An established forum for progressive alternatives to the status quo

SECOND ANNUAL SINN FÉIN SUMMER SCHOOL | SCOIL SHAMHRAIDH NA SAOIRSE

» BY DES O’GRADY

Frankie Gallagher, loyalist politician and chief spokesperson for the UDA-linked Ulster Political Research Group

» BY DES O’GRADY

THE second annual Sinn Féin Summer School, Scoil Shamhraidh Na Saoirse, was held over two days at the Mills Inn, Baile Bhúirne, County Cork, on the weekend of 8th and 9th of July. This year the event drew a capacity audience from the four corners of Ireland as well as from overseas.
Performing the official opening ceremony on Friday evening, Councillor Toireasa Ferris welcomed everyone to the event and emphasised its importance in providing a forum for republicans and others to debate progressive ideas to help create a better Ireland and offer an alternative vision to the status quo in Ireland today.
The first session held on Friday featured loyalist politician Frankie Gallagher, who spoke on the theme ‘The Future of Loyalism, 13 years on from the Good Friday Agreement.’
Gallagher, chief spokesperson for the UDA-linked Ulster Political Research Group, spoke of the deprivation of the working-class community he represents in east Belfast and of how loyalism has failed to deal with this. This, he said, is in contrast to the way Sinn Féin has represented the community in nationalist areas.
He told of how he came to vote for the Good Friday Agreement, having a last-minute change of heart in the polling station, and the need for loyalism to now exploit the peace to improve the quality of life for the people it represents. As to the future, he stressed that a changed future for his community, and especially for the younger generation, will depend on the coming together of people across the community divide through dialogue and understanding. He believes that the social cohesion created by this will be crucial to a better future for all and that the political way is the only way forward.
This session was followed by bilingual readings from ‘The Diary of Bobby Sands’ by local people: Councillor Rachel McCarthy, Councillor Cionnaith Ó Súilleabháin, Aidan Bradley (Ógra Shinn Féin) and Helen Breathnach (Sinn Féin).
The second session on Friday evening saw Danny Morrison, Leo Green and Seán Kelleher recall the Hunger Strikes of 1980/81 in the section ‘Eyewitness to History.’  Danny Morrison, Honorary Secretary of the Bobby Sands Trust, spoke on the politics that developed round the Hunger Strikes.
Former Hunger Striker Leo Green, who spent 53 days on hunger strike in 1980, gave a moving account of his experiences in Long Kesh as he recalled the treatment of the prisoners as “one long sequence of brutality”.
Seán Kelleher, who stood as an anti-H-Block candidate for Cork South-West in the general election in 1981 made the connection between British Government attitudes to the fight for Irish freedom at the time of the Tan War and during the latest phase of the struggle.
Saturday opened with a lively bilingual debate on ‘The Need for a New Revival’, featuring contributions from Robert Ballagh, Jimmy Barry Murphy, Adrian Breathnach and Caral Ní Chuilín. Ballagh, the foremost artist in Ireland today, spoke of the revival of Irish culture in the late 1800s and the early part of the last century and insisted that, despite the economic condition of the country, a new cultural revival is possible.
Legendary Cork GAA dual player and county hurling manager Jimmy Barry Murphy touched on the role played by sport in the lives of the community and the need for the GAA to reach out to working-class youth in particular.
Adrian Breathnach, a teacher in Gaelscoil Carraigh Uí Laighin in Cork, gave a passionate address on the teaching of Irish in our schools where he claimed that present Government plans for the future revival of the language are fundamentally flawed.
He was followed by Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure in the Northern Assembly Caral Ní Chuilín who spoke on the disadvantage and deprivation of her local area and her commitment to be a minister for all the people. She contrasted this with the attitude of previous ministers Nelson McCausland and Edwin Poots who favoured one section of the community over another.
The afternoon session on Saturday saw Uachtaráin Shinn Féin Gerry Adams TD give the keynote address and this was followed by the final session ‘Dealing with the Debt Crisis — Progressive Alternatives to Austerity and Bank Bail-outs.’
Mary Lou MacDonald TD gave the closing address at the Summer School dinner later that evening.
The second Sinn Féin Annual Summer School has certainly built on the success of last year’s opening event and the level of caint, ceol and craic ensured those attending had a most stimulating and enjoyable weekend. The hospitality of Don O’Leary, his family and staff, hosts of the Mills Inn, also made a massive contribution to this success.

• ‘An Phoblacht’ will be returning to some of the debates and contributions from Scoil Shamhraidh Na Saoirse in future issues.