This week, Belfast actress Lola Petticrew dedicated her award at the Irish Film and Television Awards to the children of West Belfast who she said battled a system which is “not designed for kids where I am from to survive, let alone thrive”.

She said: “One in three kids in West Belfast live in poverty, that is the legacy of the war, that is the legacy of Britain’s hand in Ireland and that is a political violence and the kids of West Belfast deserve so much better”.

We publish an opinion piece by Belfast Republican Séamus Mac Shíomóin on the struggles being faced by a new generation.