REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE ON HER VISIT TO BALLYNACARRIGY ‘YOUNG AT HEART’ SOCIAL CLUB
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE ON HER VISIT TO BALLYNACARRIGY ‘YOUNG AT HEART’ SOCIAL CLUB BALLYNACARRIGY, CO. WESTMEATH
Tá mé iontach sásta bheith anseo libh inniu faoi dheireadh. Go raibh míle maith agaibh as ucht bhur bhfáilte chaoin.
It’s a great pleasure to be with you today and to meet so many people involved in this very aptly named ‘Young at Heart’ Club. I would like to say a special word of thanks to your Chairperson, Elizabeth Shanley, for inviting me on your behalf.
Even though it’s just a year since the Club had its official opening, I know that it has already made a huge difference in the lives of so many older people in this area. Sometimes the most important developments are not those that grab newspaper headlines. They are the small acts of kindness that take place behind the scenes, acts of quiet goodness, acts which show that people care about each other and for each other.
We are fortunate in Ireland that we have so many people who fit that description – people like Elizabeth and the other members of the club’s committee. They recognised a need in this area for a forum in which older people could come together, swap stories, renew old friendships and make a few new ones. It is those human contacts that keep us young, keep us interested and in touch with what’s happening in our communities. They provide a support network of information and advice. They sustain us when times are difficult, at times of loneliness or bereavement. And they are just as important in good times, when we have reason to celebrate and need others to share in that celebration.
It was especially appropriate that this Club was set up in 1999, the UN Year of Older People. That year acknowledged the contribution that older people have made to our society in the past, but also the important role they can continue to play in their later years. We owe much to all those people whose hard work in years gone by laid the groundwork on which today’s prosperous Ireland has been built. It would not have been possible without your selflessness, your belief in the importance of education, your hard work, your commitment to the community and your values. We are now reaping the rewards of those efforts, and you deserve our thanks, but more than that, we owe it to you to allow these latter years to be ones of contentment, activity and enjoyment in the company of friends of all ages.
I know that you have already made a good start in doing just that here in Ballynacarrigy, with highlights including last year’s Christmas party, and a day-trip to Carrick-on-Shannon, which of course is a part of the world that I know and love dearly myself. I hope that the coming year will bring many more days of happiness in each other’s company and I would like to thank all of you once again for your warm welcome.
Guím rath Dé oraibh go léir. Go raibh maith agaibh.