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REMARKS BY PRESIDENT, MARY McALEESE, AT THE LAUNCH OF THE BALLYBAY DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT, MARY McALEESE, AT THE LAUNCH OF THE BALLYBAY DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION ECONOMIC PROJECT ON 21 OCTOBER, 1998

I am very pleased to be with you in Ballybay this morning to launch this economic project which marks the culmination of a number of years of hard work and fund-raising by the Ballybay Development Association. As you may know, I have just returned from a State Visit to Canada which I started on Prince Edward Island, and where I met a number of Canadian Irish communities that look to County Monaghan for their roots. They are descendants of settlers from Ulster and notably from Monaghan, who arrived from 1830 on - exchanging the “stony grey soil” of that county for the rich red earth of Prince Edward Island. Indeed, the family names of Monaghan have become very much a part of the life of the Island – and there were many Mc Kennas, Mc Mahons, Mc Quaids and Mc Carvilles to mention but a few. The pastures of Fort Augustus and Kincora and the steep hills Kelly’s Cross replaced for them the county of a thousand hills. So this visit to Ballybay this morning is like returning to be among very familiar people – people who, like their Canadian cousins – are dedicated to seeing their community prosper and progress and make a positive contribution to the economic development of the region.

Despite the rapid economic growth of recent years, many rural areas are facing serious challenges to retain their population levels, particularly their young people, to attract industry to provide job creation opportunities and to retain the services to support and promote vibrant communities.

It is gratifying, however, to see that despite the dramatic and often traumatic changes in our lifestyle in recent times and the threat which they bring to our traditional values, the basic sense of community co-operation and concern for one another is alive and well in this area.

Here in Ireland, we have a long and proud tradition of voluntary and community development. Throughout the country, local groups work with great commitment and determination in community enterprise, arts, social services and education. Community development is essentially about making our communities better places for ourselves and our children. The Ballybay Development Association is an example of this tradition at its most successful. Associations such as yours make a positive and real contribution to the quality of life in small towns and rural areas especially.

Our communities have always demonstrated this spirit of self-help and the willingness to contribute to the development of local, social, cultural and economic life. Indeed the considerable voluntary effort and the structures, both formal and in many cases informal, on which this effort is based, are part of what we are. It is also a valuable basis on which to build and ensure that our communities are attractive places in which to live and work.

However, despite their ability and willingness to contribute, community groups and local development associations cannot on their own address all of the problems which confront them. Nor indeed can local or central Government provide all of the solutions. It is only by working together that real progress can be made. I know that this Ballybay Development Association project has been funded and supported by the International Fund for Ireland, the Cavan Monaghan LEADER group, FAS and not least by the local community. The initiative of the Association in partnership with these programmes and supports demonstrates clearly what can be achieved.

The progress which has been achieved is all the more impressive given the relatively recent establishment of the Association. I gather that the Ballybay Development Association emerged in 1993 when concerned members of the local community got together to generate interest in development in the town with the intention of improving the community and social fabric of the are. From this recent beginning has developed a force dedicated to the regeneration of Ballybay. A needs analysis survey identified a number of areas for improvement and this has led to the formulation of a development plan for the town into the future. The major achievement so far is the purchase of this property and its restoration and refurbishment to a very high standard.

Thanks to the Development Association and the funding it has received form the publicly funded agencies, this building will have a new lease of life and will be transformed from an eyesore into a wonderful amenity for the whole community. I am sure that the Associations commitment to further development is evident from the fact that the building contains a meeting room which can also be used for classes and other social gatherings. The regeneration of this property and the continuing work of the FAS schemes in the town will, I am sure, inspire further urban renewal and investment in the town.

You have shown, once again, that with appropriate support, local communities are willing and able to contribute in a meaningful way to the economic, social and cultural development of their own areas.

I would like again to congratulate the members of Ballybay Development Association under the Chairmanship of Pat O’Brien, the officers and all of the members of the Board and their various sub-groups for their hard work and dedication on behalf of the local community. I hope that your experience with this project will encourage you to further successes.

Finally, I take great pleasure now in formally opening this wonderfully restored building which will be of enormous benefit to the town of Ballybay.