Speech by the Representative of Ireland, Dr. Niall Holohan, at the opening of the Turathuna Centre Bethlehem University (1 June 2004)

Ladies and Gentlemen and dear friends,

St. Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, is believed to have brought Christianity to Ireland as early as 432 A.D. It is fair to say therefore that Ireland's connections with Bethlehem go back nearly sixteen hundred years. Bethlehem's own rich heritage is of course a lot older than that but sixteen hundred years of connections between our two communities is perhaps not such a bad record.

The Irish people today regard our national heritage as a precious treasure in which we take great pride and which we hand down with joy from one generation to the next. We have a word for it in the Irish language: it is called Duchas. This is now the name of our state-run national heritage service which manages many of Ireland's historic sites and cultural monuments. I hope that perhaps, some day soon, Palestine may have a similar service that will promote and preserve the enormously valuable heritage and history which the Palestinian people have inherited from their forebears. Such an inheritance must never be allowed to vanish despite the hectic pace and distractions of the modern world in which we live.

It was with more than a little thoughtfulness therefore and with a deep concern for the interests of the people of Bethlehem that the Government of Ireland chose this Turathuna or Heritage Centre as its millennium project for the Holy Land on the two thousandth anniversary of Christ's birth - the site of which is located only a short distance from where we now stand. We realise of course that we may be as much as three, or even four, years late for the millennium date itself; but perhaps we are not the only ones for whom the counting of historical time is a somewhat imprecise science in this part of the world.

It is indeed a great pleasure for me to be here today at the opening of this wonderful new Centre. The Irish Government regard this Centre as a means for Ireland - and for Bethlehem University itself - to contribute to the emergence of Palestine's national and cultural identity. Palestine's heritage is surely a proud one and we see the role of the Centre as providing a showcase for this heritage for all the people of Bethlehem - and indeed for visitors from farther afield in Palestine as well as from abroad. For this reason, I understand that the Centre will be freely accessible to all the community who will be encouraged to share its wonders and to contribute to its development. The fact that the Centre is to have a separate entrance of its own will, no doubt, help greatly to fulfill this aspiration. I am confident accordingly that the Turathuna Centre will provide a valuable facility for the local people of this town to study their own cultural environment and that, in the fullness of time, a local capacity will establish itself that will be able to develop and expand the very attractive and important displays which we can see here before us today.

I am pleased to say furthermore that the Centre will be a focus for workshops, seminars, lectures and films, and will serve as a resource tool and an impetus for research on all aspects of Palestinian heritage and culture. Its interactive computer room should be of particular interest to the younger generation of the citizens of Bethlehem. This advanced computer technology will help to marry the past with the future and will permit the visitor not only to delve into the past but also to reach out to the future through the most modern means available.

To conclude, it is my duty and my pleasure to thank all those who by their dedication and determination have helped to make the establishment of this Centre a reality. First of all, my thanks go to Brother Vincent and all the academic and administrative staff of the University without whom we would not have had such a fine location and a perfect ambience for these immensely important exhibits. I should also thank those of the staff at Ireland Aid (now called Development Cooperation Ireland), including my predecessor Isolde Moylan, who had the good sense and foresight over many years to realise that Bethlehem University was an ideal partner for channeling the development assistance which the Palestinian people so badly need. Most importantly of all, however, I am happy to single out Dr Colette Dowling and Prof Conor Ward, without whom none of this today would have been possible. For many years now, they have provided the inspiration, the expertise and the sheer hard work that turns dreams into hard facts and thoughts of beauty into physical works of art. Sadly, I have learnt that, for both of them, this may be their last professional visit to Bethlehem. I remain hopeful that this rumour may not be completely true for I know that their absence will be sorely felt by all, and especially by our still too small Irish community in the Holy Land.

Once again, let me thank all those who contributed to the establishment of this fine Centre. Let me also express the hope that the opening of this Centre may be the start of better times ahead for the suffering people of Bethlehem.

Thank you very much.

Dr. Niall Holohan
Representative of Ireland