IRISH PRESIDENT APPLAUDS VALIANT OMAGH COMMUNITY DURING VISIT
Irish president applauds valiant Omagh community during visit
by Karen McPhilemy
IRISH PRESIDENT Mrs. Mary McAleese has praised the people of Omagh for the way they came through what she described as the 'dark days of the recent past'.
Speaking during her visit to the town on Thursday last the President described the Omagh community as 'valiant'.
Mrs McAleese arrived in Omagh with her husband to visit the both the Centre for Migration Studies at the Ulster American Folk Park and the Tara Counselling and Development Centre at Campsie in the town.
During her visit to the Tara Centre, the President and her husband were given a guided tour including the art therapy room, meditation room, and the other areas of work facilitated there to help local people cope with emotional scars.
In thanking the President for her keen interest in the development of the Tara Centre since it was established, a presentation was made to her of a framed painting of the stained glass window in the meditation room.
And during the visit the President was entertained by an array of singers and dancers.
Established in 1996, the Tara centre has worked endlessly to heal emotional wounds caused by the Omagh bomb in August 1998. Mrs McAleese described the work and services at the centre as invaluable to the local community.
"The day-to-day business of the centre is driven by deeply held values, beliefs and a respect for the dignity of the individual. No one is turned away, no problem is too great or too small and everyone who comes here for help does so in the knowledge that they come to a warm and welcoming place where their privacy will be respected and importantly where their story matters."
Renewed hope
Praising the efforts of the centre in healing the emotional wounds of those still suffering as a result of the bomb Mrs McAleese said: "The centre has witnessed difficult times in the last few years but has also touched many lives, offering the same unconditional comfort and support together with renewed hope for the future.
"The darkest of those dark days came in August, 1998. when terror and unimaginable pain and suffering were inflicted so swiftly and unexpectedly on the people of Omagh. The staff of the Tara Centre were there at that awful time to offer what solace they could and help begin the long journey of healing that continues to this day," she said.
Needless hurt
Mrs. McAleese referred to Omagh as a place scarred by needless hurt, wanton waste of human life and a place of many tragic victims, some visibly scarred, some psychologically and emotionally scarred.
"And, of course, while the victims of Omagh's grim violence are all too easily called to mind, life produces many other victims across a huge range of everyday experiences and they too need a helping hand. In fact the awful tragedy is that everyday life brings its own awesome range of overwhelming problems whatever the political climate," she said.
Mrs McAleese paid special tribute to Maura Twohig and Mary Daly, founders of the centre.
Praising the staff on their great determination and tireless work to offer a trustworthy helping hand and expert support and advice, Mrs McAleese said she found it encouraging to witness the wide range of innovative personal development programmes available at the centre.
She defined each one a personal pathway for someone to cope better with the challenges and stresses that 'our fast-moving, fast-changing world serves up to us.'
Over recent months the centre has overseen the completion of the extension and refurbishment of the adjoining property, something that Mrs McAleese believes will leave the centre 'even better positioned to respond to the needs of the community that is already met so well.'
Throughout her speech she commended the close relationship between the centre and the Dundery Centre in Co.Meath.
"The sharing of skills and experience cross-border is an essential part of ensuring we use all the resources we have available for the good of all the people on this island".
Stressing that 'our children' must not sit in classrooms learning of yet another century of past mistakes and missed opportunities, Mrs McAleese emphasised the importance that Omagh plays in the new future.
"It has paid already too dear a price for it, but the people of this valiant community have given courage and determination to many others to stay focused on building a culture of tolerance, respect and understanding because life has taught us a bitter lesson - that there is no other humanly decent way."
In her speech Mrs McAleese recited an eloquent and fitting poem by T S Elliot: "Footfalls echo in the memory, down the passage which we did not take, towards the door we never opened into the rose-garden.
"We have followed the passage and found our way to the rose-garden. Now we have to plant it, seed it, nurture it," she said.
Folk Park
Following her much appreciated visit to the centre, she then moved on to the Centre for Migration Studies at the Ulster American Folk Park.
Mrs McAleese last visited there in November 1996 as Professor McAleese, Pro Vice-Chancellor of Queen's University in charge of outreach.
As someone who had been responsible for setting up the Master of Social Science degree in Irish Migration Studies, now taught in the Centre in association with Queen's, Mrs McAleese expressed her delight at returning to the centre.
