REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON A VISIT TO NEWRY AND MOURNE DISTRICT COUNCIL, NEWRY
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON A VISIT TO NEWRY AND MOURNE DISTRICT COUNCIL, NEWRY TUESDAY, 10 MAY, 2011
Mayor, Councillors, ladies and gentleman,
You begin a new term in office as I come to the end of mine. Mine started fourteen years ago in my beloved County Down, in one of Ireland’s most exquisite villages, the place that inspired CS Lewis’ Narnia - Rostrevor and I am grateful to an adopted son of Rostrevor, Councillor Mick Murphy for the invitation that brings me home to Newry and Mourne District Council. Let me congratulate each one of you and wish you well as you assume the challenging responsibility vested in you by the people. Each tick against your name on the ballot paper was a mark of trust and hope. Each day you gather here – an exercise of a solemn stewardship. God himself made this Council area an incredibly beautiful place to live. Now your task is to make sure it is a good, safe, happy, peaceful and prosperous place to live.
We know from mythology that this region has been of importance since the earliest days of human society on this island. But what fascinates us just as much as its past is its future, for this area has in recent years begun a new journey as a leading player in cross-border development. The context has changed dramatically as the peace process has revealed its momentum and potential. The days of barriers and distrust are over and there is a clear awareness that in good times and in bad, there is much more to be gained for everyone from friendships, partnerships and good neighbours.
Local leadership has been and continues to be crucial as between us we mark out the pathway to a stable, peaceful future and I warmly commend the Strategic Alliance recently signed between this Council and the local authorities in County Louth. It sets a framework for working together in areas where it makes so much more sense than working separately – whether we are talking about sustainable energy, tourism, emergency planning and the vexed problem of engendering sustainable economic growth and job creation. It is so reassuring to see your commitment to developing joint policies and actions in areas of mutual interest to increase efficiency and delivery of services and to work together towards improving cross border co-operation.
This pioneering alliance is the future in action. It is the first such agreement ever signed within Europe never mind this island and I am so proud that it is my home county that is setting an example so worthy of replication around this Ireland and the European Union. Among many exciting aspects of this innovative project is the creation of an advisory forum which includes representatives from local industry, commerce, and the voluntary sector from the partner areas. The International Centre for Local and Regional Development and InterTradeIreland have done great work in conceiving and enabling such a broad alliance. If we were looking for a showcase of the fresh possibilities opened up by the peace process set in train by the Good Friday Agreement, this would surely be it.
Yes the headlines are grabbed from time to time by episodes of violent bullying so redolent of the rapidly fading past. The jaded rhetoric and praxis of paramilitarism like the dying wasp still has the capacity to sting. The cruel, wasteful, humanly indecent death of Constable Ronan Kerr was evidence of the toxins that still flood some hearts. But his funeral was evidence of the healthy, strong, cross-community solidarity that has grown now in place of old vanities and distrusts. Such a profound change is evidence of the work that does not grab the headlines but goes on everyday here in this Chamber, or in the work of the cross border bodies like InterTradeIreland, based here in Newry and all the others established under the Good Friday Agreement, or in the work of peacemakers working as individuals or in organisations. That quiet, relentless work towards a shared and mutually respectful future is harnessing and harvesting the natural, spontaneous warmth of people of all politics and persuasions, lowering the old barriers that once kept them from enjoying each other’s company and nudging them on towards the best future this place has known.
Yes we face economic problems that bear heavily on the peace of mind of so many people and yet, freed as this generation is increasingly from the awful divisions of the past, we have space now and opportunity now to focus all our energies and creativity on delivering jobs and prosperity. As a border region, you know better than most how important vibrant, dynamic economic activity is to the well-being and quality of life of each one of us. There is no shortage of people who can articulate and identify our problems but very few are willing to step up and offer solutions. You are among those few and you have persuaded the people to let you take the helm. I wish you a good and successful journey to the future so many long for - the moment when peace and prosperity will rhyme throughout this island. May you find personal fulfilment and every success in the years to come.