ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE OPENING OF CLONASLEE COMMUNITY RESOURCE
ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE OPENING OF CLONASLEE COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTRE ON SATURDAY 4 APRIL
I’d like to start by thanking Chris Horan and the Clonaslee Community Development Association for inviting me to perform the opening ceremony of your new Community Resource Centre and the Children’s Section of the Branch Library at the Heritage Centre. This new centre is a place of your own where you can meet, as a community. Projects such as this are never easy to complete, and I expect that there were a few obstacles on the road to fulfilling this dream – a dream which took off when the former Protestant Church came on the market in early 1991.
The very fact that we are all here today is a reflection, I think, of how the community of Clonaslee have come together with a clear focus and determination to build a facility for everyone. It is a sign, I think, of a healthy community – an extended family if you like – of brotherhood and sisterhood – where there is mutual support and caring - where the members of the family, or of the community, have a need for each other – their help, their company - and where they pool their resources to work, not for themselves, but for each other. In the process, new bonds have been established and old bonds have been renewed. This is really what community is all about - the very practical manifestation of the true community spirit for which we are renowned.
So this is indeed a great occasion – an occasion when you have come together to celebrate a great community achievement – an occasion when you can appreciate just what can be done through determination and hard work, but mostly through faith in yourselves and your ability to make it work!
I know that the Community Resource Centre will be a real focal point for the 1,200 or so people of Clonaslee. I know too that there’s a strong concern for all sections of the community – the young, the old and the disabled – and this is reflected in the facilities at the Centre such as the Co-operative Playgroup – the Summer Camp – kitchen facilities for the Social Services – and the making available of the Centre for the Laois Wheelchair Association and the Agricultural Show. I am also aware that the Community Council has donated a free two-acre site for the construction of Clonaslee Vocation School – the arrival of which will make it a comprehensive centre of community activity in Clonaslee.
A major factor in Ireland’s great economic and social success stems from the partnership approach - which is a feature in so many areas of life. But of course there’s nothing new in this – it always has been a feature of Irish life for neighbour to help neighbour - and friend to help friend - especially when an extra pair of hands were needed. Nowadays not only are “willing hands” welcome, but also open and creative minds with new ideas, to help and support communities as they come together to harness their strengths and talents for the good of all, such as in the parish level support of local development initiatives. Clearly the efforts of the Clonaslee Community Council are making a real and noticeable difference - and Clonaslee’s achievements are the result of the involvement, motivation and enthusiasm of all the local people. And there is a new spirit in Ireland – a self-confidence in our abilities – a “can do” philosophy – which is bringing us to new levels of achievement.
I know that many of you here today share my hope that your new centre will be used by as many people as possible from the Clonaslee area. You already have a number of very active voluntary groups working in the parish, and I’m sure that this new building will inspire and encourage more people to drop by – or more importantly perhaps, to join in! I’m sure there’s no shortage of ideas – and isn’t there one of those law’s of science that says something like “the number of activities in a new community centre expands rapidly to fill all the space and time available”! But isn’t that what it’s all about!
Judging by the time, effort and commitment you have given to get this far, I have no doubt that this will be a living, vibrant Centre long into the future – a credit to the energy and generosity of you, the community of Clonaslee. The Community Council have done a superb job and I would like to commend them on what the have achieved. And I would like also to pay tribute to the people of the area who assisted the Council in their work by their on-going support and generous contributions towards the financing of the centre.
I wish you all every success as you continue your work in caring for your neighbour and I have no doubt that this Centre, by being a focal point where people can meet and interact, will be an inspiration to many within the community and in other communities, to follow your lead, to reach out for new goals and to work with renewed confidence for their own community.
ENDS