REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF HER VISIT TO ST MARY’S COLLEGE STRAWBERRY HILL
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF HER VISIT TO ST MARY’S COLLEGE STRAWBERRY HILL, TWICKENHAM, FRIDAY, 3 DECEMBER
Tá mé iontach sásta bheith anseo libh inniu i gColáiste Naomh Mhuire. Ta mé buíoch díbh as an chuireadh, agus go háirithe, as fáilte fíorchaoin a chur sibh romham.
I am delighted to be here this morning. For almost thirty years the world of students and universities was my milieu. With all its aggravations and ups and downs it was an amazing world, a kaleidoscope of people and ideas. I do miss it a bit and every so often I need my fix of the adrenaline it generates.
So it has been great to have had this opportunity to meet with such a marvellous cross-section of St Mary’s staff and students - including those from the Centre for Irish Studies, the faculties of Sport Science and from the primary and physical education teacher-training faculty.
I will have the honour later this afternoon to receive an honorary degree from the University of Surrey thanks to an idea put forward by the Centre for Irish Studies here in Strawberry Hill. It seemed right to come and say thank you in person at this College which I have long known of, and watched from afar. You give a person a warm welcome and for me that says a lot about the culture and ethos of this place.
I know that next year St Mary’s will be celebrating its 150th anniversary. As the first Catholic college in Britain, St Mary’s has a unique and notable history, much of which will be called to memory in the months ahead. So many lives have been shaped here, friendships made, skills honed and then brought out into the world, carrying the name of this College to thousands of school children. Among them were of course hundreds of Irish students and teaching staff who, over the last century and a half, walked these rooms and shared their ideas under this roof. Each generation lived through very different times. The intricacies of the shared history of Britain and Ireland have created many legacies, some shameful; some, like St. Mary’s, a source of pride and hope. As relationships between these two islands continue to mature apace, as a new comfortable collegiality replaces old antagonisms, the continuing links between St Mary’s and Ireland, and the establishment by the College of its own Centre for Irish Studies offers the prospect of a great adventure in scholarly cultural exploration.
Much has happened since St Mary’s first opened its doors in response to the growing number of Irish arriving in Britain. Then a poor and dispirited nation’s biggest export was its people. Today a confident and successful Ireland is the world’s second largest exporter of computer software and now has net inward migration from Britain. With an economic growth performance unmatched amongst the industrialised economies and a cultural renaissance of extraordinary energy, the Ireland which exits this century, this millennium, stands on a brink every other generation would envy. Sealing this new blessed generation’s good fortune like a miraculous benediction is of course the dawning of peace in Northern Ireland. The long efforts and prayers of both of our peoples and our leaders are being rewarded with the precious gift of peace for the people of Northern Ireland and both our islands.
Yesterday we saw at last the transfer of devolved power to an inclusive Assembly and Executive, bringing together all of the traditions in Northern Ireland to work together. This is truly a new and inspiring landscape - a landscape which I hope can become the backdrop to your own understanding of, and interaction with, Ireland both in the context of your time here in St Mary’s and in your future lives.
St Mary’s College, Strawberry Hill is a familiar name in Ireland. For many years it has been the destination of generations of young Irish school-leavers, intent on training as primary teachers and as physical education teachers. And it is evident to me from my discussions with you this morning, that this is a tradition that has continued to thrive to the present day.
Your College has been central in facilitating an easy flow of students and ideas between Britain and Ireland. And I think that it is no accident that St Mary’s should be an acknowledged leader in the field of Irish Studies. The establishment of the Centre for Irish Studies was, in many ways, a natural and timely progression. Here, your knowledge and skill facilitated the intuition of a new mood; your scholarly curiosity and innovation captured it and embraced it, leading the way where others would follow.
St Mary’s reputation for academic excellence is, of course, matched by its legendary attention to the moral, physical and spiritual development of students. In an environment that is open and supportive its body of Irish students has felt enabled to express and celebrate their Irish heritage, for at the core of this place is an intense reverence for the sacredness of each human person. Fidelity to that ethic has characterised this place for a century and a half. When the nostalgia is over and the pictures are put away until the bicentenary celebrations, the work of planning for a new generation in a new and changing world, will still be going on. These are days to be proud of past glories, proud of present achievements and confident that a secure future is being seed-bedded even as we speak.
I would like to thank Dr Naylor and Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue for their hospitality today. My thanks again to St Mary’s College for its role in inviting me to receive this prestigious honorary degree. May all of you find fulfilment both personally and professionally in the road that lies ahead for you.
Guím gach rath oraibh sa todhchaí. Gura fada buan sibh.