Guest Speakers & Activities
“Never before in the field of human conflict was so much owed, by so many, to so few”
– Winston Churchill
Ever wondered what it was like to actually fight in the Second World War?
Upcoming visit of a few who were in the thick of it…..
Check for updates each week
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Stormont Assembly Trip
25th October 2011
Our 6th Year History class travelled to the Stormont Assembly to meet with Sinn Féin & Ulster Unionist MLAs on 25th October 2011. After speaking to the MLAs in conference for over an hour, we then joined the visitors’ gallery for an on-going plenary session of the Stormont Assembly itself, where a discussion on security measures for Northern Ireland was taking place.
Our class was also given a PowerPoint Presentation and other information on a complimentary memory stick which can be viewed here:
History of Stormont
The two MLAs who spoke to our class were
Basil McCrea (UUP)
&
Catríona Ruane (SF)
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World Poverty Commemoration Day
17th October, 2011, IFSC
4.2P History & Fr. John Gallagher (Chaplain)
On the 17th October, our 4th Year History group travelled to the Quayside just opposite the IFSC for the local ceremony of World Commemoration for Poverty. The selection of this area to locate a commemoration stone is quite deliberate, being right in front of the complex of Irish & international banking institutions located in the IFSC.
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Lord Ken Maginnis
UUP & Member of the British House of Lords
25th September 2011
- Lord Ken Maginnis came to visit our school on the 25th of September, having kindly offered to speak to our 5th & 6th Year students on the topic of Northern Ireland over the last 40 years.
- ______
- Photographs & full report here
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Micheál MacDonnacha
Sinn Féin
5th of April, 2011
M. MacDonnacha
Micheál Mac Donnacha, Sinn Féin councillor for Dublin City Council, came to speak to 5th Year students about Sinn Féin’s history and their involvement in Northern Ireland & the Peace Process.
Part of his talk was spent answering students’ questions about Sinn Féin’s view of the Good Friday Agreement, their view on Northern Ireland’s relationship with both the Republic & UK and their role in politics in the Republic of Ireland today.
We would like to thank Micheál for granting us an insight into a sometimes-controversial topic from his organisation’s perspective.
“Sinn Féin: A Century of Struggle Ceád Bhliain Ar Son Na Saoirse”
Micheál also gave us a copy of his book “Sinn Féin – A Century of Struggle” which outlines in great detail the often-confusing history of the Sinn Féin movement beginning with Griffith’s ‘Dual Monarchist’ proposal in 1905. The book is very accessible to all levels of readers, having an extraordinary amount of photographs, maps and Primary Source material. It also details the many splits and conflicts within the Republican movement itself.
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Seán Farren
SDLP
7th of March, 2011
Seán Farren
- Seán Farren, a long-standing member & elected representative of the SDLP in Northern Ireland, came to St. Paul’s to speak to 5th Year Students about his career and experiences in Northern Ireland and during the Peace Process.
- Much of his time was spent explaining the nature of his party’s political history and what convinced his party to involve themselves so closely in the ‘Pan-Nationalist’ effort of the 1980’s and 1990’s.
- His discussion with the students was insightful and was, without doubt, their first direct contact with a political figure who had first-hand ( Primary Source) experience of the entire nature of the thirty years of political and social divisions.
- We would like to thank Mr. Farren for getting our ‘Guest Speakers – Primary Witnesses of History’ off to such an experienced and interesting start.
- ‘SDLP: The Struggle for Agreement in Northern Ireland, 1970 – 2000′
SDLP
Seán also very generously donated a copy of his book to our History department, which chronicles in extraordinary detail his experiences and those of the SDLP during the tumultuous years of 1969 – 2000. For anyone wishing to understand the enormous political challenges of Northern Ireland’s recent past, this is a must-read.
