A Georgian street scene with sellers of flowers, vegetables and fish greeted the President, Mrs McAleese, as she arrived in Limerick yesterday. She was there for the opening of a four-storey Georgian house on Pery Square.
Those in period costume, mainly actors from a local group, included Lord and Lady Pery. Their ancestors were the landlords of the property 160 years ago when the terrace of six houses were built by the Pery Tontine company for £10,000.
The house, described as unique in this State, and the enclosed garden have been restored over three years at a cost of £1 million on behalf of the Limerick Civic Trust. Mrs McAleese commended the trust and FAS workers for helping to "conserve and restore Limerick's architectural heritage".
"As we enter the last days of this fading century, it is most appropriate that we are celebrating the restoration of a building from a previous century."
She said cherishing our past and recognising it as a unique part of our heritage was not incompatible with being a modern, forward-looking nation.
The Earl of Limerick Patrick Pery, who came from London with his wife, said the acquisition and restoration of the house was "the latest and highly-commendable initiative of Limerick Civic Trust". He was delighted to support the project and proud of his ancestors.
Later in Tralee, Co Kerry, Mrs McAleese revealed that a member of her family was deaf.
Opening the Kerry Deaf Re source Centre in Tralee, she said: "Growing up in Ireland as one of a family of nine children, one of whom, my brother John, is profoundly deaf, has given me some understanding of the sense of exclusion and loneliness which is the experience of so many deaf people.
"You would think that in such a large family it would be hard to feel lonely or isolated yet it happened so easily, so thoughtlessly and even today I am embarrassed by it. My abiding memory is of John arriving home and always tugging my elbow as the rest of us gabbled and laughed, saying: `Excuse me, remember me, I am here too.'
"We organise our lives, our education systems, our services and almost every aspect of policy-making around the fact that most of us have no disability. Those who do live with disability are forced to remind us that they are here, that they exist and that they have particular needs and basic rights.
"We owe it to ourselves and to future generations to ensure that this situation is not permitted to continue. Sadly, we are not yet at that point."
The President referred to a young woman, Ms Julie Graham, the first profoundly deaf student to enter Queen's University Belfast, just four years ago. "There was such scepticism, such debate about her ability to cope.
"She emerged this year with a first-class honours degree in English and was named student of the year. How many more such stories are there out there just waiting for the opportunity to be created?"