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Remarks at a Civic Reception

Clonakilty, 5th May 2013

Tá an áthas orm bheith anseo libh inniu. Míle buíochas daoibh as an cuireadh bheith anseo libh agus as an fáilte.

My sincere thanks to Mayor of Clonakilty, Cionnaith Ó Súilleabháin, Town Clerk, Mr Justin England and all the members of Clonakilty Town Council for their kind invitation to visit you here today.

Is onóir mhór liom é cuireadh a fháil chuig an bhFáiltiú Cathartha seo chun Cairt Bhaile Chloich na Coillte, a bronnadh ceithre chéad bliain ó shin, a chomóradh; agus táim ag tnúth le freastal ar an ócáid speisialta atá eagraithe chun an comóradh sin a cheiliúradh tráthnóna i gCearnóg Emmet.

[It is a great honour for me to be invited to this Civic Reception to mark the occasion of the 400th Anniversary of the granting of the Clonakilty Town Charter and I look forward to attending the special event organised to celebrate that anniversary later this afternoon at Emmet Square.]

We know that 400 years ago the first Irish Parliament of King James the First was established after a period of great upheaval in Ireland. The Battle of Kinsale in 1601 was followed a few short years later by the Flight of the Earls and James’ Parliament saw the first all Ireland Parliament albeit that the first parliament in Ireland dates back to at least the mid 13th Century. Clonakilty was one of 43 new boroughs created in early 1613 for the purposes of providing representation to that assembly. At that time, and perhaps not surprisingly, the creation of the
Royal Borough served the needs of a King and the ruling class rather than to provide direct representation for the people and it was the case that the Reformation hadn’t really gained a foothold in Ireland, not least among the Old English themselves, and James needed to remedy this. We have moved a long way indeed in the building of democracy and democratic processes since that time, and Clonakilty can be justly proud of its contribution to this achievement.

Your town is well known for its famous lineage with rich links to poignant times in Ireland’s history. It is the birthplace of Michael Collins, who proved to be an influential and key figure in Ireland’s history, using the democratic mandate of An Chéad Dáil to raise a National Loan, and in the process demonstrating that a revolution can be funded voluntarily when there is support from the public. He was too an influential member of the key group of high-minded founders of our State who set a firm foundation, a platform for our parliamentary democracy, which has demonstrated its robustness since his untimely death 91 years ago.

A few weeks ago, I attended the Easter Rising annual commemoration ceremony at which I laid a wreath at the General Post Office in O’Connell Street, Dublin. The wreath was in honour of all those who died in the 1916 Rising. I know that Clonakilty Town too has commemorated this rich aspect of its revolutionary history by the erecting of the Michael Collins statue by Kevin Holland at
Emmet Square.

The past year for you and for the community of Clonakilty has not been an easy one and I would like to take this opportunity to salute your efforts and those many volunteers who responded to the flooding that hit your town last year and which caused so much damage to property and upset to people. It was a most testing time for the people of Clonakilty and its hinterlands but your citizens showed remarkable resilience and solidarity. Clonakilty worked together, determinedly, utilising important community networks to revive damaged land, houses and businesses, to come back.

The manner with which the town and its environs reacted is a lesson in what true community collaboration, support and neighbourliness really means. Today and in this Town Hall, I would particularly like to take this opportunity to commend the staff of Clonakilty Town Council, Cork County Council, the Emergency Services, Gardaí, the Civil Defence and Red Cross Volunteers who wholeheartedly came to the assistance of their community, local traders and residents in the quick and coordinated response to the severe weather events. This is active citizenship at its best.

The rapid response to the emergency by council staff who were mobilised in the middle of the night within 30 minutes, fires crews from Clonakilty and Dunmanway and in particular the unpaid volunteers of the Civil Defence and Red Cross, was instrumental in minimising the damage done and ensuring there was no loss of life or serious injury sustained.

Giving to our community, strengthening it and protecting it, creates the solidarity that is the core of any true community. To empathise with each other, to support each other, to reach out is the essence of being human. Fortunately for us in Ireland, we have a deep and long tradition of investing our time, our energy, talent and our vision into the fabric of our communities, the very fabric of this nation.
That sense of place and community is very much in evidence here.

We in Ireland have experienced and continue to experience change that has impacted significantly on just about every home and family here in Cork as it has all over our island. Change is often disconcerting, challenging and when it is accompanied with uncertainty about the future or even perhaps a sense of foreboding about the future it presents many challenges for people. In days when our current economic crisis has visited both hardships on people and families but also at times an accompanying negativity at the hands of media and other commentators, it is heartening to see communities pulling together, working together, innovating together to make things better.
I was impressed to learn of initiatives such as the Clonakilty Favour Exchange an impressive response to these recessionary days; to your Random Acts of Kindness Festival; and looking to help those farther afield, Clonakilty’s achieving the accolade of becoming Ireland’s first Fairtrade Town.

At a time when the fundamental debate as to the relationship between creativity, culture and the economy has become increasingly important, the establishment of the Clonakilty Community Arts Centre, under the direction of the talented Courtmacsherry artist Deirdre Keohane is testament to the investment Clonakilty is prepared to make in a cultural space that can be shared by all of its citizens; and to its desire to bring the arts right into the heart of the community, ensuring they can be shared by all.

The complex web of our society is held in place by contributions from many sources, including by local government, in both its representative and service provision roles. From my own experience as a public representative in different capacities over many years, I know that you will be very conscious of the responsibility that comes to bear, most importantly among them, the extent to which as public representatives we review how our public services meet the needs of the people, and where possible to make the improvements necessary to meet changing needs.

By drawing on the expertise and wisdom of the community and voluntary sector, local people and the local development bodies, communities such as here in Clonakilty can re-imagine and in their own way re-create our future, and create a more sustainable, ethical model of economy which is connected to society in a just and citizen focused manner.

It has been a privilege to visit here on what is a very special occasion. I am very grateful Mayor, Councillors and staff of Clonakilty Town Council for your kindness in hosting this Civic Reception and I look forward to meeting you all again with members of the local community later in Emmet Square.

Is iontach an obair atá ar siúl agaibh anseo. Go n-éirí go geal libh sna blianta atá romhainn ‘s go raibh maith agaibh go léir.