REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE REFURBISHED WALLED GARDEN
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE REFURBISHED WALLED GARDEN, KNAPPOGUE CASTLE QUIN, CO. CLARE
Tá an áthas orm beith anseo libh ar an ocáid speisalta seo chun gairdíní Cnapóige a oscailt go hoifigiúil. Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a chur in iúl díbh as an chuireadh agus as fáilte fíor is flaithiúil.
I am delighted to be with you today in this truly picturesque setting in the rolling hills of County Clare. For many years Knappogue Castle has been associated with evening entertainments and wedding receptions. Now with the recreation of this most beautiful walled garden, a great new dimension has been added to the Knappogue encounter, with its medieval banquets, its historic castle, and the Knappogue Castle State-Room Apartments, there's something for everyone to enjoy. It's a great asset to County Clare, a beautiful amenity both for the local communities and tourists to enjoy. My special thanks to Shannon Heritage and Shannon Development for the invitation and to all of you for the lovely welcome.
The modern day story of Knappogue is outlined in a number of historic surveys written on the area which recount the tale from 1966 when the Andrews family purchased the derelict castle from a local farmer. As a young boy the Honourable Mark Andrews 11, while travelling by ship to Europe with his parents, stopped at Cobh and saw grey stone towers rising out of the green and mist. There and then he imagined himself owning a castle. And so it was that Mrs. Lavone Dickensheets Andrews, a fellow in the American Institute of Architects, contributed her design expertise while her husband applied all his skills to organising a major restoration in conjunction with Shannon Development. Today, I am sure it's a source of particular pride and pleasure to Mark Andrews 111 and his wife Beth who are here with us today from the USA.
On a day when we mark the completion of a project that started 3 years ago, it is fitting to remember the huge effort that saw this garden grow from a featureless scene of desolation to the rejuvenated haven that you see around you today. The people who worked on the restoration of the castle in 1967 did a magnificent job with great pride, matching the quality of the labourers of 500 years before them. Today, we can see that pride and quality continuing through to this very day. And we realize that cherishing our past, recognising it as a treasure and a resource, is not in any way incompatible with our being a modern forward-looking nation. On the contrary, it is a measure of our maturity as a nation that we are reconciled to our rich and complex history as never before and that each generation is not afraid to put its own stamp on history.
As we admire this beautiful garden, a special thank you is due to all who worked tirelessly with great determination and focus to make this Walled Garden into something so beautiful, elegant and tranquil. I congratulate everyone especially Shannon Development, Shannon Heritage and the Great Gardens Committee of Knappogue Walled Garden. Thanks to you, Clare now has this peaceful and spiritual retreat. Each year as it happens I come to Co. Clare on retreat and spend a lot of time in another walled garden, that of the Poor Clares in Ennis. At the entrance to their garden you find the apt words of Dorothy Frances Gurney.
“The kiss of the sun for pardon.
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God’s heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth”
I hope that many people from near and far will find here joy, the serenity and the reassuring evidence of renewal and rebirth that lifts the heart and lets hope and happiness in.
On July 2nd 1967, Erskine Childers, Minister for Transport, Power, Post and Telegraphs officially opened Knappogue Castle, today 36 years later on July 2nd 2003, it gives me great pleasure to declare the Knappogue Walled Garden officially open.
Go raibh maith agaibh go léir.