REMARKS - BOOTH MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL, ST. JOHN’S NEWFOUNDLAND WEDNESDAY 14 OCTOBER 1998
REMARKS - BOOTH MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL, ST. JOHN’S NEWFOUNDLAND WEDNESDAY 14 OCTOBER 1998
It has been a pleasure and a privilege for Martin and myself to be with you this morning for this historic schools link-up between St. John’s and County Waterford – and to be a part of another first for Newfoundland and Ireland - following memorable and historic events like the flight of Alcock and Browne from Newfoundland to Connemara in the early days of the pioneer pilots – or the laying of a telegraphic cable between Knightstown in Valencia in County Kerry and Hearts Content here in Newfoundland just one hundred and forty years ago.
Indeed, I wondered as we flew into St. John’s yesterday - with the terrain very similar to that which we have in the West of Ireland - if Alcock and Browne thought that they were landing back where they started!
We can only imagine the excitement that there must have been on that day in August 1858 when Queen Victoria sent her memorable message by telegraph to the US President declaring “Europe and America are united by telegraphic communication. Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace and good will to men”.
Reflecting that sentiment, might I say that today has been a glorious day for the children of Newfoundland and Ireland as they were united by the modern equivalent of the telegraphic cable.
Since those first tentative days of experimentation and invention in communications technology – when people were exploring and pushing out the frontiers of wireless telegraphy, the world has been steadily getting smaller – with the telegraph being followed by the telex and the telephone – with television bringing us pictures of other cultures from other places right into our living rooms.
With mobile phones, the Internet, video conferencing, satellites and advances in digital communications using space-age technology – all opening up new and exciting possibilities for the creation of virtual communities of people who can bridge the physical distances that separate them to form new bonds of friendship, scholarship and mutual understanding.
One of the reasons that I have included Newfoundland on my itinerary has been our strong links of family and race reaching back centuries to when Newfoundland was being ‘discovered’ as a suitable place for settlement by Europeans.
Our peripheral position of the Western edge of Europe made Newfoundland on the other side of the Atlantic a natural place to stop and set up new homes. The passage of time and the great physical distances involved meant that communication was difficult and the links that exist became faded and obliterated. But importantly, they still exist, and they are as important for us in Ireland as they are for you. They give each of us a perspective on our nationality – an appreciation of the extent of the global Irish nation – and an affinity with 70 million people world-wide who are of Irish descent and who share the same Celtic heritage.
Those Irish people, who have been coming to Newfoundland and to Canada over the centuries, have contributed something of themselves and their backgrounds to building this country into what it is today. They have intertwined their culture with those of the others who came here – and have engaged in a process of mutual enrichment. What you have done today is a continuation of that process of linkage and dialogue – and a broadening of your horizons to link up with others in the wider community.
As the pace of change increases and the availability of new technologies makes it easier to reach out, the opportunities that are being presented to you are getting ever more exciting. By linking up with other schools – with your contemporaries in different places and circumstances – you are equipping yourselves with the skills and experiences to meet the challenges and opportunities that are ahead of you.
As I said earlier, today is a glorious day – it is a milestone in your development – and the opening up of a new set of horizons. You are going to school at an exciting time.
You are in the care of dedicated and committed teachers who have your interests at heart – and to whom you will always be indebted. The world is literally at your feet. I would like to thank you for your hospitality and for allowing me to be a part of the link up with Ireland – and I want to wish each one of you every success in the adventures that lie ahead.