REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE TARA COUNSELLING AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTRE
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE TARA COUNSELLING AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTRE, OMAGH ON 6th DECEMBER, 2001
I am delighted to be with you all this morning to see at first hand and to celebrate the wonderful work that is taking place here at this marvellous centre and I thank Maura Twohig and Mary Daly the founders of the centre for the kind invitation.
I would also like to thank you all for your very warm welcome.
All of you gathered here today know only too well the services provided by the centre and how vital they are, not only to the individual but to the whole community here in Omagh. Whether you are involved in running the centre, or part of another organisation with links to the centre, or you have on occasion availed of some of the many services on offer here, you will know the deep level of care, commitment and compassion that is shown to everyone. The day-to-day business of the centre is driven by deeply held values, beliefs and a respect for the dignity of the individual. No one is turned away, no problem is too great or too small and everyone who comes here for help does so in the knowledge that they come to a warm and welcoming place where their privacy will be respected and importantly where their story matters.
Since the Tara Centre opened its doors in 1996, its aim has been to promote personal and community growth and the healing of emotional wounds. God knows this was and is a place scarred by needless hurt, wanton waste of human life and a place of many, many tragic victims, some visibly scarred, some psychologically and emotionally scarred. And of course while the victims of Omagh’s grim violence are all too easily called to mind, life produces many other victims across a huge range of everyday experiences and they too need a helping hand. In fact the awful tragedy is that everyday life brings its own awesome range of overwhelming problems whatever the political climate - physical and sexual abuse wreak havoc in little lives, relationship problems rob people of their enjoyment of life, eating disorders, phobias, spiritual crises, the list goes on.
The staff of the centre work tirelessly and with great determination to offer a trustworthy helping hand and expert support and advice. It is encouraging to see too the wide range of innovative personal development programmes, in confidence building, communication skills, yoga, Tai Chi, relaxation, meditation and art therapy classes, each one a personal pathway for someone to cope better with the challenges and stresses that our fast-moving, fast-changing world serves up to us.
The Centre has witnessed difficult times in the last few years but has also touched many lives, offering the same unconditional comfort and support together with renewed hope for the future. The darkest of those dark days came in August, 1998 when terror and unimaginable pain and suffering were inflicted so swiftly and unexpectedly on the people of Omagh. The staff of the Tara Centre were there at that awful time to offer what solace they could and help begin the long journey of healing that continues to this day.
I know that you have great hopes and plans for the future of this centre and with the recently completed extension and planned refurbishment of the adjoining property, you will be even better positioned to respond to the needs of the community you already meet so well.
I am delighted to see that a close relationship exists between this centre and the Dunderry Centre in Co. Meath. The sharing of skills and experience cross-border is an essential part of ensuring we use all the resources we have available for the good of all the people on this island. In the past we wasted so many opportunities and worse than that, so many lives. Today the peace which we are building between us is based on partnership and shared endeavour. It offers respect to the different strands which make up the complex personality of this island. It is the best guarantee we all have that our children will grow up in a place where they can feel safe and comfortable, a place where their talents will be celebrated, a place to be deeply proud of.
Omagh has a very big stake in that new future. It has paid already too dear a price for it but the people of this valiant community have given courage and determination to many others to stay focussed on building a culture of tolerance and respect and understanding because life has taught us a bitter lesson - that there is no other humanly decent way. Here at Tara you know how difficult it can be to sort out the kind of messes that lives get into. But you also know that no matter how tangled the mess, there is a place to start the untangling and though the work may be tough and at times dispiriting, there comes a day when to your surprise you realise the job is done. It is done because someone did it and for peace to endure we each of us have our bit to do. Our children must not sit in classrooms and learn of the mistakes – the missed opportunities of the 21st Century, as they did of previous ones. As TS Eliot put it so beautifully:
Footfalls echo in the memory
Down the passage which we did not take
Towards the door we never opened
Into the rose-garden.
We have followed the passage and found our way to the rose-garden. Now we have to plant it, seed it, nurture it.
I wish you well in your work of helping to nurture better and happier lives and for all you do to make a real difference in the lives of many people. I congratulate and commend you and wish you well in the years to come.
Thank You