News
Department of Foreign Affairs Ministerial Visit
19 Feb 2009
Department Of Foreign Affairs visit
In February 2009, the Department of Foreign Affairs Minister, Mícheál Ó Máirtín TD visited the 174 Trust in north Belfast. During the minister’s visit, representatives from local community groups including the Irish Language Development Officer for the McCracken Cultural Society, Niall Mathews were given the opportunity to introduce themselves to the Cork man.
Impressed with a wide variety of projects that were on offer for the local community at the 174 Trust including the annual Irish Language Festival, The McCracken Summer School, the minister also took the opportunity to announce a grant for the amount of €38,500.00 to enable the 174 Trust to continue the excellent work it had been doing for the past 25 years.
Rev Bill Shaw, director of the 174 Trust welcomed the minister and said that he was particularly grateful that out of all the other facilities Mr Mícheál Ó Máirtín TD could have visited in North Belfast he had chosen to come to the 174 Trust.
The visit was also significant because it is the 25th anniversary year of the Trust and allowed Rev Bill Shaw on behalf of the organisation’s management committee to thank and express their sincere appreciation to the Department of Foreign Affairs for the considerable investment it has made to the 174 Trust over a number of years.
Adding to the cultural feel of the minister’s visit, Mr Ó Máirtín was also welcomed by a rendition of Irish music on the tin whistle by pupils of the local Irish Medium primary school, Bunscoil Mhic Reachtain. An Irish speaker himself, the minister spoke to the pupils in Irish. He had learnt that the school itself was founded in 1999 and that they had availed of the use of the premises of the 174 Trust for classrooms and could not have functioned whatsoever without the priceless help of the 174 Trust. The school is now officially recognised by the Department of Education with over 70 pupils.