Welcoming her arrival was lecturer on the course, Dr Paddy Fitzgerald, who said: "The MSSc in Irish Migration Studies, really does represent a local-global link, with third level study at the University Outreach Centre focusing on the Irish who have migrated across the globe in the last four centuries. We are very grateful to the President for her energy and commitment in promoting the idea of outreach, during her tenure as Pro Vice-Chancellor at Queens."
The director of the Centre for Migration Studios. Dr Brian Lampkin, said "We are delighted that President McAleese has returned to see for herself how successful our Masters course in Irish Migration Studies has proved since she helped to establish it in 1996.
"Now, more than ever before perhaps, it is important for us all to be confidently, and creatively engaged with our migration history, culture and heritage. We are greatly heartened by the example which the President sets as she travels throughout the Irish Diaspora and especially by her kind words of encouragement today," he said.
Mrs McAleese congratulated those at the centre on conserving a rich heritage and network of friendship and solidarity in the contemporary Irish and Scottish-Irish diasporas.
"This centre is a place which values the story of the individual, the man, woman or child, whose name never made news headlines but whose lives layered up the landscape we inherited.
"One of the defining stories of this island's history is the story of emigration and it is that story which your centre SO eloquently documents and responds to the demands and the impulses of their times. The tradition of emigration is found in both the Irish and Ulster Scots strands of life on this island and so, regardless of which claims us. there is an opportunity to draw on the deep and collective memory of emigration, to share our understanding of the forces which made people leave and to share our admiration for the fortitude, ingenuity and courage of our ancestors." she said.
Global family
The President continued: "Today Ireland knows the strength of a global family which has turned the tragedy of emigration into a huge success story. So many lives were vindicated once their talents met opportunity. And so they moved the story on from hardship to hope," she said.
Mrs McAleese, who has travelled to many parts of the world where emigrants of all traditions on this island have created a new history, described the work of the centre as a vital link to the global community and a crucial resource for those looking to access credible information about their heritage.
"Many of the visitors who come here do so to search out and affirm their heritage of descent and to reinforce their unique sense of identity - an identity which time and distance never seem to obliterate," she said.
Throughout her speech she emphasised the role played by emigrants from Ulster in other areas of the world and the importance of study of the subject.
Mrs McAleese unveiled a plaque in the centre and was then presented with a framed photograph of herself and others taken during her last visit to the centre in 1996.
by Karen McPhilemy
IRISH PRESIDENT Mrs. Mary McAleese has praised the people of Omagh for the way they came through what she described as the 'dark days of the recent past'.
Speaking during her visit to the town on Thursday last the President described the Omagh community as 'valiant'.
Mrs McAleese arrived in Omagh with her husband to visit the both the Centre for Migration Studies at the Ulster American Folk Park and the Tara Counselling and Development Centre at Campsie in the town.
During her visit to the Tara Centre, the President and her husband were given a guided tour including the art therapy room, meditation room, and the other areas of work facilitated there to help local people cope with emotional scars.
In thanking the President for her keen interest in the development of the Tara Centre since it was established, a presentation was made to her of a framed painting of the stained glass window in the meditation room.
And during the visit the President was entertained by an array of singers and dancers.
Established in 1996, the Tara centre has worked endlessly to heal emotional wounds caused by the Omagh bomb in August 1998. Mrs McAleese described the work and services at the centre as invaluable to the local community.
"The day-to-day business of the centre is driven by deeply held values, beliefs and a respect for the dignity of the individual. No one is turned away, no problem is too great or too small and everyone who comes here for help does so in the knowledge that they come to a warm and welcoming place where their privacy will be respected and importantly where their story matters."
Renewed hope
Praising the efforts of the centre in healing the emotional wounds of those still suffering as a result of the bomb Mrs McAleese said: "The centre has witnessed difficult times in the last few years but has also touched many lives, offering the same unconditional comfort and support together with renewed hope for the future.
"The darkest of those dark days came in August, 1998. when terror and unimaginable pain and suffering were inflicted so swiftly and unexpectedly on the people of Omagh. The staff of the Tara Centre were there at that awful time to offer what solace they could and help begin the long journey of healing that continues to this day," she said.
Needless hurt
Mrs. McAleese referred to Omagh as a place scarred by needless hurt, wanton waste of human life and a place of many tragic victims, some visibly scarred, some psychologically and emotionally scarred.
"And, of course, while the victims of Omagh's grim violence are all too easily called to mind, life produces many other victims across a huge range of everyday experiences and they too need a helping hand. In fact the awful tragedy is that everyday life brings its own awesome range of overwhelming problems whatever the political climate," she said.
