REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OPENING OF NEW PREMISES FOR TRISKELE COMMUNITY TRAINING
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OPENING OF NEW PREMISES FOR TRISKELE COMMUNITY TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT THURSDAY, 8 FEBRUAR
Tá lucháir mhór orm go bhfuil mé ábalta bheith anseo inniu, agus ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a chur in iúl daoibh as an chuireadh, agus as fáilte a bhi caoin, cneasta agus croiúil.
I am delighted to join you here today for this day of celebration and achievement as we gather to officially open these new premises. My thanks to the Co-ordinator, Bernadette McMahon, for her kind invitation and to all of you for such a warm welcome.
There is an old saying that if your are still wringing your hands you can’t have your sleeves rolled up. A large part of what we are celebrating here today is the work and the vision and the commitment of people who saw things to be done, important things, and who rolled up their sleeves and made a start. So what we are celebrating in truth is not really the building which is the outward sign of that work and vision, but the sheer efforts of so many people, their faith in their community, their faith in each other and their faith in themselves. Every healthy community needs people to help it grow, develop and become confident through motivating and harnessing its greatest resource - the talent of its own people. That is what this place is about and everyone whose work has made it happen deserves to be congratulated. Your investment in people builds healthy, skilled, individuals who in turn are equipped to build fulfilled lives, strong families, strong, resilient neighbourhoods, and a prosperous, healthy country.
In such a remarkably short time you have successfully developed a number of Family Resource Centres and Community Development Projects along the border regions. You have ambitious plans for further projects and on a day like this when you survey what has already been achieved you can take righteous pride in what has been accomplished and new heart for the journey ahead.
We are privileged to live in a time of unprecedented prosperity. Never before have we been so confident as a nation, never before have we had such reason for celebration. We have seen the tide of emigration turn, the spectre of unemployment fade, the global mainstreaming of Irish Culture, the recognition of Ireland as a great success story and the emergence of peace in Northern Ireland.
But there is another Ireland within our shores. It is a world where the reality of daily life is a far cry from prosperity, where hope in the future is hard to find, where people are ground down by life’s hardships. They see the Celtic Tiger Club as a place with the lights on, the music ringing but the doors shut unless you have a ticket and they don’t yet have a ticket.
Getting that ticket is a two way process. There have to be opportunities to make the significant life changes which a person needs to overcome serious disadvantage and then the human person has to take those opportunities and work with them.
This is why we need projects like this, which recognise the reality of that other Ireland because they are run by local people and for local people. They care about what happens in their communities and to their communities, they see the problems around them and instead of saying “someone should do something about that”, they go out and do it themselves. They provide a respected and confident voice, which keeps challenging us as a people to make social inclusion a reality – not because it is a nice thing, but because it is essential. Because without it we waste so much time and talent, we do not realise our full potential as individuals or as communities. It is activities of this kind that are making a real difference to the day-to-day lives of people in communities in the border regions. This generation, more than any other in our history, has the opportunity to make real strides in tackling poverty and disadvantage. Too much talent has already been wasted down through the years, at tremendous cost to individuals and our society as a whole. This can and must change. It will not be changed by accident, but it can happen if there is real commitment – the kind of commitment you have shown here. It proves the truth of that lovely old Irish saying: Ní neart go cur le chéile – our strength is in working together.
This room is full of people who are determined to bring about change, people who know that they can make a difference, proving that life brings hope and those who live life well can change history, their own history, their community history. The dedication and commitment of Triskle Community Development and Training assisted by the Department of Social Community and Family Affairs and all the voluntary agencies involved is proving to be a remarkable success. It is bringing real opportunity and with it real hope. I congratulate you on all you have accomplished and wish you continued success in your future work.
Is iontach an obair ar siúl agaibh agus gúim rath agus séan oraibh go léir san am atá le teacht. Go raibh maith agaibh.