REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT THE OPENING OF THE NEW CENTRE FOR THE FERMANAGH TRUST
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT THE OPENING OF THE NEW CENTRE FOR THE FERMANAGH TRUST TUESDAY, 23 OCTOBER, 2007
It is a very special privilege to be in Enniskillen, in the county of Martin’s late mother on such a wonderful occasion. The opening of Fermanagh House, home of the Fermanagh Trust and home of so much that is and will be done to build up, to strengthen and help the community to flourish. Fermanagh House is a very fine base for the Trust, the first county-wide community foundation on the island of Ireland, and I’d like to say a particular thank you to the Director, Lauri McCusker, for his kind invitation to join you on this day when we celebrate the fruits of years of careful planning, determination and hard work.
This place exists to serve the community through reaching out to the individuals who make up that community, listening to their needs, creating and encouraging the services and supports that make their lives easier, happier, and more fulfilled. The range of community and voluntary organisations and projects which use Fermanagh House points up just how very complex we are as human beings and also how caring. The spectrum of its activities is full and fascinating with focus on education, training, healthcare, disability, sports, recreation, reconciliation, healing of victims of violence, care of the environment, heritage, history, good neighbourliness, cross border and cross community relations, jobs, social and economic development, women, children, young people, volunteerism. In every one of the user groups we see people who care about each other enough to organise around a need and sustain a service, an opportunity that is capable of changing a life for the better. That mutual care is the basic building block of community and the very lifeblood of community spirit. It is rooted in goodness and in generosity. It is rooted in human decency and in compassion. These things we all need in our lives. They are our answer and our antidote to those whose selfishness and self interest would blind us to the wonderful things we are capable of when we work together across all sorts of differences and distinctive perspectives, pooling our energies and talents so that all can flourish humanly. We have a recent and cruel memory of how horribly scarring our world can be made by those who cannot see the humanity of the other or the golden opportunity offered by engaging with their very otherness.
The forthcoming twentieth anniversary of the outrageous Remembrance Sunday bombing of Enniskillen reminds us powerfully just how courageous and necessary is the reconciling work of the Fermanagh Trust as it builds a foundation for a shared and mutually respectful future where the talk is of one harmonious community and not two conflict ridden communities. The signs are already very hopeful with remarkable leadership from the new First and Deputy First Minister and a new administration pledged to serve all the people of Northern Ireland.
The context many of us grew up with has changed very considerably. The landscape of relentless violence that broke so many lives and hearts has been transformed, allowing old sectarian thoughtways and ghettoisations to be challenged and hopefully gradually broken down. The once fraught relationships between Dublin and Westminster have metamorphosed into the most friendly and collegial partnership. And between North and South a growing mood of good neighbourliness is taking root.
For the first time we have this blessed and sacred space in which to build a safe, prosperous and peaceful future for all our children. Those who build on this new landscape are the architects of a future to be proud of. They are the men and women who have committed to the work that radiates out from this House, infusing the world around them with values and experiences that lift up the human person to the best he or she can be and lift communities to new levels of achievement, new levels of human happiness.
To all those who commit to this work, to all those who have made this splendid facility their business, their passion, not just Enniskillen, not just Fermanagh but all who share this island, owe you a debt of gratitude. You lead from in front. You believe the future can be radically different from the past. You believe in all of us—not just some of us and you show day in and day out that when we work as individuals we are great, when we work together we are amazing. May the success of this venture encourage more and more people to face the future with renewed optimism, not a naïve optimism, but the determined optimism that distils from too much suffering.
Congratulations to everyone who played a part in this day and to all who will fill this place and through it Fermanagh and far beyond with hope, fun, company, care through life’s journey.