REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE LAUNCH OF THE “JEANIE JOHNSTON”
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE LAUNCH OF THE “JEANIE JOHNSTON” FENIT, CO. KERRY ON SUNDAY, 7TH MAY, 2000
It’s a very special delight to be here in Fenit today to officially launch the “Jeanie Johnston”. This month two years ago I came to Blennerville to lay the keel of the ship. That day marked the start of an ambitious and imaginative shipbuilding and fund-raising programme. Since then I have become Patron of the project and I have of course been, if you’ll forgive the pun, eagerly “charting” its development in the meanwhile. And what an achievement we are gathered today to celebrate.
The building of this new twenty-first century Jeanie Johnson took place in an Ireland of hope, opportunity and growing prosperity but the inspiration of this project grew from a desire to commemorate a defining moment in our history, an altogether different time in the middle of the eighteenth century when the Irish people knew the meaning of dread and terror and abandonment.
Hardly a parish escaped the grim shadows of the Famine. It brought death and disease. For hundreds of thousands the only glimmer of hope lay in the emigrant ship and even then the label “coffin ships” hides a story of cruel suffering and hopes dashed.
But unlike those infamous “coffin ships” of the period, the original Jeanie Johnston never lost a passenger to disease, or to the sea. Amidst so much trouble and hardship, so much to drag down the human spirit, the story of this ship and her passengers brought hope and encouragement. Today so many generations later we take pride in the struggles of our emigrants, their courage and endurance when stretched mentally, physically and spiritually to the limits. We know how hard they fought for a new future, a new destiny, and how they, their children and grandchildren built new communities, new countries, while keeping the name of Ireland close to their hearts. They kept faith with this country through their hard-earned cents and dollars, through their fidelity to Irish music and culture, through their encouragement right down to the present day. This project is a tribute to the courage and spirit to succeed of all those emigrants. It is a celebration of their success and that of subsequent generations of Irish emigrants who have made such a tremendous contribution to American and Canadian life in all its rich diversity.
Now as we gather to name this ship, it is significant that this event coincides with the 150th anniversary of the ending of the Famine. We have found that by remembering the past, far from opening up old wounds, we are learning to come to terms with it, to heal those scars. And so it is also appropriate that this project, which is such a potent symbol of cross-border, cross-community and trans-national co-operation, has been dubbed the “ship of peace”.
For the past two years, with the assistance of FÁS and the International Fund for Ireland, it has brought almost 200 young people together from all over Ireland - from both the Unionist and Nationalist traditions in the North, from Dublin and Kerry, (who would sometimes claim an equally strong divide) as well as from Europe, the United States and Canada. Under the Wider Horizons program, these young people have worked with an international team of skilled shipwrights. A group of experienced carpenters and apprentices also travelled from North America with the support of their unions and the Ancient Order of Hibernians to lend a helping hand. And Canadian support for the project has been tremendous, with considerable fundraising support by Toronto’s Irish community and the donation of the ship’s wheel by Quebec’s provincial Government. In addition to the building work, a team of young people from both North and South will also help to crew the vessel on her 13,000 mile Millennium Voyage and tour of North America.
That international effort speaks volumes for the incredible level of goodwill that this project has generated. A great many organisations and individuals deserve credit for their contribution. The idea of building a replica of the Jeanie Johnston at Blennerville had been under consideration for many years. What turned that vision into reality was the collective energies of the Jeanie Johnston Memorial Committee, whose members represent the community, business, voluntary and local state sectors in Tralee. That local energy, married to the resources and commitment of development agencies and supporters at local, national and international level proved to be an unbeatable combination.
Right from the early development stage the project has been a visitor attraction with thousands of people flocking to see the ship under construction. It is a triumph of community enterprise and public/private partnership and just the latest successful initiative in the development of Tralee and Blennerville as a major cultural and tourist centre. I warmly applaud all those who have been involved in all those efforts.
The Jeanie Johnston will set sail for America and Canada later this month, visiting over 20 cities on her Millennium voyage. That voyage will represent all the Irish Emigrant ships that sailed from Irish Ports. The ship and her crew will radiate the new, prosperous, forward-looking Ireland that is proud to remember its past and looks with hope towards a peaceful future. The hand of destiny has decreed that the Jeanie Johnson of the third millennium will arrive in the United States at the same time as our State employment agencies are on a tour of America and Canada, recruiting skilled workers to come to Ireland to fill the job vacancies in a buoyant and successful economy. Could there be any better thank you to those whose love of Ireland, whose belief in the genius of its people, never waned through the worst of times?
I would like to congratulate Dr. Henry Lyons and John Griffin who have been the driving forces behind the project. They are first to admit that it would not be possible without the dedicated support of the other members of the team who have given so generously of their time and commitment to make all of this possible. I wish them every success for the future.
And now, it gives me great pleasure to formally launch this ship of peace and goodwill ‘the Jeanie Johnston’. God Bless her and all who sail in her.