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SPEECH FOR PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE BI-CENTENARY CELEBRATION

SPEECH FOR PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE BI-CENTENARY CELEBRATION OF PRESENTATION SISTERS IN WATERFORD

I am delighted to be in Waterford and to be joining you in celebrating two hundred years of the Presentation Nuns in this City – and commemorating a group of dedicated professionals who, over many generations, have given so many that vital necessity to make a start in life – a good education. Earlier I visited Newtown school to join them in celebrating their bi-centenary – and made the point that on an occasion such as this it is worth looking back to get an appreciation of how much has happened in two centuries – how much society has changed – and how the school has adapted and changed to meet the differing circumstances that history has brought its way.

I made the point that in 1798 Ireland was a vastly different place to what it is today – that it was a turbulent time – with the Rebellion and its aftermath – and the changing status of Ireland as part of the British Empire. It was an age when new concepts of liberalism, which has spawned the American and French Revolutions, and the 1798 Rebellion here in Ireland, were being reflected in other aspects of society. On the one hand, Waterford was a relatively prosperous place with a busy port and a substantial business community. Yet we know that there were substantial numbers of people who suffered extreme poverty and deprivation in a society where the concept of a welfare system had not even been dreamt of.

But when you consider that Waterford had the Presentation Sisters, the Quakers School at Newtown – and later the Christian Brothers founded by Edmund Rice – you get a picture of they kind of spirit that prevailed in Waterford – where there was a realisation of the value of education – and where there were people who had the sense of duty and commitment to see that those who were less well off could also gain access to a basic education with which they could move on to better things.

The visible legacy of generations of the Presentation Sisters is all around us in the convent and school buildings - in every cross in the nuns’ graveyard, each one with a story to tell, each a symbol of inspiration and dedication and struggle during those 200 years. Their legacy also dwells in the generations of those whose lives have been so enhanced by education – who have been given the chance to blossom and develop to their full potential by the Presentation Sisters here in Waterford. And the students of today, you too are part of that long and proud Presentation tradition.

Outside these walls in the communities that today make up Waterford City, I know that many individuals and families still turn to the Sisters for friendship and support, especially in their hour of need – and that they are still received in that spirit of generosity and Christian love for which the Sisters are renowned.

It is difficult for us to picture the extent of the hardship and poverty which existed in the City when the first three Presentation Sisters arrived here in 1798 - having taken three days to come from Cork, and having to avoid an ambush outside Kilmacthomas. Contemporary reports from the State Commissioners and the Attorney-General tell us of 500 people dying from disease and malnutrition in one parish in one day; that fewer than one third of the population had even one blanket in their houses to keep them warm; that education could be had only by a very privileged few who could afford private tuition or travel to the continent; that children roamed the streets hungry, barefoot, ragged, with no education whatsoever.

The fact that these conditions are so alien to us today is in a large way attributable to those early Presentation Sisters – who gave example to others to take up that cause. The courageous politicians and public officials who, in the earlier decades of this century, joined in that challenge of opening up education were continuing in that tradition – and in doing so laid the foundation for the prosperous Ireland that we celebrate today. Two hundred year ago it took a few very remarkable people to see beyond their own comfort and do something about the intolerable situation.

Setting up a convent at that time was a highly significant event on many levels. It became a centre for Catholic life in the city - and on one occasion was used by Daniel O’Connell for a meeting. In its chapel, ten years after the arrival of the Sisters, Ignatius Rice and his companions took their religious vows establishing the Irish Christian Brothers, based on the Presentation Rule. But its greatest significance was that for the first time it provided free education for all girls in the area. It falls to us, two centuries later, to recognise and acknowledge the extraordinary historical significance of their work.

Through the years these walls have witnessed eager young women entering the congregation - their training, their profession to the religious life, their unselfish work, their celebrations, their sad partings and their final farewells. From this convent, sisters have gone to areas of need in Zimbabwe, Zambia, the U.S., Slovakia and the Philippines. Most of all, they have given hundreds of life-times of service to the people of Waterford.

Two centuries on, your mission statement describes your school as a “Catholic school for girls”, affirming your continuing identity and values. The experience of 200 years of living these values allows you to continue to reach out confidently, acknowledging in that mission statement “the unique dignity of each person”, and yet to share and co-operate with those who differ.

We commend your parish work, your initiatives in the community, your on-going work in education at home and abroad. We salute, too, all those who work with you in these fields - and we support you in your living of the Religious Life in an ever more complex world. The inspiration, courage and dedication of the pioneers of 200 years ago are still needed today.

In congratulating you I am delighted to join with all your friends who wish you well in the many new challenges facing you, as you being your third century in this city.

Comhgháirdeas libh go léir. Rath Dé ar an obair. Go maire sibh i bhfad.