REMARKS BY PRESIDENT AT THE PLANTING OF A TREE IN MEMORY OF THE VICTIMS OF THE OMAGH BOMBING
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE PLANTING OF A TREE IN MEMORY OF THE VICTIMS OF THE OMAGH BOMBING PRESENTATION GIRLS PRIMARY
I am very pleased to be here today to visit your school and join with you in planting a tree in memory of the victims of the Omagh Bombing. I would like to thank your Principal, Sr. Catherine Brosnan, the Chairman of the Board of Management, Msgr. Stenson and Steve McEntegart, the Chairman of the Parents Association, for inviting me.
The hope that we all share and pray for, is that as this tree grows and blossoms, so too will the process of bringing peace to this island, and reconciliation between all our people. We hope and pray that our politicians will have the strength and determination to overcome the many obstacles to peace that still lie ahead. We are reminded by the recent tragic murder of Rosemary Nelson, that the dark forces of violence are still at work in our society, seeking to subvert the process of building peace and consensus on this island.
Those who are seeking to build peace need our support and our prayers. We all have a responsibility to ensure that the poison of hatred that has contaminated so many generations, is not passed on to the next one; that our children become the healers of division, and the builders of a future of peace and consensus.
Through the planting of this tree here today, you are sending an important message of remembrance and healing. I warmly commend the teachers, parents and children of this school for taking this important step. As the shoots of new growth spring from this tree, let us hope that the green shoots of hope and peace will blossom on this island.