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REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT THE 245 CLUB, NORTH CIRCULAR ROAD, DUBLIN

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT THE 245 CLUB, NORTH CIRCULAR ROAD, DUBLIN ON MONDAY 16 NOVEMBER 1998

I am delighted to be with you this afternoon at the “245 Club” and I am very grateful for the warm welcome which you have given to me. In coming here today I wanted to acknowledge your 10th anniversary at North Circular Road – and to complete a connection with County Down – where I lived before I became President – indeed where I still have a house – and where the Alexian Brothers had a nursing home which, coincidentally, closed ten years ago this year after sixty years of serving the community in Warrenpoint. I know too that the brothers have been working in Ireland for almost 100 years – both North and South – and this year they are marking 25 years of working for the homeless in Limerick. With a collection of coincidences like that, I felt it was very appropriate that I should come here this afternoon to meet with the Brothers, the members of the Club and the volunteers who have contributed so much to making the Club a success.

That the Alexian brothers found it necessary to set up a Club like this is a reflection of the changing attitude to mental health and the provision of care – which sees a much more community-based approach and a greater emphasis on integration with the other health services, mental health promotion and a range of personal social services. While the shift from hospital to community based facilities has been very successful – it has been supported by the active involvement of many voluntary organisations, such as the Alexian Brothers, who are concerned with the welfare of people with mental health problems.

The need for that extra personal dimension has been addressed here at the 245 Club where members have a chance to avail of counselling and advice services – to meet others in an informal and relaxed setting – to take part in a range of social activities – to take up personal development opportunities like art, creative writing or cooking – or to use the library and tape facilities.

All of these serve to enrich lives and to promote a culture of belonging to a community that cares. That in turn makes it much easier for members to cope with their own lives – to reach out for new personal goals with a higher level of confidence in what you can achieve – and in the knowledge that you have friends who care – who know what your needs are - and who can be there in times of stress or crisis. That is an invaluable asset and one for which the Alexian Brothers are to be commended. Their mission of care – of being ready to meet the needs of those in the community who require that extra support – is one that is based on the Christian love of one for another. It is a tangible manifestation of their love for the fellow human beings.

In acknowledging the excellent work that the brothers are doing I want also to recognise the very important contribution which the volunteers are making in working with members – helping them to meet personal challenges and to overcome difficulties – and giving generously of their time and energy in the service of others. The success of the Club over the last ten years is itself a tribute to what you have contributed and to what you have achieved.

As well as providing facilities for your members, the Club is also playing a very valuable role in educating local communities about schizophrenia and related mental illnesses. That increased knowledge and awareness is contributing significantly to the greater level of understanding of the nature of mental illnesses - and a far wider acceptance of the mental health issues that impact on the needs of families and sufferers alike.

As attitudes change, and as medical thinking and science give us new perspectives on treatment, the needs of communities and individuals change. The 245 Club was set up because of change – and its success has been in its ability to react to changing circumstances. I know that the Alexian Brothers are shortly embarking on another project – the Alexian Brothers Community Centre at Drumcondra Road – which will be used as a support centre for other groups such as bereavement groups, other mental health groups and prayer groups. In congratulating you on your work here over the last ten years, I want also to wish you well for the future – as you continue in your ministry of looking to the needs of people who require support in their lives and who can lead far more enriched and fulfilled lives because of your help.