President praises sense of community in Dunshaughlin

The sense of community evident in Dunshaughlin, where a welcome was always provided to 'the stranger', was commended by the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, when she opened two new facilities in the town last Wednesday. Mrs McAleese officially opened the new pastoral centre in the grounds of Dunshaughlin Church and the First Steps Childcare Centre on the Lagore Road. The pastoral centre, a parish project to provide meeting facilities for parish groups and organisations, was described as "an antidote to all that is depressing, burdensome and despairing at the moment" by President McAleese. "This is a shot in the arm showing us what we are capable of at a time when we are talking about money problems and recession," she added. "This place will help people through tough times in their lives - to shorten the road," she said. "There is nothing truer in life than we need each other's company, we need to live, work and look out for each other." She said that, in bad times, we ask ourselves what are we made of, and how do we respond to what's going on about us? The needs can be too great to sit back and let someone else do it and, five years ago, the pastoral council in Dunshaughlin decided to create a new parish centre, a hub. "It cost €2 million, and they had no money at the start," she said, adding that it took a united community spirit to develop it, with input from the Bishop of Meath, and business and local people. "The centre will create a space for young and old , and thank goodness the committee didn't walk away from a good idea," the President said. "And it is being sustained by generosity of those volunteering and giving their time." Mrs McAleese said that when she came to live in Dunshaughlin in 1977, with her husband Martin, and father-in-law, Charlie, the people of Dunshaughlin opened their homes and their hearts to them. "You don't want to live as a stranger among strangers, and you don't know when you move to a new place, what it will be like, but what made it for us in Dunshaughlin was the welcome," she recalled. Mrs McAleese said her children grew up there and that her first meetings with local people were through the local Church community, at choir and Mass. "I thank everyone who has made this community so vibrant. I'm dead proud of this centre, and of the people of Dunshaughlin," said the President. She said it was wonderful to see how the place had developed, and how the community had responded by making all newcomers welcome. And she said that at a time when there was a change in the Catholic Church, and the lack of a stream of priests coming through, it showed that people wanted to share the burden and that the laity wanted to become involved in partnership with the clergy. "There's huge evidence here that people want to be involved." Mrs McAleese was welcomed by the chairperson of the pastoral council, Kathryn Delany, and the parish priest of Dunshaughlin and Culmullen, Fr Joe Clavin. Mrs Delany said it was great to have the president back in Dunshaughlin once again and that the community felt very close to her, as was evidenced by the many familiar faces the President recognised and greeted. She paid tribute to the work of the President and her husband on the Northern Ireland peace process and hoped that there would be a successful conclusion to the ongoing talks. Fr Clavin said that the President's visit would be an inspiration to the fostering of the faith in the community which the centre was part of. He presented her with a painting of nearby Killeen Castle by artist Jacinta Eiffe, and a book outlining the history of the castle by Mary Rose Carty. Later, the President was welcomed to the First Steps Childcare Centre in Lagore, by its chairperson Ellen Cogavin. The ceremony began with a blessing by Fr Clavin, after the president visited all the children in their various rooms. Mrs McAleese recalled a saying of her grandmother's, that 'what was learned in childhood was engraved in stone', saying how important a child's formative years were. "And no-one is going to hand a child over to another human being if there's no faith in the trust and credibility of that person," she added. She paid tribute to the not-for-profit childcare facility which was built locally, and said it was all the more important when people were under pressure, and young families were under pressure. "There is someone to help carry that burden, and share the responsibility of bringing up a child. Children are the future and the enrichment of our communities." Echoing her earlier comments at the pastoral centre, Mrs McAleese said it was great to see a place where people looked out for everybody else. There was a growth of houses, and a growth of families, but also a growth of community. Mrs McAleese was presented with flowers by local children Amy Fitzsimons and Callum McCarthy following the opening ceremony.