REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT THE HONORARY FREEDOM OF CLONMEL CEREMONY
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT THE HONORARY FREEDOM OF CLONMEL CEREMONY CLONMEL, CO. TIPPPERARY SATURDAY, 29th MAY 1999
Ta lúcháir mhór orm bheith anseo libh inniu. Is cúis mhór áthais agus bróid dom an onóir seo. Míle bhuíochas libh go léir.
It is an honour and a pleasure for me to join you here today to accept the Honorary Freedom of Clonmel. I would like to thank the Mayor, Councillor Vera Hewitt, and each and every one of you for this great privilege. But I have to warn you that even this honour won’t be enough to make me change my GAA allegiances. I’m not even allowed to say I hope you win the hurling honours in this year’s All-Ireland, in case I’m in Clare in the meantime! Though my G.A.A. connections are closer to Clonmel than Clare, for I was once a stalwart of the Charles Kickham Camogie Clubs in Ardoyne, Belfast! Its’s name brought Clonmel to Ardoyne, now mine brings Ardoyne to Clonmel.
It is evident from the list of people who have received this honour, that I am in very distinguished company – ranging from Charles Stewart Parnell, Constance Markiewicz and John Dillon, through to several of my predecessors as President of Ireland. This honour is all the more important in an age of consumerism and creeping cynicism. It was Oscar Wilde who described a cynic as someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. This honour shows that there are some privileges that money can’t buy – intangibles like respect and acknowledgement, which is what the Freedom of the Borough of Clonmel is all about.
It is clear from my visit today to the new Richard Mulcahy Park, that here in Clonmel, those values which served us so well in the past – a sense of community, generosity of spirit, a willingness to extend a hand of help and friendship to others – are very much alive and well. Indeed this magnificient Town Hall, which has been so lovingly restored, shows that there can be a happy marriage between the old and new. It shows that the seat of municipal local Government in Clonmel is looking forward to the future, to the progress and prosperity we hope it will bring, while honouring and respecting the past.
Just a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of welcoming the General Council of County Councils to Áras an Uachtaráin for a celebration of their centenary. I spoke then of the proud record that local government members in Ireland have built up over the past hundred years – of the exceptional dedication and commitment to the welfare of your constituents that all of you have shown. It is a difficult and often thankless job for which you don’t always get the credit you deserve. On behalf of the Irish people, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of you – not just for the great honour you have bestowed on me today, but for all your work on behalf of the people of Clonmel. I wish you every success in the coming years.
Mo bhuíochas libh arís as ucht an onóir seo a bhronnadh
orm. Go maire sibh.