Successful youth fringe event

The Dodder suite of the RDS was the scene for a gathering of the young, and the young at heart. For the second year in a row, a ‘Youth Fringe event’ was organised to allow young people to gather and discuss the role of youth within Sinn Féin.  
A healthy crowd of more than 50 attended a talk from a panel of the party’s finest young elected reps on what young people need to do to make Sinn Féin relevant to their age group. The panel included Brendan Killeavy (Tullamore town council), Daithí McKay (North Antrim MLA), Toiréasa Ferris (Kerry County Council), Edel Corrigan (Louth County Council) and Johnny McGibbon (Craigavon Borough Council).  
Daithí McKay highlighted the crucial role of the internet and new media in modern political activism. Toiréasa Ferris noted the vital role that young people such as Pearse Doherty, Eoin Ó Broin and Matt Carthy, who came to the fore in the recent past, are playing in Sinn Féin at present and how this can be replicated.
Johnny McGibbon noted the crucial role that universities play and examined how this can be best exploited. Edel Corrigan and Brendan Killeavy outlined how working in the community on youth issues can make Sinn Féin relevant to young people.  
Youth activist Mairéad Farrell hopes the event will become a regular part of the Ard Fheis. “There is a lot of cynicism out there among young people towards politics, but the speakers today gave us an idea of how to successfully engage with, and represent, the views of young people,” she said.