REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OPENING OF THE CLUB HOUSE AND GARDEN AT THE MERCY FAMILY CENTRE
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE OPENING OF THE CLUB HOUSE AND GARDEN AT THE MERCY FAMILY CENTRE
Is cúis mhór áthais dom bheith anseo libh inniu ag an ocáid specialta seo. Tá mé buíoch díbh as an chuireadh agus an fáilte fíorchaoin a chur sibh romham.
I am delighted to join you this morning in the heart of the Liberties to open this wonderful new addition to the Mercy Family Centre. I know that this is a very happy occasion for all of you who have been involved with this project and I would like to thank Chris McCarthy for the kind invitation.
Living in an inner city area like the Liberties can bring its own rewards and pressures - the reward of being at the centre of a thriving bustling city life, a more cosmopolitan and multi-cultural environment than is experienced by those who live in the suburbs. But you also know the downside of living in a city – the lack of space for children to play and the need for constant vigilance to keep them safe from a drug culture that is the curse of modern cities all over the world today.
The job of bringing up children in a modern city is not an easy one. We all love our children and we want the very best for them. But sometimes we need the support of others to help and advise us with the job of raising children, of helping them to develop their full potential so that they can blossom into fulfilled adulthood. The Mercy Family Centre has been a rock of support for many generations of women in the Liberties for the past eighteen years.
The programmes provided by the Centre in personal development, life skills, parenting classes and educational courses offer a wealth of opportunity, a second chance to those who, for whatever reason didn’t get the chance the first time round, to develop their abilities and to discover their gifts. It gives them a ‘time out’ – an opportunity away from the kids, away from the stress and strains of every day life to learn about themselves, to take a measure of control in their own lives and to make changes which will benefit themselves, their children and the wider community.
Over the years the Centre has continually sought to develop and enhance its courses to provide the best possible assistance to the people of the area. The Liberties enjoy a very special type of community spirit which is not found in many other areas. You know the value of community in a transient world, of caring for each other, of looking out for each other. For many of you here today, the Liberties has been home for your parents and grandparents. You yourselves have been reared in this locality and, in turn, you are raising your own children here. So the Liberties is more than just a random collection of houses and flats, mere bricks and mortar, it is home, your place in the world, the place where you belong.
The new clubhouse and garden is another example of the wonderful spirit of community that exists in the Liberties. Born from the 1995 development of the yard as a play area and seeing the unbridled obvious joy it brought to the children, you embarked on an incredibly ambitious project. This project included the renovation of a clubhouse which would be home to adult education classes in the morning and an after schools club in the afternoon, and the transformation of a concrete yard into a beautiful garden. This has truly been a community effort and I congratulate you on raising the incredible sum of one hundred thousand pounds (£100,000) in grants and donations to bring the project to fruition. To raise such a large sum is a monumental task and I know that the success of this project is due to the sheer hard work of many people.
Thanks is due to the Area Development Management(ADM), the Millennium Fund and the Allied Irish Banks Community Initiative Awards for their financial assistance. A very special thank you to local firms who donated their services, to Eileen Fitzpatrick of Fitzpatrick May who donated architectural services and to Landscape Architect Fergus McGarvey who donated landscaping design. It is heartening to see local businesses supporting community effort and we applaud their support.
Most of all I would like to congratulate all the people of the Liberties who have given of themselves, their time and energy, their skills and their imagination to make this project such a success. Some of you were involved in the hard slog, the preparation of the ground, the digging, the planting. The women’s Art and Craft classes provided the artistic input by creating the beautiful mosaics and stepping stones which will serve to enhance this beautiful garden. I am so impressed by your work and I hope you will continue with your artistic endeavours to enhance your environment for many years to come. I want to particularly congratulate the children for their wonderful work with the garden from planting seeds to helping with the design and layout. All of this work is for you, for your happiness and enjoyment.
This wonderful project is the culmination of the dreams and hopes and tireless efforts of the people of the Liberties. I have no doubt that the garden and the after school projects which will take place in the clubhouse will prove to be very popular with all the local children. I wish you all many years of pleasure and happiness as you make full use of these lovely new facilities.
It is my great pleasure to declare the clubhouse and garden officially open.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.