REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF CELBRIDGE ABBEY NURSERIES AND GARDEN CENTRE
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF CELBRIDGE ABBEY NURSERIES AND GARDEN CENTRE CELBRIDGE ABBEY, CO. KILDAR
Is breá liom bheith anseo inniu ag an ócáid speisialta seo. Tá mé thar a bheith buíoch as an chuireadh a thug sibh dom teacht anseo agus as fáilte fíorchaoin a chur romham.
It is a great pleasure and privilege for me to join you here today to officially open Celbridge Abbey Nurseries and Celbridge Abbey Garden Centre. I would like to thank Brother Gregory McCrory for inviting me to this special occasion. Thank you for the wonderful welcome you have given me.
For almost 50 years, the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God has provided services for children and adults with learning difficulties here in Celbridge. More than that, they have lived the mission of the founder of their Order, to support and care for people who have traditionally been pushed to the margins of society. Today, I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their dedication, commitment and caring. Their work has made an enormous difference to the thousands of children and adults whose talents and abilities have blossomed through their help over the years – the thousands who might otherwise have remained behind the barriers of indifference and misunderstanding that society built up. The Brothers and staff here have helped so many to develop the talents that each of them possesses, and which might otherwise have remained locked up forever. And as their skills have been built up, so too has their confidence and self-esteem as individuals, because they see that they are able to do a job and to do it well – that they are valuable members of our community.
That satisfaction must be all the greater in the case of the people who work in these Nurseries and Garden Centre – for the fruits of their labour are there for all to see. This initiative has given 40 people the dignity of employment, the dignity of independence, while at the same time providing the support they need to take those first steps. It takes courage and determination to embark on a brave new venture of this kind and I warmly commend all of you on your achievement.
It is wonderful to see the way that supported training and employment initiatives of this type are thriving throughout the country. Indeed, I am delighted to say that Áras an Uachtaráin has benefited greatly from these developments - just recently we have been joined by two teams of people with a mild learning disability who were trained in horticulture at the Daughter’s of Charity Glen College. They are doing marvellous work in assisting our hard-pressed permanent gardening staff to maintain and develop the grounds of the Áras and already they have made a huge difference.
I know that these Nurseries and Garden Centre are just one of a number of initiatives that have been developed by the Order here in North Kildare. With services ranging from a respite centre and clinical services, to training workshops, the work being done here has truly answered the prayers of so many families and carers of people with learning disabilities. They are the ones who bear the greatest strain of care, of worry about what the future may hold. And they so rarely get the credit they deserve for the day-in, day-out, level of responsibility that they carry. Today, I would like to acknowledge and thank them for their unceasing care, and on their behalf, I would also like to say a heartfelt thank you to the Brothers and staff here for helping to share that load.
I wish all of you every success in your future work.
Is iontach an obair atá ar siúl agaibh. Go n-eirí go geal libh sa todhchaí.