REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF BARRETSTOWN’S NEW MEDICAL CENTRE BARRETSTOW
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF BARRETSTOWN’S NEW MEDICAL CENTRE BARRETSTOWN CASTLE, CO. KILDARE
Tá an-áthas orm bheith anseo i bhur measc inniu. Go raibh míle maith agaibh as ucht bhur bhfáilte chaoin agus cneasta.
I am delighted to be here to celebrate the official opening of the new Medical Centre and to see the Barretstown’s legendary facilities for children from all over Ireland and Europe. Quite a few of you know just how much hard work, commitment and enthusiasm made this day a reality and how much relentless work it takes to sustain the miracle of goodness that is Barretstown Castle.
If we had a magic wand to wave, we would want to make every childhood full of fun, laughter, love and kindness. We would never want to see a child’s body grip tightly in pain. We would never want a child to know the fear and misery of serious illness. We would never want to see the despair on their parents’ faces. We would want a world free from illness, pain and the nearness of death. But we don’t have that magic wand - at least not yet. What we do have though is a human spirit, which is capable of enormous generosity and remarkable courage. When those two meet and work together as here in Barretstown, then there really can be magic and children who are severely tested and challenged by illness can find space for joy, laughter and learning, for friendship and adventure. Here they learn that what seems a lonely, scary journey into illness can become a shared journey with strangers who become caring friends.
Those who dare to care for the sick child take on a formidable and yet an immensely rewarding challenge. Barretstown is about helping the children and their families to transcend the illness but the illness makes its own demands and they have to be met head on too. That is why the first–class medical provision here is crucial and central to its success. It offers to hesitant or uncertain parents the reassurance that this place can realistically and comprehensively meet all the complex needs of their sons and daughters. It offers to the children a cocoon of support - a safety net with no gaps, so that they can relax and enjoy all that the Barretstown team have created for them without the nagging worry of - what happens if……..
I hear the Medical Centre is known as the “Med Shed” and I can safely say I have never before been asked to open an extension to a shed but then this one is very, very special and because it is here Barretstown will be even better than before. A better Barretstown means a better future for hundreds of children whose lives have been so cruelly and capriciously changed by serious illness.We can measure the cost of creating such a place and keeping it going but there is no yardstick to measure the real impact of what you do here on the lived lives of so many people, so many children. There is no mechanism that can calculate the intrinsic value of making a child smile, or creating a great memory out of a new opportunity. There is no yardstick that can measure a heartbroken parent’s renewed faith in life or the fulfilment a volunteer gets from working here. These things are felt in the heart. They make a day worth living. They make tomorrow worth looking forward to, they make yesterday a day worth remembering with happiness. They fight the negativity, the cynicism and give-uppery, which we are always in danger of slipping into when the going gets too tough. They take the energy, which might go into righteous self pity and use it to put celebration back at the centre of life.
Graham Greene once wrote "there is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in”. For the children who come here, it may seem as if illness has banged the door of their little lives firmly shut. Barretstown prises that door open and lets a better future in.
I would like to thank the very many organisations and people – the unsung heroes - who through their much needed contributions and support ensures that the future of Barretstown is secure and is set to get better and better. I acknowledge the much-treasured volunteer medical, nursing and other care staff, some of whom have travelled from the far corners of the world to be a part of this team. May their witness to the power of volunteering continue to draw people to this important work. To the professionals who have made Barretstown their vocation - may it continue to inspire you and hold you faithful to its great work of tender care for the fragile gift of childhood.
And finally, I congratulate everyone here at Barretstown for everything you do - to bringing laughter, happiness and support to countless numbers of children and their families.
Go n-éirí go geal libh. Go raibh maith agaibh.