Kilteevan National School invited parents and members of the local community to join in their impressive programme of events to mark Proclamation Day.
Events began inside the School where 5th and 6th class pupils gave a summary of the event of 1916. Cormac Dolan follow this by reading the poem “Mother” by Padraig Pearse to all assembled. Then in pairs the assembled children walked the crowd through the projects they have working on all year. The subjects covered ranged from the leaders, to women and children of the rising and an explanation of the tricolour. The children the read a piece from the original proclamation and the gave the attendees a new proclamation, which they had written, setting out their vision for an Ireland 100 years from now. It read:
“We, the children of the 21st century, want to proclaim, for another hundred years, that Ireland is a great and good country. We want a safe, green environment, free from litter and water pollution with clean, fresh air. We respect the rights of animals. We welcome people from all around the world, who wish to become Irish citizens, no matter where they come from or their backgrounds. In Ireland, everyone one deserves the same rights. No one should be treated differently because of the colour of their skin or what they believe. The children of Ireland are extremely important. We are the future generation of this country. All children should continue to have the right to an education. We should promote our native language and culture in all schools. We believe that all citizens have the right to good healthcare. We believe that the older citizens of our country should be traded with care, dignity and respect. We should try to house our homeless and eliminate homelessness. This is our 2016 proclamation of how we want our county to be, to secure it for the next generation.“
Proceedings were then moved outside where Fr. Sean Beirne raised the Tricolour in a solemn ceremony as groups of students sang and others performed Amhrán na bhFiann on their Tin Whistles.
Congratulations is due to Kilteevan NS Principal Collette Brennan and the staff; Claire Lynch, Cara Cunningham, Susan O’Connor, Eithne Merriman and Maurgueitte Croughan for staging such an informative, reflective event. More photos from the event and other activities in the locality are available on the local Community Development Facebook page and website.