REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT THE OPENING OF THE FAMINE MEMORIAL PARK KILMALLOCK
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE AT THE OPENING OF THE FAMINE MEMORIAL PARK KILMALLOCK, CO. LIMERICK WEDNESDAY, 9TH JUNE 1999
Is mór an pléisiúir dom bheith anseo i bhur measc ag an ócáid stairiúil seo. Go raibh míle maith agaibh as ucht bhur bhfáilte chaoin.
I am delighted to be here with you today and I would like to thank the Chairman of the Committee, William Parkinson, and all of the members for inviting me to officially open this Famine Memorial Park in Kilmallock.
The landscape of Ireland still bears the physical scars of the greatest disaster of modern Irish history. The countless deserted villages, paupers’ graveyards and former workhouses provide a constant reminder of the appalling tragedy of the Great Famine.
But the emotional scars are there too. The 100th anniversary of the Famine was still too close to allow us to properly confront the painful memories of the Famine years. The past few years – and especially the 150th anniversary of ‘Black ‘47’, have given us an opportunity to remember those who died, and those who were driven from our shores, to mourn their loss but also - through that remembrance - to come to terms with the disaster; to begin the healing process that comes not from burying the pain as we did for so long, but by acknowledging it, speaking of it, commemorating it through Memorial Parks such as this. Only through that commemoration can the process of healing begin.
From this distance we see things in a fresh new light. The awful scattering of the Irish to every corner of the earth has now given us a huge global family, many of whom have contributed at the highest level to the countries of their adoption. They have globalised Irish culture, supported us in hard times, been the energy behind our peace process. Today we look back with amazement at how we have been transformed by that history and now we are ready for the healing. For it is important we do not forget the debts we owe - that today’s success is built on the sacrifice of other generations.
This Memorial Park plays an important role in that healing process. I would like to warmly commend the people of Kilmallock for undertaking this important initiative. The Committee Members, under the Chairmanship of William Parkinson, deserve particular praise for their energy and commitment in completing this park and the memorial we are unveiling today.
There are other, equally important ways of commemorating the Famine. In many ways, we are a first world country with a third world memory. Our own experience confers on us a responsibility in relation to the Third World, especially those areas which experience famine and poverty. We can be justifiably proud of the extraordinary response that the Irish people and Irish aid agencies have made when crises have arisen in Africa, or in the aftermath of the terrible destruction wreaked by Hurricane Mitch in Honduras – which I witnessed myself.
It is important, however, that this response is not just an ad hoc reaction to particular tragedies. We have a responsibility to look towards the long-term causes of world poverty, and towards formulating long-term solutions. Ireland’s role in relation to helping to put in place agreements for the alleviation of Third World Debt is of key importance. It has often been said that during the Famine Years, there was enough food produced in Ireland to prevent the Famine, but much of it was exported. Ours was not a famine but a starvation. For many Third World countries, it is the burden of debt repayments and the export of resources to fund such payments, at the expense of education and health care for their own people, which is their greatest problem. It is important amid our current prosperity that we retain the generosity of spirit that has always marked us as a people – shaped by our own experience of famine and want – and that we work towards creating a life of dignity for people in all parts of the world.
That generosity of spirit is equally important in our response to those fleeing violence and destitution in their own lands. We think in particular of the people of Kosovo, some of whom we have recently welcomed into this country. It is estimated that half of all Irish people born since 1841 emigrated. Their lives were often filled with hardship, but they forged in their host countries new lives for themselves and their families, enriching the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of their new countries.
That experience of the global Irish family requires us to think carefully about how we respond to those who now need our help. We can close our hearts and minds both to our own history and to the experience of today’s victims of tragedy and violence. Or we can respond with understanding and generosity, in the knowledge that our forebears once desperately required the same help – the choice is ours.
This Memorial Park is not just a commemoration of the past, but a reminder of the difficult issues and choices that continue to face our world today. I would like to congratulate you all once again on your hard work and commitment in completing this project.
Mar chríoch, ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a chur in iúl daoibh go léir as ucht an chuireadh a thabhairt dom teacht anseo inniu. Guím Rath Dé oraibh go léir sna blianta atá romhaibh. Go raibh míle maith agaibh.