Remarks by President McAleese At the official opening of a ‘Garden of Friendship’
Remarks by President McAleese At the official opening of a ‘Garden of Friendship’, Community Service Centre, Tipperary
A Dhaoine Uaisle, tá áthas orm bheith anseo libh inniú. Go raith maith agaibh as fáilte fíorchaoin a chur romham.
I am delighted to be here with you today to officially open this ‘Garden of Friendship’ which was established by the Tipperary Active Retirement Association to mark last year’s International Year of the Older Person. My sincere thanks to Sister Mairead Ryan for her invitation. It’s taken me a little while to get here - judging by the great growth in the garden, I’m not a moment too soon in officially opening it.
I know that some of the groups and services based in this Centre have been established for some considerable time; others like the Active Retirement Group are relatively new. You are blessed here in Tipperary with an energetic Community Council, first established by Canon Hayes in 1937 as the first unit of Muintir na Tire. The Council today facilitates a staggeringly long and breathtakingly wide list of services and activities for all facets of the Community. I am sure Canon Hayes would be delighted to see so many people active in this community, so many ‘doers’ getting out and taking part. And I suppose what all your diverse groups have in common – is that old Irish saying ‘Ní neart go cur le chéile’ – there is strength in unity. Through coming together, you have found that you are able to achieve so much more than you could on your own. It gives you an opportunity to build new friendships, the courage and support to learn new things, develop new interests, discover talents in yourselves that might have been buried for lack of opportunity. This is community at work, helping the individual to enjoy life, creating a network of support to make that individual feel valued.
This is a particular celebration of the Active Retirement Association which chose to mark last year’s Year of the Older Person by the establishment of this garden. As we celebrate the prosperity which Ireland is now enjoying we should not forget that this prosperity would not have been possible had it not been for the sacrifices and commitment of our parents and grandparents, who worked and saved and dreamed of a better life for their children and grandchildren. That dream is now coming true for many Irish people and we thank the older members of society who made that dream possible. And I can think of no better symbol than the garden here because the intention of last year was not a once-off initiative. It was intended to re-awaken our appreciation and awareness of the contribution which our older people can make. There are, after all, over 400,000 people aged 65 and over in this country. That is an enormous reservoir of energy, experience and skill just waiting to be tapped – an incredible potential which must not be wasted. And as this garden of yours grows and flourishes, so too must the potential of all our older people be encouraged, nurtured and utilised to the full.
We are privileged to live in times of hope as prosperity allows more and more people become stakeholders in society, moving from the margins to the centre, but as the poet John Hewitt says “we build to fill the centuries arrears”. Amidst our current prosperity are thousands of Irish people who remain trapped in a vicious circle of poverty, unemployment, exclusion and despair. They need reassurance that their day too is coming, that they are not forgotten and so often their hopes are kept alive by the work of voluntary community organisations.
That is why this occasion is so important and why I take advantage of this and every possible opportunity to publicly recognise and pay tribute to communities such as yours, continuing the great tradition of voluntary work that has always been such an important part of our identity. Without that work we would not know the joy and comfort of being cared for and cared about, unselfishly. Take away that huge network and you take away our spirit. To those of you who keep freshening and refreshening that spirit, míle buíochas.
Once again, I want to thank you for inviting me here today and I hope to meet as many of you as possible in a few minutes. It only remains for me to declare the garden officially open.
Go raibh maith agaibh go leir.