Community Breakfast – Address by Mayor of Cobh

Teachta(í) Dála,
A Chomh-chomhairleoirí Áitiúla,
A chairde uilig

Bhuel, cad faoi seo mar ócáid! Má tá míniú uait ar an bhfocal “Pobal” seo é é! Ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas agus buíochas a ghabháil do gach duine a chuir an ócáid seo le chéile agus tá súil agam gur tosnú é seo do thraidisiún bliantúil as seo amach.

What an occasion! If you’re looking for a definition of the word “Community” then this is it! I would firstly like to thank and congratulate all those whose hard work made this Community Breakfast possible and I sincerely hope that this is the start of an annual tradition into the future. I would like to thank in particular the festival organising committee for all their hard work and I’m sure they would like me to thank all those who sponsored or contributed in any way to the festival and in particular to this our inaugural Community Breakfast.

As I have already suggested, for me this event epitomises what community should be all about. The idea of a community coming together to “break bread” goes back to biblical times and is the ultimate expression of community spirit.

Of course we are also marking the revival of the “Festival on the Hill”. The “Festival on the Hill” or the “Top of the Hill Festival” as it was also known, holds many fond memories for many of us here today and the fact that it’s focal point is the Great Island Community Centre which is built on the site of the old Youth Club or Boy’s Club, makes it all the more nostalgic for me having spent so many hours of my own youth playing basketball or just socialising in the Boy’s Club! It was then very much a focal point of our community and it always saddened me to see it collapse into rack and ruin. However, it gives me great pleasure to see this site become such a focal point again, and to see our community centre in all its glory.

There are other reasons for nostalgia this morning as we remember the “Top of the Hill Festival” of old, one of which is that we have in our midst the winner of the “Junior Queen” of the last “Top of the Hill Festival”, Cllr. Sinéad Sheppard!

For our community centre to be the focal point of this festival could not be more appropriate. It gives us an ideal opportunity to celebrate and enjoy this fantastic facility. This is a facility that is living, breathing evidence of what can be achieved with the commitment and dedication of a group of local people who had a vision, and who campaigned, lobbied and fund-raised to turn that vision into a reality. I won’t mention individual names out of fear of leaving someone out but I would like to thank all those who made this facility a reality and Katie and the management committee of the centre for the great job they are doing running the centre. This is also an opportunity to encourage even more members of our community, young and old, to organise even more activities in the centre or just to participate in existing activities. As a community we should maximise the use of this wonderful facility!

Therefore, this morning we not only share breakfast in a spirit of community but we also celebrate the revival of an old tradition and the ongoing and continued success of a wonderful new community facility here in the Great Island Community Centre. As I said at the beginning – What an occasion!

Go mbainigí lán-taitneamh as an mbricfeasta agus as an bhféile féin.

Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.