News
Limerick Youth Service girls visit Liverpool from the Island Field
Limerick Youth Service girls from the D’Islanders Youth Group at Anfield’s media centre.
Limerick Youth Service girls visit Liverpool from the Island Field
A trip to the Blue Coat Theatre, a tour of Anfield and a little bit of shopping were all ticked off the diary by young people with Limerick Youth Service who were on a recent trip to Liverpool.
The girls, who are members of LYS’ D’Islanders Youth Group, were invited to Liverpool by Emma Burns, 20 Stories High art group, who saw the young people on stage at the Belltable last November as part of the Queens of the Island Field play.
advertisement
advertisement
advertisement
‘Emma was so impressed by the young people and was adamant that they visit Liverpool so we couldn’t say no!’ said Gillian Boland, LYS.
Emma is part of 20 Stories High, a community arts group based at the famous Blue Coat Theatre, Liverpool, which is one of the oldest performing arts centres in the United Kingdom.
‘The Blue Coat Theatre is celebrating its 300th anniversary making so for our girls to be invited was a great honour,’ said Gillian, youth work with D’Islanders Youth Group.
While at the Blue Coat Theatre the girls were given a private tour and saw rehearsals of Indebted: The Mix Tape, the latest production by 20 Stories High.
Away from the arts centre the young people experienced a theatre of another kind as they paid a visited in Anfield, home of the legendary Liverpool FC.
‘As part of the tour, we sat in the dugouts, visited the dressing rooms and the club’s trophy room-which is overflowing with five European Cups and eighteen League Championships! ’ laughed Gillian
Reflecting on the trip Gillian was full of praise for the five young people who raised the funds for their Merseyside adventure by holding a table quiz at Nellie’s Corner and bag packing at Dunne’s Stores.
‘The girls deserve great credit as they worked hard to make this trip possible and they enjoyed every minute of it,’ said a very proud Gillian.
For some (of the girls) it was their first time out of Ireland and it certainly opened their eyes with one girl writing a diary of the event (see below),’ said Gillian.
Limerick Youth Service girls from the D’Islanders Youth Group at Anfield’s media centre.
Liverpool & Me
By Amber Lyons
One summer’s night we got up with the sunrise (4 am) and headed to our youth space in Nicholas St where we all boarded a minicab for Shannon. Next stop Liverpool!
On arriving in Liverpool we went the Blue Coat Theatre where we spent time with other groups, got a tour of the building and saw the 20 Stories High group rehearse their latest play Indebted: The Mix Tape.
They had two weeks to get ready for the premiere and it was really cool to see them rehearse- even if they did forget their lines!
The next day we went shopping in Liverpool and found Primark- their version of Pennys. Despite the name change they just couldn’t hide it from us!
After our shopping spree, we went to Anfield home of Liverpool FC- WOW! What a stadium! We saw the changing rooms, pitch and the trophy cabinet which was full- through the Man Utd fans with our group said there were more trophies in theirs!
We had a really good time in Liverpool and can’t wait to return.
LYS would like to congratulate D’Islanders Youth Group who stepped on to the stage at the Belltable and stepped off in Liverpool. Here’s to the sequel!
D’Islanders Youth Group is based at Nicholas St Youth Space, King’s Island and is open to young people from across the local community.
A member of Youth Work Ireland, LYS remains committed to connecting with young people and supporting them to reach their full potential.
For more information on Limerick Youth Service, go here
For more stories on Limerick Youth Service, go here
