[Translation: This week, we celebrate Refugee Week here in Ireland and around the world. The theme of the week is: our home. During the week, awareness-raising events, cultural events and arts events will take place all over the island. We should all take part in this special week, as it gives us the opportunity to form relationships and friendships with the new communities that are settling here and to learn about the positive impact that they make on life here. We all saw the progress made by right-wing parties in the European elections last week. Not only in France and Germany but here in Ireland. There have never been so many right-wing candidates on the ballot paper here as there were in last week's elections. Hatred of refugees and falsehoods about people who come here in search of asylum was the battle cry of those candidates. That is all that they have to offer: hatred, anger and spite. We must stand together against those viewpoints and stand shoulder to shoulder with the refugees and asylum seekers who come here in search of peace and safety. Refugee Week gives us an opportunity to do just that and to give them a warm welcome.]

On Friday evening, I had the great pleasure of joining hundreds of people at the MAC theatre to watch the premiere of the play 'Pride of the Shore', written by our own Gary Mitchell. The play eloquently articulates the struggles faced by working-class communities in inner parts of north Belfast and, more importantly, celebrates the determination and continuous work of people in our communities to improve the area in which they live.

The main focus of the play is the Pride of the Shore flute band, which, for almost 40 years, has been at the heart of the north Belfast community. Hundreds of people freely give their time to improve the area that they call home, giving young people a positive outlet, instilling discipline and musical attributes, and ensuring that the mental health crisis that faces many of our communities is, rightly, tackled.

It was wonderful to see working-class communities taking their rightful place at the heart of the cultural setting of our city. The play, in the heart of the MAC theatre, showcased to people from across Northern Ireland who might have had prejudiced or uninformed views the vital role that our marching-band communities play.

The play runs until 23 June, and I encourage Members in the Chamber and those outside it to take advantage of the opportunity to see it. It eloquently articulates the aspirations and hopes of the community in north Belfast and shows that the marching-band scene plays a vital role. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to Green Shoot Productions, which managed to bring members of the local community and professional actors together to showcase the event; to the actors from north Belfast and across Northern Ireland who played a leading role in the play; and to the Pride of the Shore flute band, which continues to ensure that the cultural celebrations in north Belfast are to the fore of our community.