Visit from the Minister

It was a Friday, and all four of us were up in the early hours of the morning in Castelblayney, anxiously awaiting the Minister for Youth, Frances Fitzgerald. Throes of children from different Youth groups came from all parts of Monaghan to promote Youth in Ireland. We were among those present in the cafe, sitting on the comfy sofas that adorned the local hang-out place.
    Soft music was issuing from the iPod speakers beside us and all held their abated breaths as the minister entered, clad in purple. She took her seat in the front row among fellow TDs and local councillors to listen intently to the speakers who followed.
    Before long, it was our turn and with hands only slightly shaking, we took our places in front of the crowd assembled there and told them about everything we were doing, including this blog, and what we hoped to do, which is getting a Youth Cafe for our local town.
    Seeing the Youth Cafe in Castleblayney completely changed our attitude toward getting a Youth Cafe, in a positive way, making us want this more than we did before. It was amazing to see such a relaxed and welcoming place in a town where young people can hang out together or attend talks and the like.
   Then, it was time for the minister herself to say a few words acknowledging what we were there doing. She seemed interested in what everyone there was doing, from small children who use the Youth Cafe to Youth Media Groups to Youth Workers. She seemed to really realise the potential of what we all were doing for the community and showed some sort of wish to further that so that we can do more to help the young people in our community.
   It was great to see how she was using the newly instated post of Minister for Youth in the best way possible, where a lot of ministers may groan and grumble, she took it upon herself to tackle the issues affecting young people in Ireland. To our surprise (and a pleasant surprise at that), she seemed intent on setting up other Youth Cafes in Ireland because of the positive effects it had on the community of Castleblayney.
   In short, the day was a success and not only our gorup, but the rest of the Youth Workers succeeded in raising awareness for our cause. It was a brilliant experience and definitely one of the highlights of 2012. As well as that, it was gratifying to know that our efforts were paying off, and as a side-note, look out for our imminent video on how our community really needs a Youth Cafe.