Documentary screening of How to Diffuse a Bomb: The Project Children Story

Leitrim County Council has announced its support for a special event in Ballinamore this September celebrating the work of Project Children, the groundbreaking charity that offered a lifeline to thousands of young people during the Northern Ireland Troubles.

The highlight of the day will be a screening of the acclaimed documentary How to Diffuse a Bomb – The Project Children Story, which aired on RTÉ last year. The film traces the experiences of some of the 23,000 children who were given a six-week summer reprieve from sectarian violence by staying with host families in the United States. It also captures the perspectives of those American families who opened their homes and hearts across the decades.

Founded in 1975 by brothers Denis and Pat Mulcahy, Project Children became a remarkable peace-building initiative at a time when Northern Ireland was deeply divided. Denis’s wife, Miriam (née O’Rourke) from Aughnasheelin, has also played a central role since the charity’s earliest days. The Ballinamore event is being held in part to honour her lifetime of dedication.

The programme for the day begins at 11.00am at the Island Theatre in Ballinamore, where secondary school students will attend a special screening of the documentary, followed by a photo call with the Cathaoirleach of Leitrim County Council, Denis and Miriam Mulcahy, and the students. From 1.15pm, the O’Rourke family and members of the Aughnasheelin community will host a lunch at the Community Centre. This will be followed at 2.45pm by a tree planting and plaque unveiling ceremony, led by Denis and Miriam, to mark the occasion.

Later in the evening, a reception will take place at the Island Theatre from 6.00pm, where the Cathaoirleach of Leitrim County Council will deliver a welcome address. The main public screening of How to Diffuse a Bomb will follow at 7.00pm. After the 90-minute film, Denis and Miriam Mulcahy will take part in a Q&A session before the Chief Executive of the Council offers closing remarks at 9.00pm.

As part of the wider 50th anniversary celebrations, similar events are also taking place in Denis’s home county of Cork, with a large gala planned for Monaghan in October. Leitrim County Council has been working closely with Project Children representatives in New York to bring the Ballinamore and Aughnasheelin event together.

Organisers say Denis Mulcahy will be available in advance of the event to speak about the history and impact of the charity, which for five decades has helped shape cross-community understanding and reconciliation.

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Youth with a stone during a riot at the top of Leeson Street, west Belfast, 1978.