Young people offer simply-worded solution to impasse at Drumcree

A solution to the Drumcree crisis? It was to be found in simple, blunt language, when close on 800 youngsters from North and South gathered in the RDS in Dublin yesterday for the fourth annual ISPCC national children's forum.

During a workshop on peace Ian Craven, an ISPCC supervisor from Dundalk, Co Louth, asked Mark Kelly (11) from Wicklow town how the impasse should be resolved.

"Talking, agreeing. There is more killing than talking," he replied.

Many of the youths and children, who were aged from three to 16, drew posters with the theme of peace. Most in the older age group were familiar with what is happening in the North.

Several workshops were held throughout the day in the RDS main hall. Unlike some party conferences at the same venue, there were no restrictions on what could be said.

There was also disco music and entertainment, with soft drinks, crisps and chocolate to sustain energy levels.

The forum was officially opened by the President, Mrs McAleese, who received a Boyzone-type cheer that prompted her to remark: "I thought Ronan Keating must have been behind me."

The President told the children: "It is you, the young people of this island, who hold the key to its future. You have the ability, the freshness and the openness to accept new ideas and new relationships - without having to retreat into the confines of history and traditions which can often become like blinkers to those who cannot and will not see outside their limited field of vision."

She recalled that the theme of her Presidency was building bridges between people from all walks of life.

"This year's forum, with children and young people from every background, with different abilities and disabilities, and from many communities throughout the island of Ireland, is very much in keeping with the theme of building bridges," the President added.