REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE BANK OF IRELAND
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE BANK OF IRELAND SLIGO INTERNATIONAL CHORAL FESTIVAL
I am very pleased to be here with you tonight at the Hawks Well Theatre – and I am honoured to have been asked to formally open the 1998 Bank of Ireland Sligo International Choral Festival – the eleventh festival – and one which promises to build on success of previous years. I would also like to welcome our visitors from overseas – performers and patrons – to what is one of the most striking parts of Ireland. I know that many are making return visits - from as far away as Russia and the Ukraine. Indeed, I feel that particular credit is due to our visitors from the Ukraine - who have spent almost a week travelling to Sligo. I take it that that isn’t a reflection on our transport system! I hope that during the Festival you will have a chance to experience some of what Ireland is all about – the people, the landscape and of course the weather – with which I’m sure you’ve already become somewhat acquainted – but don’t worry if you don’t like it, wait an hour and it will change!
Sligo is renowned internationally for its association with Yeats and, through him, as a focal point of modern Irish literature. The Choral Festival has succeeded in adding a further rich dimension to the cultural landscape of Sligo - and has greatly enhanced the town’s status as a centre for the arts. Over the last ten years choirs have been coming to Sligo from all over Ireland and indeed from around the world – and the Festival’s growing success means that today it is one of Ireland’s premier cultural events - reflecting the healthy standard of choral music in this country.
As you know, Ireland has been enjoying an unprecedented level of economic prosperity over the last decade - with a new level of confidence in business – and a new generation of people who believe in themselves and what they can achieve. Coupled with that economic regeneration there has been a tremendous cultural flowering in all branches of the arts – with Irish performers and artists achieving much international acclaim and recognition. The secret of that international success is in our ability to infuse our arts with a flavour of Irish culture – a culture that has roots reaching as far back as the Celts and which has been influenced by our proximity to Britain and Europe – a whole kaleidoscope of cultural experience.
The Sligo Festival is a venue for the performance of choral music of the highest international standard – and gives the people of Sligo, along with its many visitors, a unique opportunity to hear quality choirs and ensembles – all of whom come to showcase their skills and to give us something of the cultural flavour of their own particular country or region. By their participation, they are also celebrating the wealth of diversity in choral music – a diversity that reflects the traditions and cultures that make up the programme – and enriching each other in the process. So there are rewards for everybody attending the Festival.
It goes without saying of course that an event of this size takes some organisation – and I want to commend the festival committee for their hard work in making this happen each year. I also want to acknowledge the tremendous support that the Bank of Ireland gives in the form essential sponsorship. Through their generosity, they are giving concrete expression to the relationship that exists between commerce and the arts – and demonstrating the mutual interests that they share in the promotion of the arts. Indeed, sponsorship in one form or another has been the key to the survival and development of the arts since time immemorial.
For the performers themselves, the festival is an opportunity to show your very best – to rise to the occasion and perform in front of your peers. Every time you perform you are promoting awareness of your art - ensuring that it stays vibrant and healthy – and that the great wealth and beauty of choral music is experienced by an appreciative audience – from which it draws for its very survival. Importantly, it is also an occasion when you can meet soul mates from other countries who have their own stories to tell – their own cultural experiences as expressed in and through their music – and to compare and contrast their approaches to their art. That in itself is a rewarding and enriching experience.
Over the next few days there will be plenty of fruit for entertainment - with over fifty choirs taking part in events ranging from Evening Gala Concerts to Competitive Sessions – and with Barbershop singing and impromptu sessions – all of which will ensure that once again, Sligo will be very much alive to the sound of music.
In declaring the 1998 Bank of Ireland Choral Festival officially open, I would like to wish everyone involved - especially the participants - every success. I thank the Festival organisers for inviting me to be with you this evening - and I hope that you all will enjoy what promises to be - a feast of entertainment.