a one-way street; rather the students’ life experiences as part of this unique community
feed into the course curriculum and enable today’s graduates to say without doubt they hold a
truly unique degree. The programme is rooted in partnership and community engagement and
the close involvement of the three partners – the Dublin Institute of Technology, the Sherkin
Island Development Society and the West Cork Arts Centre – has contributed hugely to its
standing on both a national and international level. Programmes such as this are pivotal in
fostering a capacity among rural communities to develop and improve their social, cultural
and economic circumstances from the bottom up – allowing a local voice to be heard far
beyond its geographic catchment.
There were immense challenges involved in delivering this degree programme to a small
island off the coast of West Cork, far from traditional lecture halls and city-based higher
education establishments. But nobody let those things get in the way. Instead they got
creative and innovative using a range of modalities – from distance, online and remote
learning to live and virtual contact, aided by new technologies and good old-fashioned good
teaching and of course good students. Not surprisingly the B.A. in Visual Arts programme
has attracted international interest. I understand that alliances have been formed with an
impressive range of higher education institutions, including Universities in Northern Ireland,
England, Scotland and Finland. As a result, Sherkin Island is now linked to an exciting and
vibrant European network.
The commitment, skill, experience and enthusiasm of the academic staff at the Dublin
Institute of Technology made this programme possible. A special word of congratulations to
Mr. Brian Fay, Head of the Department of Fine Art and Design who has been so central to
both the development and running of this course. I also thank Bernadette Burns, the
Programme Coordinator, whose vision, commitment and skill as an educator and artist have
also been central to the success of the programme.
Partnership has been important too – for the whole community on Sherkin Island has engaged
with this initiative with great enthusiasm. In particular, Daniel Reilly, Chair of Sherkin
Island Development Society and Majella O’Neill-Collins, renowned local artist and educator,
have worked unstintingly to ensure that the B.A. in Visual Arts has both a strong foundation
and a sustainable future. Ann Davoren, Director of the West Cork Arts Centre, played a key
role and she has ensured that students see their education in the broader context of a
nationally established centre for art. This provides the students with an opportunity to
contribute to exhibitions, participate in talks, critique shows, meet artists and curators in the
vibrant professional environment that is invaluable for an artist.
But even the best partnership, technology and team would have been confounded and
consigned to failure if the students had not turned up, signed up and stepped up. They took
on the studies, the support of one another, for the long haul and they stuck with it through
illnesses, family commitments and crises and all the demands that make it easier to give up
than to keep on going. Without the students and their reaching of the finishing line, we
would not have this lovely day of celebration. This is their graduation day and they rightly
take centre stage. We are all incredibly proud of them, as is their community and their
families. They have opened doors for themselves and those doors will not close behind them
but will open a pathway for others to follow. May the fire lit inside each one – of intellectual
curiosity and passion for the arts, never be extinguished but burn brighter and brighter by
their efforts. May it light up Sherkin like a new generator! I would like to congratulate you
on your success and achievement to date and wish you all every success in your future work.