Ballinlough Community Association AGM, 24 April 2012
Thanks for the invitation here this evening.
Many, many years ago, the good people living in Ballinlough chose to erect a stone monument in a wooded glen area overlooking the estuary.
It was the popular thing to do at the time. With an absence of official information on the stone, assumptions can only be made on its relevance.
To begin with…the stone opened an enormous debate…
The older generation questioned the monument on its relevancy; it was an addition; why do we need it? What benefit is it? the younger generation argued that this was all part of change and that the monument provided a fresh way of thinking about everyone’s place in the area.
But the older generation’s argument on why this should be done stumped the younger generation who knew it was important but did not enough experience to comment on it or compare it to any previous experience of a project.
But it was agreed after much debate and negotiation to erect the stone but from the beginning a great debate ensued on many issues amongst the young and old….and perhaps many questions such as…
How positive or negative is this project?
What type of stone should it be?
How high should it be?
How intrusive should it be?
What direction should it face?
Who is going to source the stone?
Who is going to move the stone into position?
What is my part in all of this?
How will this stone add to the sense of place in Ballinlough?
How would do this monument fit into the everyday routine of life? What type of people will live around this stone?
Who is going to mind this stone?
But many of these questions were negotiated as were the logistics and the stone was put in place.
Many many many years later, the good people living in Ballinlough chose to build a housing estate around the stone; again many questions ensued…
Should we take down the stone?
What type of houses should they be?
How high should they be?
How intrusive should they be?
What direction should they face?
Who is going to source the materials?
Who is going to construct the houses?
What is my part in all of this?
How will the houses add to the sense of place in Ballinlough?
How would do this monument fit into the everyday routine of life? What type of people will live in these new houses?
Who is going to mind the new estate?
Indeed the questions of why, how, where are age old questions asked of any community but the answers or debates arising out of some of these questions can change the attitude of a community for years.
In the two examples I have chosen, they are I feel are positive examples.
The stone has remained in place for over 4,500 years, insitu. Indeed Ardmahon Estate was built around it –it is testament to the history that Ballinlough has had a community and a strength of purpose since those centuries B.C. plus all the questions that go with it.
But we don’t live in 2,500 BC but perhaps one can learn from their experience.
Passing the area today, there is the sense of building on what has gone in the past to build into the future, that sense of a conversation with the past and future
The stone shows in a sense the immortality of community in Ballinlough, the experience of community in a time we cannot relate to temporally or in a time sense
However, like the stone and the housing estate Ballinlough enters another time of change – a time when Ballinlough once again has to take stock of where it’s at and again reflect on the type of mark we want to put on the community in our time. There are now new debates, financial, unemployment, youth issues, provision of adequate services for older people. Perhaps it may be apt to focus some of the questions on our own community structures?
How positive or negative is what we are doing?
What type of community should we have? Conformist to inspiring?
How high should our community aim? Low to high?
How intrusive should be our efforts on the wider community?
What direction should our community take? Forwards or backwards
Who is going to source the community to that? Who is the team?
Who is going to manoeuvre the debates into position? Who is the listener and negotiator?
What is my part in all of this?
How will this work add to the sense of place in Ballinlough?
And as this community in its multiple housing estates are evolving, there are multiple questions to ask; perhaps I am zooming in on just one important foundation, the identity itself of this area.
There are no easy answers but guaranteed hard work and ability to have the patience of jobe and an interest in making things happen.
There are responsibilities on all of us to move the various projects within our community forward. But I do wish to commend all the work that is being done.
I would also like to thank the people of Ballinlough for their interest and support in my own community projects,
the enterprise workshops,
artist residency programme,
the Design a Public Park, art and public space art competition,
the community talent competition (auditions again for which are on next Sunday, between 11-5 in the Lifetime Lab),
the history in action programme or the re-enactment programme that takes place in Our Lady of Lourdes N.S on Sunday 13 May at 2pm
The Make a Model Boat Project on the Atlantic Pod (on Sunday 10 June 2012),
and the walking tours through this area, the one of eastern Ballinlough looking at big houses, market gardens, the 1911 census, amongst others and the standing stone, and the other of the western side of St Finbarre’s Hospital and environs. I intend to run these again in June.
As these are part of a larger heritage project, my new walking tour of Blackrock I have set for Sunday 13 May leaving from Blackrock Castle and exploring the myriad of memories in this area from the 400 year castle to the fishing village, the Victorian houses, the two churches, the graveyard to name just a few. Ballinlough Church was a chapel of ease in the parish of Blackrock to 1956, so there is abit of a connection there.
Best of luck in the year ahead, it is not easy in these times, so certainty the more positivity that radiated from this hallowed community space and grounds the better in these. As those who are here a long time will have realised by now, people will give out before they will say thanks. So in these AGMs, there should always be the sense of thanks and renewal of spirit.
Thank you for your work,
Go Raibh Maith Agaibh