REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE LIBRARY AT ST MARK’S SCHOOL
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE LIBRARY AT ST MARK’S SCHOOL IN HONOUR OF THE LATE MR. CULL
A dhaoine uaisle,
Tá mé buíoch díbh as an chuireadh a thug sibh dom teacht anseo tráthnóna inniu. Go raibh míle maith agaibh as fáilte fíorchaoin a chur romham.
It’s just over two years since I last visited St. Marks keeping a promise I had made to the late school Principal John Cull before I was elected. Although he was very ill by the time of that visit he made it to the event with his family and we had a great evening of celebration and entertainment. He was so proud of St. Mark’s, its pupils and its staff that evening and justifiably so. It is a very special honour for me to return to formally open the new Library in John’s memory.
John’s commitment to the library was tremendous – it was his pride and joy. He became involved in every aspect of its development. He did his research – visiting several schools and Colleges to see examples of good libraries and he brought back only the best ideas, the best procedures, because only the best was good enough for his pupils and his school. So the library is indeed a very fitting tribute to his memory.
As a dedicated teacher and Principal, John cared for each and every pupil who passed through St Mark’s. He knew how important these school days are in the life of any human being. Used well they can help us blossom, to open us up to ourselves, our talents and the world of imagination and knowledge all around us and in us. Used badly these years can be a tragic waste. The responsibility for getting the best of these years is shared between parents, teachers and pupils. If each commits to the other and if each plays his or her part well then a young man or woman gets a great start in life - and tus maith is leath na hoibre - a good start is half the work. That is what John Cull and the staff of this school believe in and deliver - a good start - the best they can make it.
I would like to warmly commend the Principal Colum Clarke and all the staff at St. Mark’s for the way in which they have followed John’s lead. Their dedication and energy have contributed to the delivery of the best education possible to pupils and to giving the school a reputation for excellence in so many fields of endeavour.
The underlying philosophy of St Mark’s recognises that education is a complex process. It involves knowledge transfer - introducing pupils to languages, to science, to the humanities, to the world of art and imagination, to the world of the spirit, to heritage, to sport - to things which stretch us, deepen us, give us skills and talents, bring us to a new self-awareness and self-confidence and hopefully set us on a life course which will bring us fulfilment. No two students in this school are the same. Each has very different talents, gifts, personalities. Some are the life and soul of the class - they make people laugh. Others are more serious - they remind us that there is work to be done. Some are great at sport, others at organising things, others are good spectators and supporters. Some are brilliant at art, some gifted poets, some simply gifted at friendship. The world needs all those things, all those diverse attributes to make it go around. It needs each of us to be proud of who and what we are and to take pride in the giftedness of others. We need each other and we only know ourselves fully humanly when we work together and learn from and with each other.
You each have a special and unique contribution to make to the world and to your community. St. Mark’s is part of that community. Colum Clarke and his staff encourage participation by students and parents in the life of the school. It is a tribute to them that the school gives inspiration and support and an educational focus to the area and in turn local parents of St. Mark’s pupils are particularly active in their support for all aspects of the life of the school. Here people work hard to make sure the three way partnership is effective.
We are fortunate to be entering what we hope will be a new and exciting phase of politics on this island – ‘peace comes dropping slow’ but it is happening before our very eyes. The world is being reshaped and we need people of confidence and vision to keep insisting that the future is theirs, they are entitled to their space, their place, their time. The pupils of St. Marks are being prepared to play their part in this fresh emerging landscape and we all wish them well for the future.
I would like to express my thanks to John’s wife Maria for inviting me to perform the official opening of St. Mark’s library. I know it would give him no end of pleasure to see his pet project being used to the full by the students of St. Mark’s. Einstein it was who said that imagination is more important than knowledge and time and again the rich human imagination is found in books - there is no better hobby, no better way to spend time than in the company of books.
I would like to thank the Southern and Education Library Board for their support and advice they provide to the school library service. My thanks to Eithne Lennon who helped with the arrangements for my visit here today.
There was a great deal of love in John Cull’s life. Maria mentioned to me that she and John were childhood sweethearts. So John was fortunate to have been surrounded by the timeless love of Maria and his children, Seán, Claire, Elizabeth, Paula, Joanne, David and Christopher. His was one life - it was lived well and lived fully - it made a difference to many other lives, gave many a good start. The finish is the same for all of us, the shortness of John’s life reminds us – that is why it is the journey that is so important - to be able to look back over a lifetime long or short and say these days were used well.
It gives me great pleasure to officially open this library.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.