REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE ON HER VISIT TO LARGY COLLEGE CLONES, CO. MONAGHAN
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE ON HER VISIT TO LARGY COLLEGE CLONES, CO. MONAGHAN MONDAY, 17TH JANUARY 2000
Is cúis mhór áthais dom bheith anseo i bhur measc inniu i gColáiste Learga agus tá mé thar a bheith buíoch díbh as an chuireadh a fuair mé.
I was delighted to accept your very kind invitation to visit Largy College. This is my chance to return the compliment paid by this school when a number of your students joined me in Dublin Castle two years ago for my inauguration as President.
Every time I visit a school and see young men and women at this very special time when the future stretches out ahead, still unscripted, full of potential and possibilities, I am reminded how short a time it seems since I was sitting in my school uniform, idly wondering about the future and how important I now know these classroom days were. None of us can predict what life holds but experience tells us that there will be possibilities and opportunities which we will be able to capture if these days here are used well. Sometimes it may be difficult to sense all those possibilities, as I know that the pressures of exams and schoolwork must at times seem overwhelming. My own three children are doing Junior and Leaving Certificates this year so I have more than a good idea of the worries you need to conquer and the work you need to get on top of in order to see the exams through. I know that teachers and parents will be keeping a close eye on you to make sure you feel supported through these days and nights of hard work. They will want to make sure you get the right mix of work and relaxation.
You are fortunate that here in Largy there is such a strong ethos of helping you to develop not just your academic potential, but also your full potential as young men and women. No human being can be measured simply in terms of success in exams. Life tests us in many, many ways and in this room I have no doubt there are young men and women who have already been severely tested in ways that have strengthened their, skills, their character, their wisdom and their humanity. There will be students who are coping with their own chronic illness, students who go back to homes each day where there is the challenge of caring for a chronically ill parent, perhaps where there is depression, unemployment, very little money, or a lot of responsibility for brothers and sisters, some will have had to cope with bereavement. Many students will have coped and coped admirably, often in silence without drawing any attention to the heroism they have to find daily. So in this hall today there are many young men and women who have already earned a formidable level of respect and admiration. They have stockpiled inside themselves resources which will take them through life, resources which will make of them achievers, doers, people who face squarely up to life and make the very best of what it offers.
What do we want, any of us - parents, staff - for these young people and what do they want for themselves? A happy life, a fulfilled life, a good life, lived decently without inflicting hurt on others, a life in which all the talents God gave this one person were helped to blossom to their fullest potential and used well. Those are the things that most of us want. In short we want good citizens, good friends and good neighbours. This school and these days are part of the complex process of formation through which we become the people who make up families, communities, countries.
At the end of the day, the people who are most successful in life, both professionally and personally, are those who have the profound self confidence that comes from knowing they can take on challenges and succeed, who have qualities of leadership, who can work well on their own or easily as part of a team. They are people who have self- respect and who respect others, people who have the gumption to stand up to the bully, the charity to care what happens to the weak. They are people who, if they demand change, are willing to make a start by changing themselves, people who look at what needs doing in the world around them, and go out and do it. They are people with the insight to see that every individual has a role and responsibility in building a society which is a decent place to live, a society where opportunity is a birthright and where difference – whether cultural, religious or ethnic - is not just tolerated but celebrated.
Such a society is made possible when people have a highly developed sense of responsibility and commitment to their community. And those are the values which underpin the Mission Statement of this school, and which are evident in so many of your activities from sport to public speaking, music and participation in the Young Scientist Competition. I know in particular, that you are justly proud of your participation in GAISCE, the President’s Award, through which more than 100 students at this school have received silver and bronze medals. You have also participated in a number of cross border projects – with St. Eugene’s College, Roslea and in the Asgard trip organised through the Clones/Lisnaskea Development Group. Such cross-border activities have enormous potential for building mutual respect and understanding between people in the North and South, and you deserve great credit for the wonderful contribution you have made in this regard.
Creating the atmosphere of achievement, affirmation and encouragement which so obviously exists in this school, does not happen by chance. It takes a great deal of dedication and enthusiasm on the part of all the teachers and other staff here and both students and parents owe them a great debt of gratitude. For teaching at its best is not simply about imparting information or enabling students to pass their exams. It is concerned to a far greater extent with unlocking the potential and imagination of a young student, enabling his or her inherent creativity to blossom. And we should never underestimate the potential that such an experience has in terms of transforming young lives. Teaching is a profession which takes very special people, people who give and give until they are drained, who are very rarely thanked but who can be energised and affirmed by simply seeing a student making a genuine effort, just as they can be de-energised by a student’s cynicism or rudeness. You are fortunate here in Largy that you have such good teachers. But they too, are fortunate in seeing their efforts rewarded by the exceptional achievements which students and former students of this college have accomplished year after year.
I warmly commend the Principal, Jim O’Connor and Deputy Principal, Stephen Trant whose leadership and dedication have been such a source of inspiration. I would also like to congratulate the Governors, Parents Association and Board of Management for the wonderful support they have provided. I wish all of you every success in your plans to commence work on a new school premises in the coming year, and in all of your future activities.
Go gcúití Dia bhur saothar daoibh. Go raibh maith agaibh.