Mrs McAleese paid special tribute to Maura Twohig and Mary Daly, founders of the centre.
Praising the staff on their great determination and tireless work to offer a trustworthy helping hand and expert support and advice, Mrs McAleese said she found it encouraging to witness the wide range of innovative personal development programmes available at the centre.
She defined each one a personal pathway for someone to cope better with the challenges and stresses that 'our fast-moving, fast-changing world serves up to us.'
Over recent months the centre has overseen the completion of the extension and refurbishment of the adjoining property, something that Mrs McAleese believes will leave the centre 'even better positioned to respond to the needs of the community that is already met so well.'
Throughout her speech she commended the close relationship between the centre and the Dundery Centre in Co.Meath.
"The sharing of skills and experience cross-border is an essential part of ensuring we use all the resources we have available for the good of all the people on this island".
Stressing that 'our children' must not sit in classrooms learning of yet another century of past mistakes and missed opportunities, Mrs McAleese emphasised the importance that Omagh plays in the new future.
"It has paid already too dear a price for it, but the people of this valiant community have given courage and determination to many others to stay focused on building a culture of tolerance, respect and understanding because life has taught us a bitter lesson - that there is no other humanly decent way."
In her speech Mrs McAleese recited an eloquent and fitting poem by T S Elliot: "Footfalls echo in the memory, down the passage which we did not take, towards the door we never opened into the rose-garden.
"We have followed the passage and found our way to the rose-garden. Now we have to plant it, seed it, nurture it," she said.
Folk Park
Following her much appreciated visit to the centre, she then moved on to the Centre for Migration Studies at the Ulster American Folk Park.
Mrs McAleese last visited there in November 1996 as Professor McAleese, Pro Vice-Chancellor of Queen's University in charge of outreach.
As someone who had been responsible for setting up the Master of Social Science degree in Irish Migration Studies, now taught in the Centre in association with Queen's, Mrs McAleese expressed her delight at returning to the centre.
Welcoming her arrival was lecturer on the course, Dr Paddy Fitzgerald, who said: "The MSSc in Irish Migration Studies, really does represent a local-global link, with third level study at the University Outreach Centre focusing on the Irish who have migrated across the globe in the last four centuries. We are very grateful to the President for her energy and commitment in promoting the idea of outreach, during her tenure as Pro Vice-Chancellor at Queens."
The director of the Centre for Migration Studios. Dr Brian Lampkin, said "We are delighted that President McAleese has returned to see for herself how successful our Masters course in Irish Migration Studies has proved since she helped to establish it in 1996.
"Now, more than ever before perhaps, it is important for us all to be confidently, and creatively engaged with our migration history, culture and heritage. We are greatly heartened by the example which the President sets as she travels throughout the Irish Diaspora and especially by her kind words of encouragement today," he said.
Mrs McAleese congratulated those at the centre on conserving a rich heritage and network of friendship and solidarity in the contemporary Irish and Scottish-Irish diasporas.
"This centre is a place which values the story of the individual, the man, woman or child, whose name never made news headlines but whose lives layered up the landscape we inherited.
"One of the defining stories of this island's history is the story of emigration and it is that story which your centre SO eloquently documents and responds to the demands and the impulses of their times. The tradition of emigration is found in both the Irish and Ulster Scots strands of life on this island and so, regardless of which claims us. there is an opportunity to draw on the deep and collective memory of emigration, to share our understanding of the forces which made people leave and to share our admiration for the fortitude, ingenuity and courage of our ancestors." she said.
Global family
The President continued: "Today Ireland knows the strength of a global family which has turned the tragedy of emigration into a huge success story. So many lives were vindicated once their talents met opportunity. And so they moved the story on from hardship to hope," she said.
Mrs McAleese, who has travelled to many parts of the world where emigrants of all traditions on this island have created a new history, described the work of the centre as a vital link to the global community and a crucial resource for those looking to access credible information about their heritage.
"Many of the visitors who come here do so to search out and affirm their heritage of descent and to reinforce their unique sense of identity - an identity which time and distance never seem to obliterate," she said.
Throughout her speech she emphasised the role played by emigrants from Ulster in other areas of the world and the importance of study of the subject.
Mrs McAleese unveiled a plaque in the centre and was then presented with a framed photograph of herself and others taken during her last visit to the centre in 1996.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/0966
Published Date: 13-Dec-01
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