Ms Roche kept each of the 260 pupils enthralled as she spoke of her work since she founded the Chernobyl Children’s Project 20 years ago. Speaking to first the junior and then the senior groups, Ms Roche was ever professional, yet down to earth when it came to speaking to the children.

When speaking to the younger children she explained about what happens when people go to war and then about nuclear power. She then described how there were other things which damaged the world such as famine. She told the children the only reason Irish people survived a famine was because humanitarian aid was shipped into the country through Galway, Cork, Belfast and Dublin. “The people in this room are descendants of those survivors.”

She explained how the earth could be damaged, especially by nuclear power and told them about Sellafield in England and how in 1986 there was an explosion in Chernobyl, The Ukraine. “It blew a lid off the reactor and put a thousand tonnes of radioactive material, which is invisible, into the air. Many of the children are very very sick as a result of this.” It has since been described as the greatest disaster of mankind.

“It is very important that you as healthy boys and girls throw a life line across 3,000 miles and that you say to the children in Chernobyl that you are their friends. I am going next week with nurses, doctors, dentists and we are going to go into an orphanage to help some of these children. Marie Cox from Castlebar is coming as a nurse and works on making the children better. We give them something very important and that is love.”

She noted their only hope was that they would have a brother or sister in Castlebar who would be their friend. “I want you to do something which is called Love in Action. That you will do something as a classroom, as a school which will help us in our work and show the kids you love them. At the end of that, you might organise a fundraiser.” She then explained how all of the children who have been affected by the disaster in Chernobyl are brought to Castlebar for a holiday. “All of the children have shorter lives because of the radiation. By bringing them here, you add two years to their lives.”

To the senior classes, Ms Roche altered her speech to reflect their older level of intelligence. She presented them with school packs which look at alternative renewable energy. She told them that in 1977 the Government wanted to build four nuclear power plants at Carnsore Point. As a young girl she went down and protested with

other groups and it was stopped. “You inherited the gift of 1977 from your grandparents and parents and now Ireland has remained nuclear free.”

She then pleaded with the classes that she was asking, ‘with my hand on my heart’ to help her in her work with the children of Chernobyl. “I am asking the senior classes to leave a legacy for the junior classes to follow on.”

Angela Gavin, Vice-Principal of Snugboro NS said the school would definately be doing something to raise money for the project which would involve everyone in the school. Donnocha Cox, son of Marie, who is also involved in the organisation, presented Ms Roche with a bouquet of flowers on behalf of the school.

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