The National Organiser of the Irish youth movement was speaking on the importance of building alliances with British youth movements and student bodies.
Barry was joined on the platform by George Woods, Executive member of NUS and Student Broad Left.
George spoke of the need for young British people to support the cause of Irish Freedom, claiming it as one of the oldest anti-colonial struggles in the world.
He also spoke of the inspiring steps taken by Sinn Féin and that their community based approach to politics was something the left in Britain could learn from. George concluded by saying there was a need in the time ahead to build a strong campaign supporting Irish Unity.
Barry McColgan addressing the conference said,
“At the 2006 Sinn Féin Ard Fheis Gerry Adams outlined one of the most important tasks for Irish Republicans to be engaged in, was building broad support for Irish Unity in Britain. The support of British youth movements and student bodies are essential in this task and the Student Broad Left can be an important vehicle in facilitating that.”
“In 2003 and throughout the brutal occupation of Iraq, hundreds of thousands of British youth and students demonstrated a true anti-imperialist spirit when they marched and organised in defiance of the neo-colonial exploits of Tony Blair and the British Government.”
“This anti-imperialist spirit is something which we who strive for Irish Unity should learn to harness. Infact throughout the occupation of Iraq, our slogan in Ireland has been ‘US out of Iraq, Britain out of Ireland!”
“I hope the conference can be a fresh start in building strong links with progressive youth movements in Britain. I hope we can strengthen up on any ideas discussed today and forge a strong work plan that will undoubtedly play a crucial role in our struggle.”
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