John Cosgrove, senior past president of the United States National Press Club and a former publishing associate of the late President John F. Kennedy, has visited Castlewellan.

Mr Cosgrove, a current board member of the International Fund for Ireland, was invited to Castlewellan and district by the local branch of "Friendships Without Borders" which is a joint US/Northern Ireland investment initiative.

Mr Cosgrove and his wife were taken on a working tour of the Mourne region, from Newcastle to Kilcoo and Castlewellan.

Dr Niall Mac Allister is the founder of the project and although he lives in Maryland his family was originally form Kilcoo. He stated, "We are trying to improve the quality of life for the people of the district, young and old, but especially for the youth of the area who are being educated for emigration only, since the local economy is so underdeveloped.

Dr Mac Allister continued, "More opportunities need to be created for the youth of these townlands in order to help them fulfil their true potential. We discussed with Mr Cosgrove what the area and its people could offer in terms of skills, education and ideas.

"One of our projects will examine the use of filmmaking, cinema and other forms of multimedia expression as a means of encouraging young people to present their vision of the future type of society they would like to live in and to voice their thoughts about society as it is today," he added.

Mr Francis Gallagher, a regional director of the Friendships Without Borders project, stated, "This was a fact-finding visit for Mr Cosgrove. We explained to him our many economic problems and the need for more investment to create better opportunities for people.

"We feel that by giving young people the opportunity to use filmmaking techniques, cinema participation and other multi-media skills, a positive contribution will be made toward developing their self confidence in a more difficult world," he noted.

Decent Living

Newcastle representative and director of inward investment for the project Mr Colm McClean continued, "Eighty per cent of young people who have emigrated will come back after five years if there are jobs to earn a decent living.

"Many students like to travel and this is productive because they can also learn more about how to apply their skills when they return home.

"There were 3,000 applications for DV2000 Green Cards last year from Ireland. Our primary aim is to increase job opportunities in the region."

Mr Cosgrove said, "I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and the great hospitality. I can return to Washington with a lot more awareness about the problems confronting the Castlewellan and Newcastle people and those from the other townlands in the district. I met citizens from the whole community and I was able to listen to many varied and worthwhile points of view."

Mr Cosgrove was president of the US National Press Club in 1961, the year John F Kennedy became President of the United States.

Mr Cosgrove continued, "I attended Kennedy's inauguration and he attended mine at the Press Club. That was a very eventful year which I will never forget."

J P Cosgrove was a guest at a recent meeting of the International Fund for Ireland and the Industrial Development Board in Washington to which Friendships Without Borders was also invited. He expressed an interest in visiting the Mourne region at that meeting. He was elected Gael of the Year for 1999 at the Washington St Patrick's Day celebrations.

Mourne Observer (July 7, 1999)

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