St. Brendan's College

Fifth year History students visit to Stormont

Fifth year History students from St. Brendan's College, Belmullet visited Stormont Parliament Buildings on 24th March 2009. They were accompanied by History teachers Mr. Treacy and Mr. Munnelly. The trip was part of "Politics and Society in Northern Ireland" which is a component in the Leaving Cert. History course. The students met with representatives from the various parties in Northern Ireland, Nationalist and Unionist. They had a very informative question and answer session with each of these representatives. following this the group met with Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness. This meeting was a wonderful opportunity for the students to hear a first hand account of events in Northern Ireland's history from a man who played such a pivotal role on the peace process. The students were then invited into the chamber of the Northern Ireland assembly. They sat in on a debate on the education structure which they found very informative. Following this the students were given a tour of the Northern Ireland senate. The group had a busy afternoon's activities and found the whole experience of visiting this historical location very fulfilling and rewarding.