First Minister put to work during trip to former primary school

Michelle O’Neill was quickly put to work during a visit to her former primary school in Co Tyrone, buttering slices of toast and delivering the morning snack to excited pupils.

The Northern Ireland First Minister spent Friday morning darting from classroom to classroom with trays of white toast while chatting to pupils of all ages about their time at Primate Dixon Primary School in Coalisland.

Some of the pupils greeted the Sinn Fein politician with a “maidin mhaith” (good morning), and all raised their hands when asked if they loved school.

The First Minister told pupils how she used to walk the short distance from her childhood home to the old school building, sometimes stopping at the chapel during the Easter period.

Some 40 children from primary 5, 6 and 7 gathered in the school’s assembly hall to put prepared questions to their visitor.

Ms O’Neill, sitting under a “cead mile failte” banner and flanked by the school’s principal, Sean Dillon and vice-principal Siobhan Murphy, was questioned about an array of topics, from funding for sports to abolishing homework and removing transition exams.

With a microphone in hand, one P5 pupil told Ms O’Neill it was “lovely” to see her and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly attend a football match together at Windsor Park earlier this week.

Niamh asked: “Are you hoping that we will be able to play the Euros at Casement Park and do you wish that we will get to play the Ulster Final there too?”

Ms O’Neill replied: “Yes, absolutely. I can’t wait for Casement Park to be built and can’t wait to watch an Ulster Final there.

“Before that happens, there is going to be this big soccer tournament called the (Uefa) Euro 28.

“And that’s going to bring people from across the world to our part of the world, to those big games and that’s going to be a brilliant opportunity for everybody who gets to go to a match, but also a big buzz.

“No doubt the school will do a celebratory thing and talk about all the teams coming from across the world.

“I believe in the power of sport to unite people and bring people together. You all have your own different sports, we have Gaelic players in the room, soccer players, boxers, hurlers.

“You all play a range of sports and I think it’s important that we invest in all of those to make sure you have the best facilities and for me that’s what Casement Park is about and the Euro competition has to be about as well.”

Ms O’Neill told the assembled students she could not promise the school would abolish homework despite a unanimous vote by the pupils to cancel all future studies.

She instead told the young students to look in the mirror each morning and remind themselves that they are “class”.

The First Minister then ended her visit with a trip to the principal’s office for tea and more toast.