Ladies and Gentlemen it is a great honour for me to be asked to participate in the Kenmare launch of I am of Kerry and indeed it is a great honour to be one of those people from Kenmare in this book.
Kerry is an extraordinary place it is a Kingdom with out a king…… well except for the Puck goat in Killorglin, in west Kerry an inch is a mile, in our own town the square is in fact a triangle but not be out done Danny Breen who is here tonight come from sneem which has a north and south square both of which are in fact triangles not squares and both are more east and west than north and south. Kerry is a resilient place which breads a resilient people it has survived despite all it has survived wars, famine and even the weather
This book is a cross section of life in Kerry in the early years of the 21-century, it is a record of extraordinary ordinary people and it is truly a book that belongs to Kerry. It is a record forever written that will be of interest to Kerry people a hundred years form now. It will give a glimpse of how we lived in this the beginning of a new century and a new mellimum.
That traitorous Irish man Lord Wellington who mercifully enough can not be counted in the ranks of Kerry people said “that just because you were born in a stable does not mean you are a horse” he was of course referring to the fact that despite the fact that he was born in Ireland did not mean he considered himself Irish. This book shows the exact opposite it shows that those not born in Kerry have become more native than the natives themselves. There must be some thing about this place that natives don’t quite get because Kerry has a magic that seam to cast a spell and those who come for day often end up staying for life. In this book those like form muckera try to convey this spell that has captured his heart.
I AM OF A KERRY it is a concept that I am sure will be taken on board by other counties and replicated but it is a publication that set a high standard for all those who follow. It is a work of photographic art I wish to pay tribute those who have worked so hard to make this concept this idea a reality to Valerie O’Sullivan the shy and publicity adverse photographer of this book the women with the patience of Jove who informed me one day that I was the only person not to have sent in my prose (she in fact told a white lie I was third last person), Vera and to the staff and volunteers of the Kerry Rape and Sexual Abuse centre who perform a tremendous and vital service.
I suspect that I am of Kerry will not rival the biggest selling book of all time, for those of you who think it is Harry Potter let me set you straight, the biggest selling book in the world is in fact the bible. It’s not a book I can say that I am well versed in but from my knowledge of it a few think strike me.
By putting together I am of Kerry Valerie is in a very real sense a living example of that quote in the bible, a quote that appeared in the Steven Spielberg film Shilders list “if a man save one life he saves the world entire” the money raise by Valerie’s work will go to assist people who’s lives have be shattered in a way which no words written in any book could ever hope to describe and by giving of her time, her efforts and her spirit she will help to rebuild those shattered lives. And long after she has gone to her eternal reward I am sure that the results of her efforts will be felt in the lives of the people she has helped. In the bible also it says something about when you give your right hand should not know what your left hand is doing nor should you be aware of whom you are helping, by buying this excellent publication you too can contribute. For when you buy this book you too will be helping people you never met and never will meet but you will also be helping people you know but you may not know that they have received help for the Kerry Rape and sexual abuse centre. For the statistics are frightening and give the statistic the sad reality is that we all know some one who has been abused we just might not be aware of there suffering.
So in conclusion on behalf of all those who put this book together on behalf of all those who will benefit from the proceed of this book I wish to thank you all for coming and I wish to remind you that it is only 194 shopping days to Christmas and I can not think of any better present that you could give some one than a book that feature a picture of the sexiest man in Kenmare… I speak of course of Mickey Ned and I now hand you over to Mickey Ned O’Sullivan.
Launch of “I am of Kerry”
