It’s the summer of 1984 and an excited crowd of children and parents gather outside the York Road railway station in Belfast. The parents are getting ready to send their children off on another adventure abroad as part of the Euro Children holiday scheme. With the unrest in Northern Ireland particularly in the summer months, Euro Children scheme provides an opportunity for kids who wouldn't otherwise be able to go for a holiday in Europe. 

Young Eamonn Holmes interviews Joe Cochrane, a Belfast schoolteacher who helped set up Euro-Children’s involvement in the north in 1974, to find out more about the scheme and its benefits. Euro Children scheme is at this point running for 10 years in Northern Ireland and the children, some first timers and some already familiar with Euro Children, also give their opinions on the scheme, where they’re going and why they’re looking forward to it.

Euro Children, an organisation aimed at helping disadvantaged children across Europe by connecting them with host families for annual holidays, was founded by Fr Robert Matthieu, a Belgian priest, and benefited thousands of children from Northern Ireland during the Troubles by offering children a break from home life and an opportunity to broaden their horizons.

Interviewer is Eamonn Holmes

Interviewees: Joe Cochrane and the Euro Children scheme participants