REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE THEATRE/CONFERENCE CENTRE
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE THEATRE/CONFERENCE CENTRE FOR MOATE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Cuireann sé áthas ar mo chroí bheith anseo libh inniu agus tá mé buíoch díbh go léir as fáilte fíorchaoin a chur sibh romham.
I am delighted to join you this afternoon in Moate to see at first hand the fantastic achievement of the Moate Community Development Association’s transformation of what was an historic but derelict building into a state of the art Theatre and Conference Centre. I am proud to be a part of this joyous occasion and I am delighted with your invitation to perform the official opening.
The successful conclusion of this project is thanks to the dreams, hard work and the indomitable spirit of the Community Development Association and most importantly the people of Moate. Your success tells its own powerful story - a story of a remarkable people who for five years worked tirelessly to organise, oversee and promote the reconstruction work to the requirements of your ambitious plan. You have shown that it takes more than bricks and mortar to build a community. You need a spirit of belonging, a community spirit that unites what is otherwise a random collection of houses, a chance collection of people. Community spirit is built and sustained by people of big hearts, and wonderful imaginations, generous with their time, their skills, their enthusiasm, who share a dream of improving their town for the benefit of themselves and their neighbours.
Not everyone is good at doing the day in day out mundane tasks that are required, but thank God there are such people and you have them in abundance here in the Community Development Association and within the community. My heartiest congratulations to you for raising £400,000 – no small achievement by any standard, but with hard work and tremendous goodwill and generosity from the community you did it.
Great thanks is also due to the wonderful help from FAS workers under the Foremanship of Donal Heffernan who provided much of the labour and whose interest and unstinting support helped bring the project to this successful conclusion. I’ve no doubt that this project has provided the craftspeople and FÁS workers with many new skills and valuable experience which will serve them well in their future careers.
This is a good time to live in Ireland, we are experiencing an era of prosperity and of opportunity, there is a palpable air of optimism and regeneration right across the country. Here in Moate as elsewhere in the country people struggle and juggle with today’s web of challenges and opportunities. Everyone wants their town or village to be vibrant and dynamic, but no one wants progress to destroy cherished character and values. A careful path has to be forged between creating and managing economic success while ensuring that the spirit and character of towns like Moate is conserved for future generations. It is a tribute to the people of Moate that you have met the challenges so well. This newly renovated building will house the many hopes and dreams of this community. As a prosperous thriving town Moate is well placed to reap the benefits from this new Centre. The enterprise units will be home to new businesses which in turn will contribute to the prosperity of Moate and its hinterlands. The Theatre and Arts Centre will be greatly appreciated by the community and will attract many visitors to this beautiful part of Westmeath. I wish you much pleasure as you enjoy a feast of entertainment in the new theatre.
The vast scope and potential of the Tuar Ard Center is a testament to the foresight and careful planning of the Moate Community Development Association who conceived and masterminded the whole process.
I would like to thank all of you for your wonderful welcome today, I have enjoyed my visit to this beautiful town and it gives me great pleasure to declare the Tuar Ard Centre officially open.