REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE CELEBRATION OF TWENTY FIVE YEARS OF GREENDALE COMMUNITY SCHOOL
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE CELEBRATION OF TWENTY FIVE YEARS OF GREENDALE COMMUNITY SCHOOL KILBARRACK
Is cúis mhór áthais dom bheith i bhur measc inniu chun cúig bliana is fiche de shaol na scoile seo a cheiliúradh libh. Gabhaim buíochas leis an mBord Bainistíochta as an chuireadh a tugadh dom bheith anseo ag an ócáid thábhachtach thaitneamhach seo.
It is a great pleasure to be here with you this afternoon to share in your celebration of the twenty fifth anniversary of Greendale Community School. It is an occasion for thinking back on all that has been achieved over those past twenty five years, and taking justified pride in those achievements.
People never really forget their schooldays. Wherever two or more past pupils are gathered, sooner or later, the talk turns to their memories of that school – the baffling rules, the smell of chalkdust – that’s showing my age - the odd characters that stalked the corridors and classrooms. Long after we forget every iota that was swotted for in exams, we remember the people we encountered, the ethos of the school, the way that experience has shaped our characters and our lives. We remember if that experience was one of frustration and discouragement, or whether those years in school gave us the self-confidence to achieve our full potential in later life. Very often, what made the difference was the teachers we encountered. I know from my own experience, what an enormous impact a good teacher can make in the life of a young student, how a word of praise or encouragement or concern at the right time can make all the difference, bolstering courage and self-esteem when you felt like giving up.
Greendale Community School has been fortunate to have so many outstanding teachers on its staff down through the years. They are a group of people that aren’t always appreciated when we are still at school – all that nagging, all that homework. But looking back, I am sure that the past pupils here will agree that they were lucky to have encountered so many exceptional teachers at this school. Their tremendous dedication, commitment and concern for their students, have been rewarded in the way that former pupils from this school have achieved such success in every walk of life. The ethos of self-belief, self-respect and respect for others which this embedded in the fabric of life at this school, has served them well, just as it will benefit the pupils of today – tomorrow’s achievers.
I’m sure that the teachers here would also agree that they have gained an awful lot from their work at this school. Just last week, one of your former colleagues, Sophia King, who is now Associate Director at the Institute of Irish Studies in Queens and who was one of the first ten teachers at the school when it opened back in 1975, wrote to me when she heard I was coming to Greendale. She asked me to pass on her very best wishes to all of you and recalled this school as a place where teachers and pupils, to use her own words, “all came through hair-raising, sometimes wonderful, sometimes terrifying, ulitmately formative experiences, and I suppose we all grew up together”.
Greendale is a Community School in the true sense of the word, with strong links to every aspect of life in Kilbarrack. I know that the school’s achievements in sport are a source of enormous pride in the area – not just in Gaelic football, soccer, rugby, and swimming, but especially in relation to athletics. Greendale is rightly regarded as one of the country’s great nurturers of athletic talent, having produced a number of All-Ireland champions in polevaulting and the high jump. Those successes are important in an area like Kilbarrack, which has suffered its fair share of deprivation and unemployment, but where the wonderful sense of community spirit is creating a new future for the young people here.
The fact that approximately 1000 part time students are enrolled at adult education classes in the school speaks for itself. For so many people whose talents might have been squandered because education, first time round, did not work for them, adult education really does provide a ‘second chance’ – an opportunity to achieve their full potential, to prove to themselves, to their families, and to their community how much they are capable of achieving. Enormous credit is due to Greendale for this initiative and for the insight and imagination with which you are serving this community in so many ways, especially in relation to the provision of third level courses.
I would like to commend the very active Parents’ Association here for making such an important contribution to so many aspects of the school. Your involvement, your concern, the time you give so freely and generously, does make a difference, has made a difference and will continue to be an important part of the recipe of this school’s success.
Finally, I would like to congratulate the Board of Management, your Principal, Anton Carroll and all of the teachers and staff for their exceptional dedication and hard work. I wish all of you, especially the pupils past and present, a wonderful celebration today and every success with the next twenty five years.
Go maire sibh. Go raibh maith agaibh.