A dhaoine uaisle go léir. Is cúis áthais dom a bheith in bhur dteannta i bPáirc an Chrocaigh ar an ócáid iontach seo i saol Chlub Naomh Olaf.
Little did Bill O’Brien from Castlemaine in County Kerry and Mick Browne from Cabra realise when they established a GAA Club in the emerging parish of Balally, that almost 25 years later, their successors would be hosting corporate lunches in this magnificent stadium.
What brought Bill O’Brien, Mick Browne and others together to found a club with no funds, no pitches, no clubhouse and no identity in the new communities of Balally and Sandyford was passion for the games they grew up with - football and hurling.
It is a tribute to them and to their co-founders, Brendan McGlynn and Flan McCarthy, that they persevered with this project while rearing young families in the 1980s. In so doing, they created a partnership between themselves and the wider community within which they live. That partnership manifested itself with the links created with your local primary schools such as St. Olaf’s, from whom you took your name, Queen of Angels, St. Mary’s Sandyford, Our Lady of the Wayside Sandyford and in more recent years, Gaelscoil Taobh na Coille and Holy Cross, Dundrum.
This partnership continued at second level with St. Benildus College who graciously makes its grounds available to you. The College is to be commended for its public-spirited approach.
And I know that the partnership between the local schools and the club is continuing and deepening with the ongoing schools’ coaching programme – funded by the Dublin County Board and by events such as this.
All of you here today are present because you support the club’s endeavours. I know that with the very welcome arrival of Pat Stephens and Chris Cunningham and building on the great work of Andy Gibbons, the Club has put in place a juvenile coaching programme in the schools in your catchment area.
Your efforts are an example of proactive volunteerism that enhances participation, reinforces identity, teaches skills and encourages a healthy lifestyle.
The emergence of Naomh Olaf in 1981 was part of the great regeneration of the GAA in Dublin in the late seventies and early 1980s. In part, it was a reflection of the absorbing contest between Dublin and Kerry at the time. When one looks at St. Marks in Tallaght, established in 1975, St. Judes in Templeogue, in 1979, your near neighbours and friends! - Ballinteer in 1980, and Naomh Olaf in 1981, you can see, right across the south side, a new generation of vibrant clubs who have are giving the old aristocrats of St. Vincent’s, Erin’s Isle, Na Fianna and Kilmacud Crokes more than a run for their money!
The emergence of these clubs at the same time as the development of these areas, and the resulting sense of identity and community that it brought, represents the hidden value of the GAA in this city. It is not just the games and the superb clubhouses that are important. It is the sense of identity, community and belonging, which is to be treasured. In more recent times, Castleknock and Croí Ró Naofa in Tallaght are again replicating what you have done. They too are to be commended for their efforts.
This event today is yet another example of the partnerships that Naomh Olaf and other clubs are forming with the business communities in their localities. A healthy, vibrant and questioning society demands the proactive engagement of all its members. And the Association, with its community-based clubs focussing on youth and underpinned by voluntary effort, represents a social force that warrants the support of business.
Today demonstrates to me that the progressive partnerships, which underpin our successful forward-looking economy at national level, are being replicated at local level for the good of the community. I compliment you on your involvement with the club which serves to strengthen community values in your area. Your partnership with Naomh Olaf will ensure not only that this club will be a force to be reckoned with in the years to come, but that the community within which you operate will benefit enormously.
So, I would finally like to thank John and Jim for inviting me along today and I hope you enjoy the rest of the afternoon - which might be at my expense as I hear you will be entertained by Alan Short. Maybe, however, with his new found singing talent he might leave us poor politicians alone for a while!!!
Thank you.
ENDS