REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF HER VISIT TO ST. GABRIEL’S SCHOOL
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF HER VISIT TO ST. GABRIEL’S SCHOOL, BELFAST ON TUESDAY, 22 JUNE 1999
I am delighted to be here with you at St. Gabriel’s just a few yards from where I grew up. My thanks to Michael Bennett and Fr. Kenneth Brady for the kind invitation to be with you today.
I remember the excitement when St. Gabriel’s was being built and find it hard to believe that it is now into it’s 32nd year of service to the boys of the parishes of Ligoniel, Sacred Heart and Holy Cross. Like so many things in this part of Belfast it would not have happened but for the commitment of the Passionist Fathers. Their vision for the school and the work of several generations of dedicated members of staff, helped by pupils and parents, have created three decades of hopes, ambitions, successes, memories.
I remember the start of the youth club here in the 1960’s when people came from as far afield as Lisburn and the far east of Ballymacarret to listen to records at the “hops” and even one or two famous show bands, my sister Nora starring in a production of “The Field”, my grandmother God rest her not realising that the altar on the stage was just part of the theatre set, and her genuflecting and kneeling as we tried to get her into her seat for the performance!
Those were perhaps more innocent and generous times. In just a few short years the innocence evaporated as this parish suffered much more than its fair share of the cruel pain of political and sectarian violence.
This community, this school, knows hurt, loss, grief, anger, despair, trauma and great sorrow to an extent it should never have had to bear. These years have made colossal demands on people, have tested them, found their strengths, sussed out their weaknesses. They say what is learnt in childhood is engraved on stone - those who do the engraving have a very sacred trust. To educate a child, to find his potential and give him confidence in himself is no easy thing. To do that work in normal times is hard enough, to do it against a daily litany of hurts, that called for very special people indeed. That is what St Gabriel’s had - very special people who worked hard to provide an environment of stability and security for their pupils.
At St. Gabriel’s you should be proud of the richness of experience that you provide for your pupils and which is clearly evident from the Art and Craft works I have seen today. It can also be seen and heard in the enthusiasm and the voices of your choir and I thank you for the beautiful song of welcome. I know that I have heard some of those voices before at where I now call home - Áras an Uachtaráin. On that particular day you were joined with the choirs of Mount Gilbert Community School, St. Gemma’s Girls School and many others.
As we stand on the eve of a new millennium, we will see enormous change in what society expects and wants from its young people. St. Gabriel’s seeks to provide the sort of courses, skills and values which will equip its young pupils to face the future with deep faith in themselves, in their God-given potential and in their uniqueness in the eyes of God, a uniqueness, a sacredness, that no-one, no system, nothing under heaven can ever rob them of. It entitles them to absolute respect, to equality, to dignity, it demands of them that they give that respect and dignity to every other human being.
Victor Hugo said “Nothing is so powerful as an idea whose time has come”. Ideas are emerging in St. Gabriel’s and for its pupils, which are timely and hopefully powerful. Links with Brookfield Business School and the Local Youth Services are planned and will prosper.
Today’s curriculum is preparing pupils for a world very different from the world of thirty years ago - as that world has changed so has St.Gabriels. Even its change of name to St. Gabriel’s College shows a place on the move, facing tomorrow’s world with hope and with determination.
The word 'college' means an organised body of people engaged in common pursuits and having a common purpose. For the principal, staff, parents and pupils of St.Gabriel’s that common purpose is to take the college forward into a new and exciting millennium in such a way that the life-chances of every boy are helped to blossom to their fullest potential.
Parents, teachers take you on part of life’s journey. It is by far the most important part for as the old Irish saying goes, “Tus maith is leath na hoibre - a good start is half the work”. That is what St Gabriel’s wants for you and works to give you - a good start. The finish is up to you - each one of you has something special, some gift, skill, or quality which used well can make a difference to your life, to your home, your community, your country. One life lived well can make a difference. Be proud of yourselves, proud of your school. You have every reason to be. I wish you well in all that lies ahead of you.
Thank you.