ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE CASTLEKNOCK UNIT
ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE CASTLEKNOCK UNIT OF THE ORDER OF MALTA
As a former Cadet of the Knights of Malta myself – it is a particular pleasure for me to be with you today - to ‘inaugurate’ the new Castleknock Unit of the Order. Of course, I am also now a near neighbour – living just a few doors down the road in the Phoenix Park – so I would have a ‘neighbourly interest’ in what is going on up the road here in Castleknock. I would particularly like to thank Lt. Catherine Keller for contacting me about this ceremony - and for giving me the privilege of inaugurating the Unit – just over five months since my own inauguration as President.
When the Order of St. John was founded in 1099 before the taking of Jerusalem by the armies of the First Crusade – the world was a very different place than it is today. The Holy Land – was then the scene of much religious conflict and the Order – in keeping with its role as a defender of Christendom – engaged mainly in military campaigns. The fortunes of the Order changed with the ebb and flow of history – and after several centuries in Rhodes and Malta – it settled in Rome following its expulsion from Malta by Napolean in 1798. Rome remains as the headquarters of the Order to this day.
Nowadays the military aspect of the Order’s remit has faded and the focus is now on its hospitaller and charitable work. While Ireland’s association with the Order goes back to 1174 – to Kilmainham Priory - where the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham is today – its activities were interrupted at the time of the Reformation – until it was re-established in 1934 as the Irish Association of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Malta – or just the ‘Knights of Malta’ as we know it! – with the Ambulance Corps being founded in Galway sixty years ago this year.
Over the last six decades - the ‘Knight’ have relied on the willingness of young people to lend their time and energy and – since 1949 to join the Cadet Units - giving their services on a voluntary basis to the communities in which they live. While in the past this has meant providing first aid ambulance and casualty services at major public functions and occasions – as well as being a ‘first line reserve’ to the State services – the Order has widened its focus to community care – providing care for the sick, the elderly and the deprived – and in its Order of Malta Enterprises in Drogheda – which trains physically disabled adults.
For young people joining the Order – it offers a chance to work with others in and for your community – it is an opportunity to practice your religious ethic of love for your fellow humankind. As a national youth organisation – the Cadet Corps will give you many opportunities to develop your own talents and skills – and even to discover abilities that you may not know you have. It is also an opportunity to make new friendships and new bonds – to establish links with others in your Unit and in other Units - to take on new responsibilities with your peers. The friendships that you make when you are a Cadet – will endure for life.
For the members of the Castleknock Unit this is a special day – a day when you can celebrate your establishment as a Unit in your own right – a day which you can look back on with pride. For the new Cadets it is also a memorable day – a new beginning in your lives that will see you meeting new situations and circumstances as your community grows and changes in the coming years. The experience which you gain – the skills which you pick up – may not always be measurable – or be rewarded with certificates. But by giving your time for the good of others – you will be enriching your own lives. Each in your own way is layering up markers of your character for the future. You should all be proud of yourselves – proud of your sung and unsung accomplishments.
In wishing the 16 newly enrolled Cadets well in their work with the Order – I would like to congratulate all of you all on the inauguration of your new Unit today.