REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE OFFICIAL OPENING
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE ST. JOHNSTON AND CARRIGANS RESOURCE CENTRE
Is cúis mhór áthais dom bheith anseo libh inniu ag an ocáid specialta seo. Tá mé buíoch díbh as an chuireadh agus an fáilte fíorchaoin a chur sibh romham.
It is a great pleasure to be here with you today in St. Johnston and Carrigans Resource Centre. It is an honour to be associated with such a worthwhile initiative and I would like to thank Mary Crossan and Mr. Paul Skinnader for inviting me to perform the official opening of the Centre today.
Since coming to Office, I have had the pleasure of meeting many local community groups from all over the country. I have witnessed the importance of harnessing voluntary effort to improve the quality of life in local communities through sheer hard work, dedication and determination. What all these communities share is the existence of a necessary vision at local level of the needs of a vibrant and developing community – a community that is looking forward and gearing itself to meet the challenges ahead.
Initiatives like the St. Johnston and Carrigans Resource Group form the essential steps in the re-vitalisation of this community. Your work here encapsulates the success achieved from a partnership approach to overcoming the social and economic difficulties experienced by so many communities along the Border. You have realised that the solution to local problems lies first and foremost in the locality – that communities themselves know best what they want. They know too the strength in joining and linking with others in similar situations to work towards common goals – to share common ideals – to pool the resources of experience and wisdom. You have recognised the value in linking up with State and local authorities – of getting support from bodies such as the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation and the North Western Health Board.
The founding committee members – Mr. Derrig Higgins, Chairperson, Mrs. Mary Crossan, Vice-Chairperson, Mrs. Deirdre Browne, Treasurer, Mrs. Frances Browne, Secretary, and Mrs. Nan Lynch stand out as the pioneers in encouraging local people to take the initiative and shape their own future. They also share the common belief that the key to success lies in encouraging and promoting personal development alongside the development of the community. The dignity of those in particularly disadvantaged circumstances is restored every time we ask them what it is they wish for themselves.
Now, more than ever before, we need strong communities with an energetic core of voluntary endeavour. We need a healthy, robust civic spirit, where neighbour outreaches to neighbour. Where individuals spontaneously and generously commit and dedicate themselves to local empowerment, the community grows more confident, more resourceful, better able to withstand the ups and downs of life, better able to use the opportunities that life offers. It is communities like St. Johnston and Carrigans that have invested most in the peace process, because you have been willing to reach out across old boundaries and create new links and shared benefits for all. It is right therefore, that communities like yours should also reap the social and economic benefits of a lasting peace, and face the future with confidence and enthusiasm.
I would like to pay tribute to the many partners who helped bring this Centre to life – the Peace and Reconciliation Fund and the North Western Health Board who provided excellent advice and assistance, and the hardy band of committed volunteers who sparked the whole community to back the project and to dig deep into their pockets to help get this project up and running.
The great strength of the St. Johnston and Carrigans Resource Centre is in the people and groups who participate in it – in the generous sharing of resources and information and in the effective pooling of energy and talent. Each achievement layers up a strong sense of purpose and confidence. These become the fuel that drives you on to new goals.
It is clear that the Centre will be a focal point for the delivery of a range of vital services to the people of the area – primary health care facilities, a pre-school crèche, support groups, among others. As a parent, I understand the value of ensuring that our children grow and learn in a safe, secure and pleasant environment. The Playgroup will provide them with a foundation for accessing further education and employment in their adult years. This is particularly important today, where the concept of life-long learning is now a feature of life in a fast-moving world.
Today is the culmination of a long process of consultation, planning, lobbying, campaigning and fundraising. This official opening is in some way a formal recognition of the tremendous work that has been undertaken by the volunteers of this centre for a number of years. It is fitting therefore that it is taking place in this, the International Year of the Volunteer.
In conclusion, I believe that this facility has the potential to serve the needs of this community for many years to come. It merely remains for me to wish you every success in the future and to thank you once again for inviting me to share this wonderful occasion with you.
I am delighted to declare the St. Johnston and Carrigans Community Resource Centre officially open.
Go raibh maith agaibh go léir.