REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS OF ST. MICHAEL’S COLLEGE
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS OF ST. MICHAEL'S COLLEGE
Tá áthas orm a bheith i bhur measc inniu ag an ocáid speisialta seo. Go raibh maith agaibh as fáilte fiorchaoin a chur romham.
A warm thank you to Father Cleary, for the invitation to be with you today as you celebrate St. Michael’s 25th Anniversary. Having just celebrated twenty-five years of marriage I have a fair idea of the importance of this milestone and how much hard work, happiness, ups, downs, dreams and dreads, successes and disappointments are all wrapped up in this Silver Jubilee.
The focus of the school, the very heart of its existence is to give young people the very best start in life. There is an old Irish saying Tus maith is leath na hoibre and that is what St. Michael’s has always been about. A student arrives here and literally starts a very special journey into the self. He doesn’t go that journey alone for there are skilled teachers here to give him confidence in subjects like maths or French, to introduce him to talents he never knew he had in sport, in art, in drama, in science. We parents want the best for our children but I don’t have the skill to teach my children many of the things they can learn so easily in school and I am grateful, as the parents of the pupils here are, that in our schools there are teams of devoted experts whose lives are committed to helping our children find and develop their strengths, their talents and their opportunities in life. They deserve special thanks.
Today, we recognise the great contribution that this school has made in enriching the thousands of young minds that have passed through its doors through the last quarter century. Their experience of this school community owed a lot to people they never met in the classroom at all. To keep this school community working the best it can, looking the best it can, there is an army of helpers from the ancillary staff to the members of the board of management, to the parents, their hard work so often overlooked when we think of school life. We thank them too for all they have done to help St. Michael’s flourish.
There is another old Irish saying "Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí" praise the youth and they will blossom. And the pupils of St. Michael’s over the decades deserve our praise and our respect. School makes huge demands on young people. The relentlessness of work, homework, of exams, challenges each of them to dig deep inside themselves to find self-discipline and focus.
Being part of a school community, as you grow from childhood to adulthood is far from easy and of course our students have families at home too. Many of our students are heroic, coping with family crises, like the chronic illness or death of a parent, or their own illness.
Many are trying to cope with peer pressure and with the darker side of teenage life so often inflicted unsparingly on each other, the taunting or bullying which can make people feel lost and lonely. Many are good friends to each other, caring, courageous. How they come through these days, how deeply they commit to doing their best, giving their best will stand to them in later life. The benefits of St. Michael are not just to the individual pupil who leaves here strong, wise and good-hearted but to the family, the community, the country - for we are all strengthened by having such people around us.
So, to all those pupils who have honoured and are honouring that wise saying 'Gloria Dei vivens homo' - "the glory of God is man fully alive" we say thank you and we want you to know how proud we are of the people you are. Long after you leave here, stories flow back of things you have accomplished, some are big things that showcase your talent, others are small things that showcase your goodness. Each of those things give those who work here or on behalf of St. Michaels the greatest feeling of fulfilment and pride. It gives them the energy and enthusiasm to make sure the next twenty-five years at St. Michaels will be the best they can possibly be.
I would like to congratulate you all on a job well done in years that are gone and I wish you many, many successes in the years ahead.
Is iontach an obair atá ar siúl agaibh sa scoil seo agus guím gach rath air san am atá le teacht. Go raibh maith agaibh go léir.