Gort pupils sing at Amnesty celebration

PUPILS from Gort Community School performed at the Amnesty International Human Rights Day celebration to remember the creation, 63 years ago, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
Colm O’Gorman, head of Amnesty Ireland, met with pupils on a recent visit to the school before inviting them to perform at the concert alongside Eleanor McEvoy and Brian Kennedy.
To celebrate Amnesty’s 50 years of working for human rights, a group of third-year Junior Certificate pupils at Gort Community School were enthused into action.
Working alongside their CSPE and music teacher, Yvonne Conroy, they explored the UDHR in more detail, with both pens and musical instruments in hand.
The CSPE class wanted to make the first-years in the school more aware of their human rights and responsibilities. They decided to use the melody of a well-known song. By changing the lyrics, they carefully included references to both civil and political rights, as well as economic, social and cultural rights.
The event held at the weekend also celebrated Amnesty International’s 50 years in existence. The organisation began with a single letter to a newspaper and grew from there into the world’s largest human rights organisation, with more than 3.2 million members.
The iconic Amnesty candle was first lit in London on December 10, 1961, and to mark the 50th anniversary of that event, Amnesty International held a celebration in St Ann’s Church, Dublin, the first place in Ireland where an Amnesty candle was lit.
Gort Community School were the only choir to perform at the commemoration. The choir were joined on the bill by Eleanor McEvoy, Brian Kennedy, Gavin Friday and Kate Tempest.
Mr O’Gorman said, “This event was a celebration but also an opportunity to renew our determination to keep fighting for women and men imprisoned simply for what they say or think, to keep working for human rights, until they are all free”.