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Speeches

Remarks at the Newtowncunningham Day Centre

Newtowncunningham, Donegal, Sunday, 1 November, 1998

I am delighted to be here with you today at Newtowncunningham Day Centre – and I would like particularly to thank the Chair of the Interchurch Committee - Canon David Crooks - for his kind words of welcome today. I am grateful indeed for this opportunity to visit the Day Centre - which you could say is the “silver lining” in the cloud that came over me when I heard from Fr. Kevin O’Doherty that the new Church would not be ready for this weekend. Of course it is for me a welcome opportunity to meet with you who are involved in providing for the needs of people in your area - and to give recognition to your vital work for people who are deserving of our special care and attention.

One of the simplest needs of older people is contact with others. Day Centres perform an extremely important function in this regard as they enable people to meet with their peers and also provide them with a focus for social interaction. As the development of society means that more and more people are living in larger towns and cities – and that greater emphasis is placed on giving people the means and facilities to live more active and independent lives - there is an increasing need on communities to strengthen the facilities and resources that they have so that they can keep that important sense of community.

Looking around me I can see that completing a project like this involves a considerable amount of effort – that the centre didn’t just arrive over night – and that it represents a significant community effort through the contribution of time and resources. The Newtowncunningham Interchurch Committee is a perfect example of the type of local voluntary effort that is transforming communities and parishes throughout the length of the country. The unique partnership that you have between the Roman Catholic, Presbyterian and Church of Ireland Churches adds a further dimension to your community effort where you are bringing people together to focus on the needs of those elderly people who have something in common - and something that transcends denominational ethos – the basic need for a loving and caring approach that it behoves all Christians to give to the more vulnerable in their society. So this centre stands not only as a tribute to the efforts and the generosity of the entire community here in Newtowncunningham – but as an enduring monument to how Christians can come together in the service of the greater community.

The great advantage of community efforts like this is that they address the needs as the community itself sees them – not as seen from a distance by those who do not have the benefit of local knowledge or familiarity with the community. Through partnerships of locally based interest groups and the statutory agencies who can provide material support for local projects – a synergy is achieved that empowers communities to work effectively and efficiently for themselves.

In the case of Newtowncunningham, I would like to acknowledge the support and assistance which has been generously given by the North-Western Health Board. It is the vision of bodies like the Health Boards that has allowed communities to transform their areas into vibrant and progressive places to live – and places that they can be justifiably proud to call their own. That concept of partnership is working at all levels of society and mirrors the national partnership arrangements between the social partners that has transform our country over the last decade or so into the modern and successful economy that we have today.

With that success there comes the obligation to look after those who, through personal circumstances, may not be able to keep pace with our fast-moving society – and those who are in need of some additional support. The real measure of success for any society is its ability to look after all of its people. In Newtowncunningham you have a model of community effort – and one which can be emulated in many places throughout Ireland – especially but not exclusively in Northern Ireland, where there is much scope to build links between the churches on projects like yours as we move towards a new era of peace and reconstruction.

I am delighted to have had this opportunity to meet you today – and to see at first hand how a healthy community that respects diversity of creed and tradition can come together to enrich the lives of everybody in the community. I know that you have worked hard to achieve what you have today – but it has yielded much success for yourselves and for others who can learn from what you have done. As we approach the new millennium and the many challenges and opportunities that we face on this island, I wish you continued success with the Day Centre for many generations to come.