[McNally St Opening]
SPEECH BY GEORGE YEO, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS, AT THE OPENING OF MCNALLY STREET AND UNVEILING CEREMONY OF BRO JOSEPH MCNALLY’S STATUE, “BLACK HOLE” AT LASALLE COLLEGE OF THE ARTS ON 30 NOV 2007 AT 6.30 PM

His Excellency Richard O'Brien
Irish Ambassador to Singapore

Brother Thomas Lavin
The Provincial of the La Salle Brothers in Singapore, Hongkong and Malaysia

1. At last week’s ASEAN-EU Summit commemorating the 30th anniversary of partnership between ASEAN and Europe, Ireland was represented by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dick Roche. Before the Summit, he spent two hours at the LASALLE campus. He was thrilled to see the architecture of the building and moved by the spirit of the college, of the teachers and students. Three years ago, in September 2004, Minister Roche and I were at the Irish National Museum of Country Life in County Mayo to honour Bro Joe McNally. The Museum is located near Ballintubber where Brother Joe grew up within sight of where St Patrick preached in the fifth century. It was a wet and windy day. But as we stepped out to unveil one of Brother's sculptures called Counsellor II, over 2m high, the sun suddenly broke through and the weather cleared. When we left, it started raining again. Those of us who knew Brother felt his presence that day.

2. At the base of the sculpture is a plaque with these words:

Counsellor II
By Brother Joseph McNally fsc
Ballintubber and Singapore 1923 - 2002

Erected by the people of Singapore in memory of his lifework in education, the arts and inter-religious understanding.

We thank the Irish people for their gift of Brother McNally and all the Irish De La Salle Brothers who helped create modern Singapore

Originally cast in bronze, based on an Irish bog yew piece 1983

3. We are here this evening to honour Brother Joe by naming a new street after him and by installing one of his sculptures called Black Hole at the entrance of our College. It is right and fitting that we who benefited so much from his lifework should remember Brother Joe and express our gratitude in this symbolic way. But it is much more than that. We also honour him so that we may continue to draw inspiration from his spirit of service to others. Brother Joe was an educator, an artist and a leader in inter-faith understanding. Let me dwell on these three aspects of him in turn.

4. Brother Joe said he was firstly a teacher for that was his vocation. Without good teachers, a society has no future. In his selfless dedication to the education of the young, he is a model for all teachers and not just those in the teaching profession.

5. Second, Brother Joe was an artist who finally found time after retirement to express himself. Of course he never stopped teaching. Founding LASALLE College was an act of teaching too. But he was at last able to do sculptures and threw himself into it with passion. Despite the years catching on, he was enormously productive. That too should be an inspiration to us.

6. Third, Brother Joe reached out in a way both human and spiritual to non-Christians. When he won the Mont Blanc Award, he chose for his personal guests at the award ceremony, leaders of other faiths who were his personal friends. He helped to raise money for the building of temples. At LASALLE College, he knew that one of his special callings was helping Malay students whom he told me more than once had a special gift in the arts especially in design. I am so happy to see members of the Inter-Religious Organisation here with us this evening.



7. All these three aspects of Brother Joe we celebrate - in education, in the arts and in religious harmony - are so important to our future in Singapore. Let his legacy be a living one. And, as Minister Roche and I agreed last week, let Brother Joe’s legacy also energise our relationship with the Irish people so many of whose sons and daughters gave so much to improve our lives in Singapore.

















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