REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT THE BROOKEBOROUGH COMMUNITY PROJECT THURSDAY 22 OCTOBER 1998
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT THE BROOKEBOROUGH COMMUNITY PROJECT THURSDAY 22 OCTOBER 1998
Firstly, let me say how delighted I am to be with you this evening to meet with you and to see at first hand the cross community project here at Brookeborough – a project working to build bridges between the different sections of the community and making a significant contribution to the promotion of mutual understanding and respect for the traditions and creeds that make up your village.
I know that you have been working on this project for about five years and that the officers of the Brookeborough & District Community Development Association – Tom Donnelly, Christine Taylor, Arthur Ovens and Bridget McGuire – along with the other members of the Association and members of the community are totally committed to cross-community contact and development.
I know too that in recognition of your tremendous work, you have been supported by the Department of the Environment and by the International Fund for Ireland under the Fund’s CRISP Programme – the Community Regeneration and Improvement Special Programme. Indeed, it is the support from the international Fund for Ireland for the many cross-community projects, schemes and ventures that it has spawned – that has played such a significant part in the process of opening up dialogue – of opening up minds – especially at community level – and that has enabled the political process to achieve what it has.
It was the availability of financial support that in many cases forced people across the divide to come together – and in the process to discover what could be achieved in partnership rather than in conflict. It goes without saying that the important and significant developments in the political arena – however ground-breaking they may be – cannot endure without the hearts and minds of the communities being in tune with and supportive of these developments.
That process of community dialogue has been ongoing in the villages and towns that span the divide – and has been facilitated by the many contributors to the International Funds. I want to pay tribute to the people who have supported the Funds – and who, in the process, have contributed in a material and very real way, to the development of new relationships within and across the communities concerned.
The work must continue – and in many ways is more vital now, when the pace of developments is changing gear - and people are beginning to focus on how they will be affected by the political processes that are unfolding.
This restored railway station – the last of its kind in County Fermanagh - has given the community of Brookeborough a new focus and something that you can continue to build on.
Already you have the annual 3-day festival with novel events like the ‘Glamorous Granny’ competition and, of course, the ‘Modern Man’ event – which has brought a new and hilarious dimension to Brookeborough life with the sight of men trying to come to terms with thumbs and safety pins as they attempt to change a baby’s nappy!
The great thing about achievements such as this is that you can use the experience gained to reach out further and to embark on new ventures and projects with the confidence and skills gained.
I know, for instance that this railway station project itself is to be extended with an environmental improvement scheme.
You can continue to look at other aspects of cross-community work and to look for new opportunities to build a harmonious community.
It is the very valuable work at community and village level just like you are doing here that will underpin the work at the political level to move forward and to build a new society – a society where conflict and dispute are replaced by dialogue and consensus – and where the new generations of Brookeborough can be really proud of their shared heritage and their community.