FORMER British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband is among a number of key public figures who will deliver a keynote address at this month’s Patrick MacGill School.
Mr Miliband, considered at one time as a future Labour Prime Minister, will be joined by Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, former Health Minister in the Republic, Mary Harney and other speakers from the world of national and international affairs.
Based in Glenties in west Donegal, this year's school will again be virtual due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions and will run from October 27 to 29.
As Foreign Secretary, from 2007 to 2010, Mr Miliband was one of then Prime Minister Tony Blair's key allies and a leading figure in the New Labour movement in Britain.
Following the resignation of Gordon Brown as Labour Leader in 2010, Mr Miliband unsuccessfully contested the leadership of the party, losing out to his brother, Ed who led Labour in opposition.
He resigned his parliamentary seat in 2013 to become president and chief executive of International Rescue Committee, a global non-governmental humanitarian aid organisation.
Now in its 40th year, the MacGill school was established to perpetuate the memory of Glenties' writer, Patrick MacGill.
The author wrote about social conditions in Donegal and the plight of migrant workers from the county to Britain as well as the First World War in which he fought as a British soldier.
Since 1981, the MacGill school has grown to become one of Ireland's foremost platforms for discuss of social and public policy, annually attracting political, church, business and society leaders from all traditions north and south of the border.
A hallmark of the school - which normally runs in the summer - is the open platforms it provides to anyone to join in and engage with major public figures by asking questions and putting forward alternative views.
Since 2001, the school has held an annual John Hume Lecture in tribute to the late Nobel laureate who died last year.
The lecture has been delivered by former Taoisigh and other leading figures including the late Fr Alex Reid and former Police Ombudsman, Dame Nuala O'Loan.
Further information is available at www.macgillsummerschool.com
