By 
ONE of the foremost figures in the political and social history of the North over the past six decades has paid a visit to students at Dean Maguirc College.
Civil rights campaigner and former MP Bernadette McAliskey spoke to history and politics students at the college, spending time with both staff and pupils while reflecting on her decades of human rights campaigning.
“She is a witness to the history studied by our pupils and she has few equals in that respect,” said teacher Gavan McElroy.
“Bernadette was a central figure in the campaign for human rights from the late 1960s right up to the present.
“She represented a beacon of hope to a generation who suffered through gerrymandering, corruption and discrimination.”
The former MP spoke to students about her experiences, particularly during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
She outlined the situation in the North since partition in relation to voting rights, housing and employment, before speaking at length about the role of Republican Clubs in the civil rights campaign.
She also referred to Carrickmore as a hub of civil rights activity at the time.
Special mention was made of key activists from the Carrickmore–Beragh Civil Rights Association, including her election agent and Carrickmore native, Pat John Rafferty.
Bernadette held pupils and staff spellbound as she recounted her election to Westminster as a Unity candidate, the introduction of internment, and the impact of the Special Powers Act. Her emotive recollection of Bloody Sunday, and its role in what she described as ‘changing everything’, struck a chord with those in attendance.
Her talk was followed by a question-and-answer session, giving pupils the opportunity to learn more about how her upbringing influenced her political beliefs, her school days, how she became involved in politics, and her meeting with Muhammad Ali.
Proceedings concluded when Mrs Jayne Murphy presented Bernadette with a token of appreciation to mark her visit.
