Omagh Republican Youth Run MMA Classes For Self-Defence

Omagh Republican Youth (ORY) is a socialist republican youth group which strives to keep young people out of trouble. They have 15 members. Their stated aim is to be a resource for the socialist republican movement by raising class consciousness amongst the youth through community engagement, organising food banks, toy drives and MMA classes. 

“We will be an anti-fascist, left-leaning Republican group in the Ulster area who appeal to the youth. We invite the youth to get involved with grassroots Republican activism. We invite the youth to learn about Republicanism, to learn about anti-fascism, socialism, to understand how dangerous certain ideals are to the working class, and we strive to help support the working class nationalist community in Omagh, “ a representative said to Aontacht Media, also explaining that “the Good Friday Agreement sold out the working class completely. We believe that the working class have not seen any benefits of it. We highly believe that Brendan Hughes was right in what he had to say”. 

They are active in various community initiatives, such as mutual aid, food drives and donations. “We’ve worked with Omagh Community Support before, which is a group organised by fellow young people who are independent from any political ideas, who just want to help restore their community. We also like to help out with, you know, food banks, toy drives, Easter egg drives, stuff like that. Coming up to Easter, we are collecting money for Easter eggs for children in working-class areas, “ he listed a few examples. The group said that it has faced political repression from loyalists and the PSNI. 

As a result, they have started organising MMA classes for self-defence, teaching their members how to fight if need be. 

“At the minute, we are running MMA classes,just to help keep the lads active, to keep them out of trouble in their community. And to help, you know, keep them aware of, you know, say if there was something that happened, they would know how to defend themselves. We want to bring the youth of Omagh together, give them somewhere safe to be away from anti-social behaviour and it also teaches them a good skill in mixed material arts. As you know the British crown forces can be a heavy handed organisation towards young people in our area and we want our youth to be able to defend themselves from these people if need be. We are not a group that promotes violence towards the PSNI but we are a group who want young people to be aware of the dangers and level of unprofessionalism this police force is infested with, “ he explains. 

"The PSNI are notorious for harassing us, daily stop-and-searches. We would like them to step away a bit. As you know, the PSNI is an Orange Police Force. They have always been in the Orange Police Force. You know, there's members of certain groups up here whose fathers or mothers are members of the Crown Forces. They are gangster groups, you know, they have stopped, they have put up graffiti, you know, got flags down, stuff like that, but we are hoping to be an aid to all groups you know, except for Sinn Féin. But yes, we do really, really hope to see a socialist republic, and we hope to be a part of what helps get it, “ he concluded.

The reader can consult this website for their rights when stopped by the PSNI.