REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE LAUNCH OF THE VIDEO “OLD CRAFTS AND CUSTOMS OF IRELAND”
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE LAUNCH OF THE VIDEO “OLD CRAFTS AND CUSTOMS OF IRELAND” LEITRIM GENEALOGY CENTRE
Tá gliondar orm bheith anseo libh inniu, agus tá mé thar a bheith buíoch díbh as an chuireadh agus as fáilte fíorchaoin a chur sibh romham.
I am delighted to be with you here today to launch this remarkable video, ‘Old Crafts and Customs of Ireland’. As you all know, the aim of this project is to preserve a record of crafts and traditions that are on the verge of dying out here in Leitrim and in the neighbouring counties of Cavan, Fermanagh and Roscommon.
As such, this video is an important addition to the social and cultural history of Ireland, recording details of the many traditional skills and crafts that once thrived throughout Ireland – from the cooper to the blacksmith, from making mud turf to patterning a holy well. Those are skills that were taken for granted in years gone by, but which may well seem exotic to modern young eyes – part of a lifestyle that is rapidly disappearing but, thanks to this video, will never be forgotten.
It is important to remember those skills and traditions – not just because they remind young people that creativity and craftsmanship were not invented in the 1990’s – but also because it is in the remembrance of those skills, and the lifestyle of which they were an integral part, that we come to understand more clearly where we have come from as a people. And it is by understanding the past – critically when required – but also with a sense of respect and admiration for its many positive aspects, that we gain a deeper and more enriching comprehension of the present and the type of society we wish to shape in the future.
We are deeply indebted to the many contributors who agreed to take part in this video, some of whom are sadly no longer with us. I would like to warmly commend Seán Ó Súilleabháin, the Leitrim County Librarian. Not only was this video his brainchild, but he was also responsible for much of the filming and interviewing over the course of this past decade. It is the type of idea which all too often people say ‘someone should do something about this’. Seán was the one who took this the extra mile, in a labour of love over many years. We owe him our heartfelt thanks.
I know that this project has been successfully completed as a result of a strong sense of partnership and hard work by many people. The funding which was so generously provided by the Programme for Peace and Reconciliation enabled much of the necessary post-production work to be undertaken. The professionalism and expertise of Evelyn Kelly and Seán Duignan who produced the final product were invaluable, as was the co-operation of FAS, Leitrim County Council and, of course, the Leitrim Genealogy Centre itself under the Chairmanship of Josie Martin.
I have no doubt that this video will be of particular interest to the many overseas visitors who have used the Centre’s excellent facilities for tracing their Irish ancestry. I am sure that they will greatly value this additional insight into the way of life that their forebears led, and which have become part of the family folklore of so many people right across the world.
I wish all of you every success in your future projects.
Tá súil agam go mbainfaidh go leor, leor daoine taitneamh as an fístéip seo. Guím gach rath oraibh sa todhchaí.