Remarks at the East Clare Community Co-Operative Society Limited 25th Anniversary
14th June 2012
A Chairde go léir, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Tá áthas orm a bheith anseo inniu chun ceiliúradh a lá breithe hoifigiúil ar an 25ú de Oirthear an Chláir Co-op. Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil le Fionnuala Collins agus an fhoireann Oirthear an Chláir Co-opbaill, Scariff as an gcuireadh teacht anseo.
I am delighted to be here today to officially mark the 25th birthday of East Clare Co-op. I would like to thank Fionnuala Collins and the staff of East Clare Co-op, Scariff for their kind invitation to officiate.
I would also like to add my welcome to those of you who are here today and to extend a special word to those who are unable to be here but have contributed to the development of the co-operative and your services over the years.
In your letter of invitation you mentioned the foundation of the co-operative in September 1987 as the Coleen Bridge Co-operative with the aim of creating a Steiner based primary school. This is now an independent initiative and is joined by a secondary school and a preschool.
A few years later, in 1991, long before others around the country, the East Clare Community Cooperative established itself as an independent co-operative with a focus on training, local capacity building and enterprise support for environmentally sustainable social and business initiatives.
Subsequently, the energy of your board and members were put to use in developing and attracting a range of services to Scariff and this part of East Clare and in the creation of this co-operative. Today, you can demonstrate the fruition of this work in services as varied as the support for families in the area, the innovative approaches you have to including the members of your community, and in the strong linkages and common work you undertake with other agencies and organisations.
You are to be congratulated for your foresight in those early years and for your fortitude over these 25 years, some of which, more recently, have been extremely challenging. The values of the co-operative movement are now critical in overcoming these difficult economic times and those in the cooperative movement can now be leaders in the economic and social transformation we are seeking.
Clearly, we cannot go back to doing things in the same way as we did before. We need new models of working together that will transcend the shortcomings of our recent experience. It is – at face value – somewhat paradoxical, but very hopeful and uplifting, that at a time of economic crisis and setback in national self-confidence that community based initiatives such as the cooperative movement are growing in strength in terms of activity and citizen participation.
In the new social economy we will need models like the co-operative model which encourage people to work together using their talents, to proactively participate and contribute in their community, models constructed on the basis of collective welfare, which operate on the principles of solidarity, partnership and collaborative endeavour.
Your success is testament to the roles that the co-operative movement has played and can play in our future in the development of key sectors and institutions in Ireland.
You are celebrating your 25th anniversary in what the United Nations has designated the International Year of the Co-operative. This was declared by the United Nations to draw attention to and encourage action on major issues and to raise public awareness of the invaluable contributions of co-operative enterprises to poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration. The Year will also highlight the strengths of the co-operative model as an alternative means of doing business and furthering socioeconomic development and social cohesion.
As you have displayed here in Scariff and East Clare, harnessing this potential has allowed you to address a number of social and quality of life issues such as those arising from long commutes, isolation and lack of community facilities.
While today is about East Clare Community Co-operative, it is always useful to look back at where the co-operative movement originated in Ireland and mark its development, of which this celebration is part of today.
Some of the earlier examples of co-operative societies can be found not too far from here. Indeed, I know claims are made that the first co-operative was founded in 1831 on the estate of John Vandeleur at Ralahine, Co. Clare. Although it was to end in failure after only two years of operations, it does add to the heritage of the co-operatives and their development.
Indeed one of Ireland’s great philosophers, the egalitarian William Thompson (1775-1833) visited Ralahine and was so moved by the goals and methods of the co-operative movement that he decided to will his large West Cork estate to the cooperative movement.
More generally it is recognised that the co-operative approach as a national movement was founded in Ireland by Sir Horace Plunkett in the late 1880s. The first dairy co-operative was formed, again not too far from here, in Dromcollagher County Limerick following a long campaign by Plunkett in persuading Irish farmers that pooling resource and strength in numbers, was the only way for them to survive.
The Irish Co-operative Society (ICOS) followed as did Credit Unions with the establishment of agricultural credit societies at the end of the nineteenth century and later the forerunning of the Irish Countrywomen’s Association (ICA) and our building societies began to flourish. Thompson, William (1825) , Appeal of One Half of the Human Race, Women, Against the Pretensions of the Other Half, Men, to Retain them in Political, and thence in Civil and Domestic Slavery Longman, Hurst Rees,Orme, Brown & Green: London
Today, there are some 1,400 co-operatives active across the country. The agricultural co-operatives are by far the largest sector with a combined turnover to be of the region of €12 billion with some 150,000 individual members, employing 12,000 people in Ireland, and a further 24,000 people overseas (ICOS estimates).
While the East Clare Community Co-operative does not operate on anything like these scales, I want to note that the essential elements of that co-operative spirit and approach guide your work to this day. You claim an inclusive approach is central to and underpins your work and that every person in the community is welcome to be part of what you do.
Indeed, from the range of services you have brought to Scariff, it is clear that the Board are constantly seeking opportunities and new partnerships, be they the counselling services that are provided with the support of the Family Support Agency, the bookshop and coffee room with the support of the community employment programme, or the other varied operations that are supported by the community services programme.
In marking your own anniversary and the International Year of the Co-operatives, I would like to quote the United Nations Secretary General, Ban-Ki-Moon when he said at the launch of the year long event that “Co-operatives are a reminder to the international community that it is possible to pursue both economic viability and social responsibility.”
Your work here is true to what the Secretary General said and to the early dreams of visionaries like Thompson and Plunkett. The challenges that we in Ireland wrestle with today are not dissimilar in their extent or need of solution as those facing the people of Ralahine or farmers at the end of the nineteenth century.
I congratulate you for all you have done in the past 25 years and for the contribution you have made and continue to make for the people of Scariff and the surrounding area. The vision, drive and tenacity have served this community well.
Is é an tábhacht a bhaineann le hoibrithe deonacha ar an rath a bhí ar Oirthear an Chláir Co op criticiúil agus ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis na daoine go léir a thabhairt suas a gcuid ama saor chun tacú le raon ollmhór de ghníomhaíocht dheonach agus pobail.
(The importance of volunteers to the success of East Clare Co op is critical and I would like to thank the many people who give up their free time to support a huge range of voluntary and community activity.)
Is iontach an obair ata ar siúl agaibh. Comghairdeachas libh sa blian speisialta agus stairiúil seo.
Go raibh maith agaibh go léir.