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Remarks at Comoradh Faiche na bhFilí

4th May 2013

Ladies and Gentlemen

I am delighted to be here with you today as you commemorate Faiche na bhFilí, Carraig na bhFear. I would like to thank Máire Ní Riain and University College Cork for inviting me to this event. I also wish to thank all of you for that very warm welcome.

Tá sé beagán le cois caoga bliain ó shin ó nochtaigh duine de mo réamhtheachtaithe mar Uachtarán na hÉireann, ba é sin Éamon de Valera, an leacht cuimhneacháin ‘Faiche na bhFilí’ i lár an tsráidbhaile, chun na filí iomráiteacha, a raibh baint acu leis an gceantar seo, a chomóradh.

Is cúis mhór áthais dom, mar Uachtarán reatha na hÉireann, a bheith anseo chun an phlaic chuimhneacháin seo i gCarraig na bhFear a atiomnú; plaic a chinnteoidh go gcaomhnófar ainmneacha agus cuimhní an iliomad file tábhachtach agus go ndéanfar an oidhreacht iontach a d’fhág siad againn a bhuanú.

[It is just over fifty years since one of my predecessors as Uachtaráin na hÉireann, Eamonn de Valera, unveiled the monument ‘Faiche na bhFilí’ in the centre of the village to commemorate the many distinctive poets associated with this area.]

[It gives me great pleasure, as the current President of Ireland, to be here for the re-dedication of this plaque in Carraig na bhFear - a plaque that ensures the preservation of the names and memories of so many important poets and the perpetuation of the great legacy they have left behind them.]

Today’s event is an important one; an event where we celebrate an integral part of our shared heritage and culture – our native Irish language and the Irish literature for which we are so renowned across the world. It is a shared heritage that lies at the heart of, and in many ways defines, Carraig na bhFear; a place which has been the birth place of some of the most significant poets of the Gaelic tradition and also a place which, during the early part of the twentieth century made its own valuable contribution to the revival of the Irish language.

I have quoted before the words of Douglas de hÍde – the first Uachtaráin na hÉireann and a man who, in many ways, devoted his life to the study and perpetuation of the Irish language -

“Wherever Irish is the vernacular of the people, there live enshrined in it memories and imaginations ……if we allow one of the finest and the richest languages in Europe, which, fifty years ago, was spoken by nearly four millions of Irishmen, to die out without a struggle, it will be an everlasting disgrace.”
Those words are a salutary reminder of how, at one point in our national narrative, we were at risk of letting something which is so central to our identity – our native language – die quietly away; that we almost succumbed to a gradual Anglicisation of our culture, failing to appreciate the richness of our unique and ancient heritage and viewing it, in fact, as something inferior; a heritage less sophisticated than, and subjacent to, the culture of the British Empire that had ruled Ireland for so many years.

It is due to the commitment and dedication of people like Douglas de hÍde and to communities like that of Carraig na bhFear during the early years of our independence, that we found and reclaimed our cultural identity and our pride in that identity, and successfully strove to ensure our language would remain central to Irish culture in a contemporary world.

Today in Ireland we are very proud of our Gaelic traditions and the rich culture which in so many ways defines us as a people and a nation. It is a definition and version of ourselves that has become increasingly important in recent years as we close a chapter on that which has failed us and open a new chapter based on a different version of our Irishness – a more fulfilled version where we seek to redefine the relationship between the economic space, the cultural space and the citizenry.

The difficult times we are currently experiencing has caused us to turn to an older wisdom; to look more closely at our past and how that past should be harnessed to our future if we are to sustain our cultural richness and ensure that the best of our traditions remain living expressions of our heritage; a heritage which must continue to adapt, evolve and remain relevant in a contemporary world. We have been reminded that our culture is based on what we share, creating a sense of solidarity as we craft a future that will be shaped and formed by all that was best about the values and aspirations of previous generations; generations that had their own boundaries to push, their own prejudices to transcend and their own ambitions to leave behind a better world for the generation to come.

Today is a valuable reminder of the debt we owe to our Gaelic bards and of the enduring legacy they have left behind. Not only did those great poets create works of literary beauty which we can still enjoy today; they have also assisted, and indeed continue to assist us, in understanding our world and our place in that world – who we are, where we have come from and also where we are going. I have spoken before of the role of great literature in allowing empathetic access to a reality that otherwise defies comprehension and of the significant role our writers continue to play in ensuring a rich context of explication as we view the events and stories which form the chapters of our national narrative.

It is something that the citizens of Carraig na bhFear clearly understand: that close and intertwining relationship between our heritage and our sense of belonging; and how a sense of identity is rooted in an honest and comprehensive interpretation of all we share. Today we acknowledge some of the great writers whose bodies of work have contributed so much to the cultural richness of the society we inhabit today – writers, such as Ráithíneach Ó Murchú, Micheál Óg Ó Longain, Liam Mac Cairteáin, Ríbeard Breathnach, Donnchadh Ó Floinn and, of course, Tadhg Ó Donnchadha, who was better known as Torna.

These illustrious poets, and all others who contributed to the rich tradition that Carraig na bhFear can be proud of, are commemorated in this lovingly designed monument of Faiche na bhFilí, erected at the instigation of an tAthair Tadhg Ó Murchú, whom some of you will remember as an inspirational priest, full of enthusiasm for all things Irish, and quietly influential in the ways in which he promoted it. I hope that this plaque too will quietly imbue a younger generation of Carraig na bhFear citizens with a love of their Gaelic tradition and culture; and a sense of pride in belonging to a place which has given birth to such a valuable and unique legacy.

I commend the members of the Committee for their hard work in making this day possible and for arranging to have the original Cuimhneachán reprinted to mark today’s occasion. I know you are also planning an event in September to further rekindle interest in the work of our Gaelic poets and to encourage a younger generation to also use their voices and add to the legacy that will be handed on to future generations. I wish you every success with this event and I thank you for all you do to ensure the preservation of, and continued interest in, our great Gaelic literary tradition.
It remains for me to urge you, and especially the young among you, to allow yourselves to be inspired by the past achievements of your fellow parishioners, and respond, like they did, to the demands of your own time in such a way as to ensure that the ‘collective memory’ of the culture and traditions of our people, in this and in other parishes around the country, will be passed on to the generations to come.

Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.