Sir Anthony Mamo's legacy in Birkirkara (1)

The tributes to the late Sir Anthony Mamo all expressed admiration and gratitude for his sterling work in the legal field as well as during his tenure as Governor General and Malta's first President.

An achievement of Sir Anthony's has, however, been generally overlooked. In 1932, Sir Anthony, then still a young graduate, was asked by the archbishop to set up the Catholic Action centre for children and young men in Birkirkara. At that time, Catholic Action, supported actively by the Church, was setting up centres in all towns and villages and one of the first towns to have its own Catholic Action centre was Birkirkara. The archbishop relied on Sir Anthony's sound moral character and leadership qualities to set it up. Sir Anthony was the first president of the newly set-up St Peter's Catholic Action centre in Birkirkara. This centre (better known in Birkirkara as iċ-Ċirklu) provided sound moral education and opportunities for healthy recreation for generations of local young people.

I attended the centre for about 20 years and am proud and grateful to Sir Anthony for providing me and hundreds of others with excellent preparation for later life.