Sunny South Down did not disappoint, as the sun basked the camp throughout ensuring many left a little redder than they arrived and the Down people's faces were even redder having suffered defeat at the hands of the O'Neill County on the Saturday.
The area of outstanding natural beauty and great weather lifted the enthusiasm and atmosphere of the camp, and set the mood and tone for an uplifting and extremely insightful weekend.
Cuba, unionist outreach, 1798 and ‘building a free, green and left Ireland’ were just some of the topics which provided hours of education and debate.
Activists arrived on the Friday, greeted by a big BBQ; the first talk of the weekend began shortly after with Colin Halliday of the UPRG (Ulster Political Research Group) and Sinn Féin MLA Willie Clarke sparking a lot of interesting debate about community outreach and the importance of building relations between unionist and republican communities.
Friday night’s proceedings were brought to a close with a traditional session in Castlewellan.
Saturday morning began bright and early, following a hardy breakfast, the happy campers piled onto the bus to be taken around the Ballynahinch area to be shown sites of historical importance and have the 1798 Battle of Ballynahinch described at first hand and in detail.
Local republican's Micky Coogan and Marcas McRuairí provided a wealth of knowledge on the battle and its legacy.
Back to camp, and a talk on 'Ireland's future, free, green and left', began with John Hardy from the Green Party and Barry McColgan from Ógra kick-starting the debate. The talk touched on many issues including the new green economy, left progressive coalitions and the potential that Irish unity would unlock for the Irish people.
The debate ended with lunch, and following some free time to enjoy the sun, it was back for dinner, and straight into a talk on Cuba.
The discussion was facilitated by journalist Bernie Dwyer who first screened her documentary on Cuban dissidents, before talking about many more issues around the Cuban revolution.
The night ended with music by Irish Rebel and Folk Band 'Feck it' in Castlewellan's Brandy Pad.
Sunday morning came early for many, as it was back on the bus, this time bound for Bodenstown, County Kildare. The annual march to Wolfetone's grave brought the youth camp 2010 to a fitting close, as thousands of republicans from across Ireland thronged the roads, enroute to remember the founding father of Irish republicanism.
Speaking on a successful youth camp, Uladh Ógra Cuige Organiser Fra Cochrane said,
"We were delighted to host the youth camp this year, and everything came together on the weekend, with the great weather adding to the already uplifted mood of the camp. The debates were all very engaging and insightful and the social nights provided a great place to forge friendships and share ideas."
"We would like to thank everyone for attending, events like these are extremely important in building camaraderie, networks, and enhancing education and confidence. We'll see you all at the Slogadh na nÓg in Connemara!"
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