Remarks by President McAleese at the Official Opening of the Gleann Sí Housing Development Rostrevor
Remarks by President McAleese at the Official Opening of the Gleann Sí Housing Development Rostrevor, Co. Down
Is ócáid speisialta í seo domsa agus tá mé iontach sásta bheith libh tráthnóna inniu chun na tithe seo a oscailt go hoifigiúil. Chuir sibh fáilte romhaim a bhí fial, fairsing, fior-Ghaelach, agus mo bhuíochas libh as sin fosta.
Thank you, Dr Passmore, and indeed everyone here for your wonderful welcome. This is a place where I am always confident of a warm welcome, which is what home is all about - a place where you can be at ease, feel valued and at peace.
I am delighted to be here in Rostrevor this afternoon to perform the official opening of this innovative development by the BIH Housing Association. Teresa and Desmond McConville were kind enough to invite me to visit their lovely new home at No 22 earlier and to meet their children, Megan and their new little miracle, baby Jack. In their home I was able to see at first hand what a tremendous impact this development has already made on the lives of one special, young family. I know that it has meant just as much to each of the new residents, and to many other men, women and children who have benefited from similar schemes right across Northern Ireland.
It is reassuring to see the care and attention to detail with which these houses have been developed. And of course, the setting is second to none, here in the most beautiful part of Ireland. I want to congratulate the BIH Housing Association for this pioneering project, in conjunction with the Department of the Environment, in providing this type of versatile family accommodation which can wrap itself around the changing needs in the local community. I look forward to a time when it will be the norm that accommodation will be easily adaptable to the changing needs of all our citizens, including the disabled and infirm, from youth to old age. Every one of us changes over the course of a lifetime and our needs change dramatically too, whether because of accident, illness or simply the passage of time and advancing years. But what most human beings want is a decent home, a home where their needs and the realities of their lives are addressed and overcome, a home to lift your heart as these do, not a home which is a litany of obstacles and discomfort.
It’s good to be here amongst old friends this week in particular when all our thoughts and prayers have been concentrated on Northern Ireland. Here in Gleann Sí, we have the evidence of what can be achieved when people co-operate and pull together. All over this island in the past few years the benefits of peace have become part of our daily reality. We know how far we have all come, we have to believe in our ability to see this storm through to the calm beyond, a calm we will craft for our children out of respect for each other, out of pity for those whose lives conflict has destroyed or damaged, out of the determination to make the future a better home than the past ever was. There is a considerable and dangerous journey yet to travel but there is no going back.
And peace brings the opportunity and the means to concentrate on areas such as social housing. Here in Northern Ireland, the voluntary housing sector is the main provider of social housing and it deserves enormous credit for its commitment and its care. In the South, the needs are also great and we recognise the need to expand the role of this sector and increase its output. I know that BIH has consistently been at the forefront in adopting new challenges and initiatives and I was especially pleased to hear that they have plans to expand their operations on an island-wide basis.
As in so many other areas of activity of this there is a wealth of knowledge and experience to share as well as the potential benefits to be gained from pooled resources and skills.
But the benefits of co-operation go deeper still. They create new networks, new friendships, shared memories, the joys of shared successes, the sadness of shared failures, the shared determination to learn from all the ups and downs and to forge a better place for all of God's children to blossom as He intended. Our society is only at the start of a process of sharing, understanding and ultimately, healing and reconciliation. This is truly a new beginning, a new journey for all of us. It is a little scary for some, exhilarating for others, but ultimately its destination is a noble one - a place where each of us counts, each of us matters to each other, to civic society at large.
Gleann Sí itself is the product of that ethos and those who created it are to be congratulated for their foresight and efforts in bringing this scheme to fruition, particularly BIH, the contractors, Savage Brothers, and the architect, Chris Doran.
I wish all the residents, present and future, every happiness, peace and fulfilment in your new homes. May the memories which gather and grow in these homes be happy memories, and may those happy memories start with this special day.
Mar chríoch, ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a chur iúl díbh go léir as ucht an chuireadh a thabhairt dom teacht anseo inniú agus guím Rath Dé oraibh go léir sna blianta atá romhaibh.
It is with great pleasure that I declare the Gleann Sí Housing Development officially open.
Go raith maith agaibh.