Three days after the huge success of the Rally for Life young pro-life volunteers took off on Youth Defence's Annual Roadshow. Last Wednesday streets sessions were held in Drogheda and Dundalk where the response was so positive that the supply of leaflets which were to last until Friday were completely exhausted. Having made an urgent call to boost the supply for this year's Roadshow the teams continued to Cavan and Monaghan where the good news continued.
 
In Cavan, the next day Youth Defence’s information table was approached by a young mother with a cute baby in a buggy. In 2007 that mother travelled to Dublin for an appointment with abortion referral agents, Marie Stopes, who send Irish babies to be killed in Britain. Outside the agency she met Youth Defence volunteers who gave her the information she needed to realise her baby was a precious human being deserving of the right to life. She never kept her appointment; and says she gives thanks every day for her beautiful baby boy. "She took a huge pile of our leaflets and said she wanted to go to every door in Cavan town with them," said Rebecca Roughneen, the YD Roadshow co-ordinator. "And, like so many other young people we meet on the Roadshow, she wanted to join up and get active in pro-life."
 
"This is the kind of feedback that shows the huge difference pro-life work can make," said Ms Roughneen. "And the Roadshow is such an important factor in reaching out to people right around the country who might otherwise be deprived of pro-life information."
 
An exciting addition to this year’s Roadshow is a multi-media Digi-Van, which uses a large mobile screen to show dvds, and play music and short pro-life video messages. The Digi-van has got "a huge amount of attention since it’s a new and exciting format in presenting the pro-life message," said Katie of Youth Defence. "It attracts a large group of people constantly, and is especially bringing over young people to listen and talk to the Roadshow. It’s been a huge success."
 
The Roadshow has visited Drogheda, Dundalk, Monaghan, Cavan, Donegal, Letterkenny, Sligo, Castlebar, Ballina, Galway, Ennis, Limerick, Tralee, Killarney to date, will also stop in Cork, Clonmel, Waterford, Kilkenny and Portlaoise this week before its conclusion.
 
Galway came in for a special mention from the Roadshow team where they said shoppers and passers by were full of praise for the initiative, and were "hungry for real information." In previous years the Gardai had attempted to shut down the street sessions in Galway, but those garda actions are now under investigation following formal complaints by Youth Defence. After a very busy day in Limerick, YD members also picketed the IFPA clinic in that city and called for abortion referral agencies to stop exploiting women and killing children for profit.
 
More than 60 young people took part in the Roadshow this year. "It’s the best fun you can have doing while doing some incredibly important work,” said Rachel Lelyan from CEC for Life who travelled from New York to learn the ropes. “It’s the model we’re going to follow back home."