REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF HER VISIT TO HEYWOOD COMMUNITY SCHOOL BALLINAKILL
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF HER VISIT TO HEYWOOD COMMUNITY SCHOOL BALLINAKILL, CO LAOIS
Tá an-áthas orm bheith anseo i bhur measc inniu. Go raibh maith agaibh as ucht bhur bhfáilte chaoin.
A special word of thanks to Principal, David Dwyer, for inviting me and thank you all for the very warm welcome.
I am delighted to be in Heywood Community School on the special occasion of the visit of students and teachers from Loreto Grammar School, Omagh. I have thoroughly enjoyed talking with those of you involved in the Dissolving Boundaries project and seeing your impressive work on the subject of Christianity and Islam. Could anything be more topical or more needed at the moment? A few months ago I was in the Children’s library section of a museum in Malaysia. Malaysia is an Islamic country and its people are deeply religious and as you would expect there were many books of children’s stories from the Qur’an. They had lovely picture books about Noah’s Ark and many of the stories we think of as Christian and I remember feeling really sad that so many of us grow up with no idea of how much we have in common and yet only too well aware of what keeps us apart. When I became President, I chose ‘Building Bridges’ as the theme of my Presidency. The simplest human bridge to make is made by a handshake when two strangers introduce themselves to each other and start the process that leads to friendship. Where there is conflict, or fear those friendships become very difficult to make and to sustain but courageous people do try and Christians are commanded to keep on trying. No effort at friendship no matter how small is unimportant - each little bit makes us stronger and reduces the space in which ignorance and hatred can grow. That is why Dissolving Boundaries through Technology in Education is so important.
Its aim is to promote mutual understanding, to make it easier for young people from all over Ireland to work together in a collaborative and friendly spirit and to produce resources, which will help others to have a more rounded and informed view of our world. The subjects of Christianity and Islam have been well chosen. Ireland is home to both Christians and Muslims, to Jews and atheists, to Buddhists and Bahai and many more faiths. Homes are places where we should feel comfortable and at ease. Home is a place where we are well known and loved, a place we feel we truly belong. We have to make all who live here feel comfortable and there is no better way than being joyfully curious about and interested in their culture, their identity, their faith.
In Northern Ireland we have seen people struggle to break away from a past in which even Christian neighbours were ignorant of each other to the point of hatred and fear. Just think of all the people who could have been great friends to one another but who never got the chance because of the barriers in their heads and hearts. We can’t afford to waste those chances in the future. As the Ulster poet John Hewitt put it “ We build to fill the centuries arrears.”
Your partnership is showing what good things flow when we begin to trust each other and work together. That lovely Irish phrase ‘Ní neart go cur le chéile’ - is showcased at its best here today. We really only understand our own talent and strength when we work with others, whose talents are different but put them together and a whole new imagination takes shape.
As a result of this project not only has your technological skill grown, but you have made friends, worked in a complex team, learnt about the strengths and weaknesses of yourself and others, gathered a bunch of great shared memories with people who used to be strangers and discovered things that only this experience could teach. Teachers created the space and you filled it in with your enthusiasm and your commitment.
This project speaks of two schools for whom the journey through school is much more than a journey across academic texts important though that is - it is also a journey into the self, a journey in which you grow in skills, in wisdom, experience confidence and insight - that journey is a bridge to your future as adult citizens who will we hope make of Ireland a comfortable home for all its people no matter what their perspective on faith, politics or history, no matter what their ability or disability, no matter what their age or colour, no matter what their gender, no matter what their culture of origin. Seems to me you are bridge builders par excellence and it has been a privilege to get to know you.
I would like to pay a special tribute to the co-ordinators of the projects, Roisin Shields and Ciara Morrison-Reilly, for their enthusiasm, commitment and leadership. I wish the students working on the subject of Christianity and Islam every success as they bring their work to conclusion. I hope that this visit of friends from Loreto Grammar Omagh will be a memorable and rewarding experience.
Go raibh maith agaibh go léir.