REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF THE NEW PERMANENT EXHIBITIONS
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF THE NEW PERMANENT EXHIBITIONS AT THE COUNTY MUSEUM, DUNDALK, CO. LOUTH
A Chairde,
Tá an-athás orm bheith anseo i bhur measc inniú. Go raibh míle maith agaibh as ucht bhur bhfáilte caoin.
I am delighted to have this opportunity to visit Dundalk and the County Museum today for the opening of these wonderful new exhibitions. I would like to thank you all for your warm welcome and especially the Curator of the Museum, Sally Ann Miskella, for inviting me here.
Louth is a county immersed in history, myth and folklore, as evidenced by its rich archaeological heritage. From the monumental passage tombs of the Boyne Valley, to the mysterious Bronze Age rock carvings in the west of the county, it is clear that this is a county which has seen its fair share of turmoil even from early times. It is an area, which is also strongly associated with myths and legends – the venue for much of the Táin and the heroic exploits of Cu Chulainn and Ferdia.
We can never be certain what the past was really like, but we can make reasonable assumptions from the evidence left behind. It is important that we do so, for it is only by understanding where we have come from, that we can understand the factors, physical and psychological, that have shaped our present.
That is why museums are such a valuable resource, particularly at local level. Entertaining and educational, they can be enjoyed by children and families, young and old alike. County Museums, of which there are now nine throughout the country have an especially important role to play in the preservation of local cultural heritage. This County Museum in Dundalk is a particularly fine example of this, and I warmly commend Seamus Byrne and all his colleagues in Dundalk Urban District Council on the way they have carefully restored this beautiful late 18th century bonded warehouse into an important cultural and community facility for the people of Louth.
The origins of this building tell their own story. It is a site which through time has been constantly associated with industry. Originally the site of a linen bleaching factory, it then became a distillery and later a bonded warehouse for the Carrolls Tobacco Company. It was Carrolls which generously donated the building to the town on condition that it be converted into a centre for cultural and community purposes.
That history is mirrored in the growth and decline of industry within Louth as a whole over the last 300 years and longer, as depicted in the Museum’s award winning exhibition, “From Farm to Factory: Louths Industrial Legacy”. Together with the other displays, it presents a complete story of Louth from earliest times to the present, through artefacts, interactive displays and audio visual presentations.
It is a history shaped by borders, both physical and perceived, with the river Boyne to the south, the Cooley mountains to the north, the drumlin zone on the western border and the Irish sea to the east. In ancient times it lay between the powerful rival kingdoms of Meath and Ulster. In the medieval period, much of the county was incorporated within the boundaries of the Pale. In more recent times, the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland has made a deep impression on everyday life in Louth. For so many years, Dundalk, as a border town, faced the same catalogue of exceptional difficulties as were faced by many of the neighbouring counties. You have had a hard struggle to attract investment, employment and prosperity to this region. Yet you kept hope and effort alive so that today we face an era in which those past difficulties can be transcended. There is now a tangible air of optimism about, a feeling that we can start coming to terms with the past and look with confidence to the new opportunities the future will bring.
This exhibition plays an important role in that reconciliation process, for it is only by taking pride in ourselves and in our history that we can gain the confidence to look without fear at ‘the other’, and together build a better future for everyone.
Congratulations to Sally Ann Miskella and all those involved in the development of the exhibition. I know the months of planning and effort, which goes into presenting such a display. I hope that it will be cherished by Louth’s residents and visitors for years to come.
Mo bhuíochas libh arís as an chaoin chuireadh. Is iontach an obair atá ar siúl agaibh agus guím gach rath air san am atá le teacht.