Excitement, inspiration and terrific ‘craic’

19 June 2013

UP before dawn, they queued in the rain, and inside there was a lot more waiting to be done. But ask the 1,800 students if their glimpse of the US president was worth it, and the answer from Belfast’s Waterfront Hall on Monday morning was a resounding yes.

Among those treasuring their time with this most personable of powerful leaders, before he jetted off to the G8 summit in Fermanagh, were students from local integrated schools.

Shimna Integrated College and Blackwater Integrated College were among those enjoying the pop concert atmosphere in the hall, complete with Mexican wave, before Barack Obama arrived half-an-hour behind schedule.

Also in attendance was Grace Rogerson, from Down High School. The sixth form student was invited as she had attended last month’s G8 Youth Summit in the Lough Erne Golf Resort. This event gave young people the opportunity to discuss a range of international development issues, such as healthcare for the poorest countries, with a summary of their talks presented to representatives of the G8 countries.

With a last minute phone call securing her invite, Grace said she was “understandably a little excited” when she met with other G8 Youth Summit members at the Waterfront shortly after 6.30am.

Describing the vibe in the hall as “hyper before, and afterwards”, Grace said: “It did not feel like we had to wait a long time. The atmosphere was fantastic, it was not a chore.”

Particularly impressed by Michelle Obama, who took to the stage before her husband, and after an inspirational peace-themed speech by Belfast schoolgirl Hannah Nelson, Grace said Mrs. Obama’s words of encouragement to those present were sincere and had impact.

“She really just wanted to encourage young people to stay on the path to peace and not to go back to the way things were,” said Grace.

“When the President spoke it was about how glad he was to be here, describing it as a really amazing place. He spoke for about half-an-hour to 45 minutes. The bit that really stuck with me was when he said peace is not just about politics it is about attitude... and he was encouraging people to keep moving forward.”

Helping looking after Shimna Integrated College’s group of eight students at the

Waterfront was teacher Alicia Rooney, who admitted to being as excited as her pupils when they got their invite on Friday.

“He was really, really inspirational, it was wonderful,” she said of Obama’s visit. “We met up at 5.30am in Newcastle. There wasn’t much sleep last night and there probably won’t be much tonight.

“It was good craic looking at all the Secret Service and CIA guys with their earpieces and just watching the hall fill up. And there was a DJ from Cool FM there too to keep everyone entertained.

“We were starving by the stage they all arrived but we were just so excited, it was such an honour to be there.”

Stating that the First Lady “got the biggest round of applause”, Ms. Rooney said Michelle Obama seemed to have a mesmerising effect on her audience, especially among the young girls in the room.

“She had a wonderful rapport with young people, girls especially adore her,” the teacher said. “She is a fantastic speaker.

“She said her mum and dad never went to university and that Obama’s father left when he was two, and that people will always try to put limitations on you and not to let anybody do that.

“I looked down the line of our kids and they were all hanging on to every word. They were starstruck.

“When Obama came on he said ‘you can understand why I am nervous after that, she is better than me’.”

While acknowledging the President’s references to “the craic” may have seemed “cheesy” to some, Ms. Rooney said the feeling in the hall was that Mr. Obama was being sincere.

It was our politicians, however, who provided one of the more eyepopping moments for the teacher.

“It was so funny to see our MLAs sitting in second tier behind us — and Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness, Peter Robinson — all doing the Mexican Wave.”

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