REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE GALWAY NATIONAL SCHOOLS CHORAL FESTIVAL
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE GALWAY NATIONAL SCHOOLS CHORAL FESTIVAL DUNMORE
Tá áthas an domhain orm go bhfuil mé in ann a bheith libh ar an ócáid bhreá atá curtha ar bun anseo agaibh. Gabhaim buíochas ó chroí libh as an gcuireadh a chur chugam agus chuig m’fhear céile Máirtín.
I am delighted to be with you today to officially open the National Schools Choral Festival here in Galway. I would like to thank Brian Keating and the Festival Committee for the kind invitation and the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful event. A big thank you also to Mr. Pat Gilmore – Principal here at Dunmore Community School and to Ms. Lil Bruen, Deputy Principal for providing this wonderful setting for the performances. I am sure they join with me in extending a very special welcome to all the children, the teachers and parents who are with us, some of whom have travelled long distances to be here.
I felt a real buzz when I first arrived here. You can feel the excitement that comes from the arrival of a big day that has been looked forward to for a very long time and a day for which people have been preparing with great enthusiasm and hope. And of course there is great anticipation because this is a big musical event and we Irish have a passion for music that few can match.
Choral singing has a magic all of its own. You take a bunch of people with very different voices and very different abilities as singers. On day one of practice the voices shout at each other but after weeks and months of dedicated training they melt into a harmony that lifts the heart. There is no easy way to become a good choir, just sheer hard work and sustained commitment. That lovely Irish phrase ‘Ní neart go cur le chéile’ - is showcased at its best in the choirs represented here, for every person who sings in a choir has a very important insight into the great things human beings are capable of when they work well together. Music itself is a wonderful adventure and the school choir is often a place where students are introduced to music they might never otherwise come to know and love. In Ireland we are proud and lucky to have a great reservoir of exquisite songs both in Irish and English but other cultures have their unique songs too and it is lovely to see this festival encourage curiosity about songs from around the world.
But perhaps the most important message of all is that music is fun and I particularly welcome the fact that this festival is essentially about taking part, sharing the fun rather than competing. My own memories of being in the school choir, the camaraderie, the thrill of performance, the laughs and the groans gave me a lifelong love of choirs. When as a stranger I moved into a country area of County Meath many years ago I joined the local choir and there made the friends and memories that have lasted a lifetime. I have watched my daughters find the same fulfilment in choirs in Kilkeel, Rostrevor and in Dublin and I have been very grateful for all those men and women around the country, especially in our schools, whose musical talent and generosity of spirit has created this marvellous opportunity for our young people.
This festival too took quite a bit of organising from liaising with schools to securing sponsorship and I would like to commend Brian Keating and his fellow Committee Members for their tremendous work, much of it done quietly behind the scenes, done not for thanks but for the pleasure that the festival would bring to others. The support of St. Jarlath’s Credit Union, Galway County Libraries Schools Section and Galway County Council has also been an essential ingredient of the Festivals existence and success and they too deserve a lot of thanks. But of course if students didn’t turn up for rehearsals, if there were no conductors, musical directors and resident musicians to develop and sustain the choirs then we would never have a day like this or a Festival like this and just think what we would be missing. So to all of you - a big thank you. We are very proud of what you do and you are entitled to be proud of what you have achieved in bringing this distinctive contribution to Galway’s rich and famous cultural life.
I feel privileged as patron of the National Schools Children’s Choir to declare the Galway National Schools Choral Festival 2003 officially open. Enjoy it.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.