Yesterday was an auspicious day both personally and for the Omagh Community Youth Choir Official as we helped mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement. Please take a moment to read the post I wrote below.
Many thanks,
Daryl
Omagh Community Youth Choir Official
Yesterday we were invited by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to perform at a special gala dinner at Hillsborough Castle to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
It was an evening consisting of a unique gathering of former and present political leaders including four former Prime Ministers, President Bill Clinton and Secretary Hillary Clinton, former senator George Mitchell, former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and former Irish President Mary McAleese. It certainly felt that this would be a once-in-a-lifetime event with a distinguished array of local, European and global leaders.
We were asked to perform ‘I Have a Dream’, the wonderful ABBA song that has such a strong sentiment for peace. The choir were introduced by NI Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris MP to the esteemed guests to perform before dinner.
It was not lost that our own anniversary of 25 years will be marked this year and it was a timely reminder of how far our group and small country have come in that time.
In Prime Minster Sunak’s opening remarks, he paid the choir tribute by saying, ‘I’d also like to add my thanks to the Omagh Community Youth Choir, they were brilliant, and their voices raised together in harmony are the sound of Northern Ireland today. The sound of peace – because now the torch is passed from the architects of the agreement to those who are building the future it promised.’
Security was at a premium so there was limited opportunity to take photo/film footage but we have a short montage to mark this auspicious occasion.
Let’s hope our young people in Northern Ireland build on these past 25 years and continue to walk hand in hand with this shared message of Peace and Prosperity for a better future.
I give special thanks to our young members who were fantastic ambassadors for their schools, town and country and performed with real heart. The future remains bright!
Daryl Simpson
Musical Director
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from facebook Daryl Simpson Tenor