Humbert School plans triple award ceremony

Humbert School plans triple award ceremony


Anna-Marie Flynn
 
THE 2009 General Humbert Summer School will present a total of three awards during its session on Child-Protection Post-Ryan, at this year’s event from August 20th to 23rd next.
As part of the annual Humbert School Awards programme, specially commissioned Humbert School plates will be presented to survivors of child abuse; the Chairman of the Inquiry into Abuse, Mr Justice Sean Ryan; and journalist and writer Mary Raftery, author of the inside story into Ireland’s Industrial Schools, ‘Suffer the Little Children’.
While the original programme outlined the presentation of the award to commemorate the Report of the Commission to Inquire into Abuse chaired by Mr Justice Sean Ryan, founder of the Humbert School, John Cooney, confirmed to The Mayo News that all three awards will now be included in the programme.
“It is important that the survivors of abuse, as well as the journalist, and Justice Ryan, all be incorporated into this. The three strands are all very significant and have shown courage and the Humbert Award recognises that,” he said.
Nobel Peace Laureate, John Hume will present the 2009 Humbert Awards at the close of the Saturday session.
No stranger to the annual summer event, Mr Hume is an Honorary President of the Humbert Summer School, after being awarded the Humbert Civil Rights Award to mark his role in the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland last year.
And also set for a presentation ceremony is newly-appointed Minister of State, Deputy Dara Calleary, whose promotion to cabinet will be marked at the official opening of the school.
This year’s event sees a host of debates and discussions under the broad heading ‘Can Ireland Be Redeemed?’ In addition to the topic of Child Protection Post-Ryan; hard-hitting topics such as the Banking Crisis and Social Collapse; Political Reform, National and Local and Lisbon II Stocktaking, will all be debated over the course of the annual summer school.
Special guests include Minister for Foreign Affairs, Michael Martin; Mr Justice Vivian Lavin; Mary O’Rourke, T.D.; Joan Burton TD and a host of local faces including Fine Gael leader, Enda Kenny; Junior Minister, Dara Calleary; Ulick McEvaddy and Mayo News columnist, Fr Kevin Hegarty.
The final day of the school with see the annual Bishop Stock Address by Tom Arnold, Director of Concern, chaired by Maurice Regan.
The 2009 Humbert School will diverge slightly from the usual locations of Ballina and Killala, and this year is been held entirely in Ballina with the main location being the town’s Arts Centre (former Newman Institute) and  Murphy Brothers Restaurant, Ballina the venue for the annual luncheon address on Saturday afternoon.