The West Tyrone Youth Forum which takes place monthly in the local Sinn Féin Office, has been running for a number of years now and has continued to organise educational talks and provide local youth and students with a platform to air their questions on pressing and historical issues.
The talk on the Hungerstrike was intended to coincide with December being prisoner’s month and it received a brilliant turnout with students from five of the main local schools.
Michelle McMenamin speaking on the talk said,
“Seanna Walsh delivered a very insightful talk, giving a backdrop to the circumstances leading up to the 1981 Hungerstrike which would see his close friend Bobby Sands die.”
“Seanna talked intimately about the prison struggle, about the unbreakable spirit of the prisoners and touched on the personal characteristics of the hungerstrikers he knew.”
“The talk was thoroughly thought provoking and inspiring, and provoked a good debate following Seanna’s address with many questions and comments being aired from the floor. The talk on the 1981 Hungerstrike has created a huge interest amongst the youth and students in attendance with many providing suggestions for future themes. I would encourage all young people from the West Tyrone area to attend the next youth forum in Jaunary and to become part of the debate.”
2 comments:
It shows the impact of the heroic deeds of the hunger strikers that we are still inspired by them today. I wasn’t even born when these brave men died but I take heart from them. Next time you think that you are too busy to go out and do a bit of postering, or that there is enough people already to go leafleting, they wouldn’t miss you, remember Bobby Sands words – “Everybody has their role to play”. These brave men laid down their lives for us; we owe it to them to carry on the fight. Think honestly how much you contribute to the struggle compared to how much time you spend watching soaps on tv, playing the playing the playstation, surfing the internet. Ask yourself at the end of each week, “what have I achieved, are we any closer to implementing Sinn Fein’s strategic national objectives. EC
EC you raise an interesting point. I think i spend on average about 15 hours per week watching TV when i could be doing something useful
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