First lady Michelle Obama urges youth to shape North Ireland’s future

DUBLIN (AP) — U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama has urged the young people of Northern Ireland to take a fresh perspective to help solve the country’s historic problems.

Delivering a speech in Belfast to around 2,000 schoolchildren, university students and graduates, she talked about how both she and Barack Obama overcame personal challenges and doubters — and urged her audience to aim high and make a change to their country’s future.

Later Monday, Michelle Obama and her daughters, Malia and Sasha, visited Trinity College in Dublin and were shown the Book of Kells, an intricate ninth-century gospel manuscript made by Irish monks.

They were also shown the birth registry of President Obama’s Irish ancestors.

The Obamas are in Northern Ireland for a summit by the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations.