SDLP Youth
The Social Democratic and Labour Party Youth (SDLP Youth) (Irish: Óige an Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre)[1] is the youth wing of the social democratic[2] & Irish nationalist[3] political party, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). Membership of the organisation is entitled to SDLP party members of the age 30 and under.[4] It is organised throughout Northern Ireland and plays an active role within the SDLP at all levels of the organisation.
Social Democratic & Labour Party Youth Óige an Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre | |
---|---|
Chairperson | Cllr. Adam Gannon |
Vice-Chairperson | Ally Haydock |
Headquarters | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
Ideology | Social democracy Irish nationalism |
Mother party | SDLP |
International affiliation | International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY) (observer) |
European affiliation | Young European Socialists (YES) |
Website | www |
Organisation
The SDLP Youth is currently organised across much of Northern Ireland, including University societies. The group is split into a number of branches with the executive committee acting as the governing body of the organisation.
Executive
SDLP Youth is organised at a national level by the Youth Executive. The Youth Executive is responsible for the day-to-day running of SDLP Youth. It consists of 7 Officers elected at the annual Youth Conference, usually held in the spring.
The current Officers of the Youth Executive elected in January 2020 are:[5]
Executive Position | Officer | Constituency |
---|---|---|
Chair | Cllr. Adam Gannon | Fermanagh and South Tyrone |
Vice-Chair/Campaigns | Ally Haydock | Lagan Valley |
Secretary/Public Relations Officer | Jack Patton | Fermanagh and South Tyrone |
Treasurer | Brónach Crabtree | Foyle |
Equality Officer | Oisín Donnelly | West Tyrone |
Membership and Recruitment Officer | Paul McErlean | Mid Ulster |
Policy Officer | Darragh O'Reilly | Fermanagh and South Tyrone |
Branches
The current SDLP Youth branch organisations[6] are:
- Queen's University Belfast SDLP
- Ulster University SDLP
- SDLP Youth Belfast
- SDLP Youth Derry
- SDLP Youth Newry & Armagh
- SDLP Youth Mid Ulster
- SDLP Youth East Derry
- SDLP Youth County Antrim
Former SDLP branch organisations include:
- Magee SDLP[7]
- SDLP Youth Strabane[8]
- SDLP Youth South Down[9]
- SDLP Youth Upper Bann[10]
History
A youth section of the SDLP was first floated in late 1973 which led to the short lived group “the Young Social Democrats” which organised from 1974 to 1976.[11]
The current youth wing started organising in the early 1990s bringing motions, such as the decriminalisation of marijuana,[12] to party conferences but it wasn’t until June 1995 that the SDLP Youth became a distinct section of the SDLP when it was added to the party constitution.[13]
International
The SDLP Youth are full members of the Young European Socialists (YES),[14] formerly the European Community Organisation of Socialist Youth (ECOSY), having been admitted at the 1994 conference in Munich.[15] At this 1994 conference future SDLP MLA for South Belfast Conall McDevitt was elected as an ECOSY vice-president after being elected the National Secretary of Labour Youth in 1993.[16]
In 2016 the SDLP Youth and YES held a joint seminar in Belfast on "far-right extremism and Brexit" which was attended by young socialist activists from across Europe.[17]
The SDLP Youth are also observer members of International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY).[18]
References
- SDLP Youth Constitution
- SDLP Website
- SDLP Website
- SDLP Constitution clause 18.4a
- SDLP Youth
- Public Record Office for Northern Ireland, Reference D3072/1/32/3, collected 20th of October 2020.
- "Sense of the task ahead dampens conference euphoria Delegates emphasise the need for fledging peace to be underpinned." The Irish Times. Published 19 November 1994. Accessed 20 October 2020
- "SDLP decides to hold annual vote on leadership" The Irish Times. Published 12 June 1995. Accessed 20 October 2020
- YES Members list, collected 17th of May 2020.
- ECOSY 1994-1996 Report
- 2010 MLA Profile
- IUSY Members list, collected 17th of May 2020.