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REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF HER VISIT TO CARNDONAGH COMMUNITY SCHOOL

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF HER VISIT TO CARNDONAGH COMMUNITY SCHOOL ON SUNDAY 1ST NOVEMBER, 1998

I’m delighted to be here with you today as you celebrate the Silver Jubilee of Carndonagh Community School. It is a special pleasure to be in Inishowen – this mountainous peninsula lying between Lough Swilly and Lough Foyle which ends at Malin Head, the most northerly point of the Irish mainland. I know that it is a diversified area full of natural history and antiquarian interest. The abundance of heath and rock and hill makes the area a paradise for the naturalist. The place abounds in ancient remains and, I’m told, that no where in Ireland is there a greater variety of memorial crosses than here in Inishowen.

I love to visit this unique part of the country which is almost completely surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and therefore is virtually cut off from the rest of the country. I understand that even in prehistoric times it is unlikely that it was ever actually an island, despite its name ‘Inis’. Whatever doubts might exist over the designation ‘Inis’ or the relative isolation of the territory, there is no evidence of an insular existence by its people. The people of Inishowen were always resourceful and independent. The many ancient fortifications around its craggy coastline are testimony to a stubborn defence of that independence. Inishowen has always s been a well-populated area. Thus, it is not very surprising to find that it contains the largest post-primary school in the country.

This evening we celebrate 25 years of existence of that school. Your school was founded at a time of great change in Irish Education. Six years earlier, free post-primary education had been introduced – school fees had been abolished and free transport had been provided for pupils. Extra resources in accommodation and staffing were provided for the huge influx of pupils. The community School was seen as the solution to the need to provide vastly expanded post primary facilities in many parts of the country, including Carndonagh.

In Carndonagh, the new school soon earned the respect and support of the local population. A measure of the success of the school can be gauged from the increase in numbers attending the school. This year there are almost 1,600 pupils enrolled – nearly double that who enrolled when it opened its doors for the first time in 1973. In order to accommodate the increased enrolment a number of extensions have been added over the years, the latest being a Technology Centre. The whole campus represents a tremendous investment in the young people of Inishowen.

Today the school continues to provide quality education. One of the particular attributes of the Community School system is its ability and its readiness to respond to new needs and to adapt to new circumstances. Education is a preparation for life. But life is not static or unchanging. The lives of our people today are very different from what they were 25 years ago when this school was founded. The pattern of people’s lives is affected by social and economic progress and by scientific and technological advances. Our educators must ensure that the education which our young people receive will prepare them for the challenges and opportunities of the changing world which they are facing. Flexibility is required to cope with the changes that are occurring in Irish social life and in the education structure – changing work patterns, changing economic circumstances, changing life styles, and changing expectations.

Central to the concept of the Community School is the involvement of parents. Here in Carndonagh, parents have always played a crucial role in school affairs. Apart from the parents’ role in Board of Management affairs, there is a vibrant Parent’s Committee representative of all parishes in the school’s catchment area.

If I were to ask parents here this evening: “What do you want most for your children?” almost invariably the reply would be: “I want them to be happy”. But that happiness would not imply soft or easy living. Instead it would mean being usefully active, developing the best in your child’s nature and developing fully your child’s talents. For this to happen, there must be a culturally rich environment within the home, school and community where children can grow and learn.

Twenty-five years is not a long span in the life of a school. Yet in that time your school has established a reputation for excellence in education. It has selected the best features of the schools it replaced in the town of Carndonagh and combining those with modern educational methods, provides a school which keeps faith with the loyalties and traditions of the past but, with a reputation firmly established, creates the environment of a modern education establishment.

In this setting, the young people of Carndonagh and the surrounding areas find the caring environment in which to learn, develop and mature. It is here that they learn to exploit their talents, build on their own strengths, get satisfaction from what they do best and develop their own potential to the full. Afterwards as they enter very different walks of life, they will require different knowledge, skills, aptitudes and attitudes from which they will make their own individual contributions to society and find fulfilment in what they do.

I congratulate everyone at Carndonagh Community school for your many achievements in the first twenty-five years of your existence. I thank you for the invitation to visit you today and I wish you many future years of recognition as an excellent educational establishment.