REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE OUR LADY OF LOURDES YOUTH CENTRE
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE OUR LADY OF LOURDES YOUTH CENTRE, BALLINACURRA WESTON, LIMERICK
Dia dhíbh a chairde, what a pleasure it is to be here with you today in Ballinacurra Weston to mark the official opening of the newly refurbished Our Lady of Lourdes Youth Centre. I’d like to thank Brendan Kenny, CEO of Limerick Regeneration Agencies for the kind invitation to join you here this afternoon. It’s always good to be back in Limerick and it’s always heartening to see the ongoing process of renewal, redevelopment and improvement that is underway in this and other communities. For many people, the New Year is an opportunity to pause to look back over past achievements, and to look forward to new horizons. How fitting then that today we are re-opening this refurbished facility which is a landmark on Ballinacurra Weston’s long journey from a difficult, traumatic past to a new brighter future.
I have been following the regeneration process in Limerick closely over the last two years. While areas such as Moyross or Southill may appear more frequently in the media, Ballinacurra Weston too has faced its share of challenges – aging housing stock, lower rates of employment, the impact of criminal and anti-social behaviour. And these are difficult challenges, compounded over the years into a vicious circle of exclusion and disadvantage. It would be easy for people to wring their hands and say that there was no way out. But that is not what you, the residents of Ballinacurra Weston, chose to do. Instead, you chose to turn your backs on the grimness and difficulties and heartache of the past and work together within your community and with the whole-hearted support of the Limerick Regeneration Agency to advance towards a brighter future.
It’s almost two years to the day since I visited this area to launch the “Our Community, Our Vision, Our Future” regeneration plan for Southill and Ballinacurra Weston. I recall the scale of your ambitions that day; the ambition to turn your community right around and to make it the best possible community for this generation and those that follow. Today, with the opening of this facility for the community of Ballinacurra Weston, we can truly begin to talk of “Our Community, Our Vision, Our Present”. Physical regeneration and improved physical infrastructure is one major element of realising Ballinacurra Weston’s true potential, but without the true buy-in of the community, its effect would be limited. The essential element in making all this work has been the backing of the community, and the surging new confidence that Ballinacurra Weston is not destined to forever relive the suffering of the past but can instead be an active player in drawing the blueprint for its own future.
And on this remarkable journey from despair to hope, from neglect to renewal, you have been accompanied by the many experts who participate in and advise the Limerick Regeneration Agencies. I congratulate Brendan Kenny and all his team for their instrumental role in driving forward the process, through careful consultation and liaison with the community and through coordinating the input of partner organisations. I know that Brendan has also had strong support from his Chairman John Fitzgerald and the Boards of the Agencies. I am very impressed with the personal commitment of everybody involved – it is very clear that in addition to minds and bodies, hearts are engaged here as well and many an extra mile is being walked. The Agencies take a holistic approach to the social, economic, and physical regeneration of the city and tailor this approach to meet the specific needs of each community within the regeneration areas. The current economic difficulties that are facing Ireland have inevitably meant that the pace of change may have to be slower than we might otherwise have liked but I understand that the Limerick Regeneration Agencies are looking at how best they can adapt their own structures and mandate to maintain momentum in these changed economic circumstances, and I wish them the very best with that reflection.
The history of this wonderfully refurbished centre in a way reflects the history of the community as a whole. Built initially with great enthusiasm and hope as a Scout Hall to serve the new population here, later developing into a youth and community centre, over the years it then sadly suffered neglect, underfunding and fell into disrepair. Now, thanks to the commitment of the community and to the generosity of the funders, including the McManus Foundation, the National Lottery and Pobal, the centre has been refurbished as part of the overall regeneration plan and today provides a magnificent resource for youth and community groups in Ballinacurra Weston. Here, young people can participate in a range of educational and recreational opportunities – after school clubs such as the Tuesday Club, school completion programmes, drugs awareness programmes with RESIN, activities like indoor soccer, dance or arts and crafts. It is a place for young people to meet each other, to discover the many youth services available to them and a way for them to engage with their community. It allows young people to choose something other than the drug culture and anti-social behaviour, by offering creative alternatives, educational supports, and leisure facilities. I would like to thank the young people of Ballinacurra Weston for the enthusiasm they have shown for this new facility; this is a great opportunity for you and I wish you the best of success in using the centre to its full potential. I would also like to thank all the various youth groups who will make use of this refurbished centre for their hard work, commitment and dedication to the young people of the area. Although formally a youth centre, this building is a focal point and an asset for the entire community.
In a sense, community is the lynchpin that binds us together, in which we find support through difficult times, and from which we draw the inspiration and strength needed in bringing about change and growth. I am keenly aware of the challenges that this community has faced and continues to face, and it is my belief that the strength of community that is evident today will be the driving force in meeting those challenges in the coming years. I repeat my commitment that I will remain engaged with the regeneration process here; what you are doing here in Ballinacurra Weston is exciting and challenging and creates great hope for a better future. It gives me great pleasure to be able to share part of that journey with you. To each of the stakeholders who are so actively engaged in this process, I thank you for your vision and your dedication. You have come very far in just two short years and while there is still a good deal of road left to travel, today is a day for celebration as we reach one of the landmarks on this journey. I am therefore delighted to declare the refurbished Our Lady of Lourdes Youth Centre officially open. Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.