UNIONIST pressure is understood to have resulted in moving the location of a commemoration event to hunger striker Bobby Sands.

Sinn Fein intended to hold the public talk on Saturday in the Clinton Centre - which is on the site of the 1987 Enniskillen bomb - but they were forced to cancel their booking after it caused fury among Unionists, including some family members of victims of the IRA bomb.

And management at the Clinton Centre have admitted they were wrong to take the booking after it emerged they are not allowed to hold events organised by political parties, despite hosting such events numerous times in the past.

A spokesperson for the Centre, who took the booking, said: "We hold our hands up - we were wrong".

It's understood he received numerous telephone calls from the Unionist community instructing him to cancel the event.

And in fact, a fierce campaign was launched earlier in the week.

The Impartial Reporter has obtained a message that was circulated, appealing to people to phone the centre management with their "disgust".

The message, circulating as a text, an e-mail and through Facebook read: "This should be stopped, please help us get this stopped".

It contained a number of comments and listed his phone number and e-mail address as the one to contact.

Reacting, a spokesperson told this newspaper: "A number of political parties including Sinn Fein have in the past used the Clinton Centre for a variety of events without any comments being received by the Centre. The Centre had been contacted following a news article and advised to check the conditions of funding that had been received by the Centre. We have taken advice in relation to the funding conditions and as a result are not in a position to host activity by any political party. We have communicated this to Sinn Fein and as a result they have rearranged the venue for their public talk this week," he said.

Sinn Fein will now meet in the Donn Carragh Hotel in Lisnaskea at 7.30pm instead.

Politicians Arlene Foster and Tom Elliott, plus Assembly Candidate Alex Elliott who stopped the event taking place.

Mrs. Foster, acting on behalf of Stephen Gault, who lost his father in the Enniskillen bomb was the first politician to hit out on hearing news of the event. She described it as "a blatant attempt" by republicans to raise tensions in Fermanagh in the run up to the forthcoming Assembly election and said the initial choice of venue by Sinn Fein was a "deliberate snub" to victims like Mr. Gault.

On hearing of the change of location, Mrs. Foster said it "would have been better" if Sinn Fein had made the decision to move "themselves" but that it would come as "great relief" to the victims. She denied, however, that she put any pressure on the Clinton Centre, saying: "I think it would be unfair to say that. This was causing hurt to the victims and I think the Clinton Centre realised holding the event would have put their funding in jeopardy," she said.

TUV Assembly Candidate Alex Elliott branded the initial event, which was first advertised on the personal Facebook page of Sinn Fein Councillor Phil Flanagan, as a "ghoulish booking" while Ulster Unionist leader Tom Elliott said it was a "sinister attempt" by Sinn Fein to antagonise Unionists. It's understood both Tom and Alex Elliott also contacted the Centre to air their frustration and point out the funding regulations.

Stephen Gault said he is "delighted" that Sinn Fein would not be using the Clinton Centre after all.

"When I heard what they had planned to do I was very upset and very hurt, I am reliving those painful memories every day and this brings it all back. I am stressed, my general health has worsened. I am not sleeping well at all. It's just eating away at me... it is festering away all the time," he said.

Confirming the change of location, Sinn Fein Assembly Candidate Sean Lynch said: "Due to constraints on the nature of the funding the Clinton Centre receives from Europe, they have informed us that they are unable to host events organised by political parties. We have therefore relocated this event to another venue and look forward to numerous events across Fermanagh and South Tyrone, Ireland and across the globe which will be held to mark the 30th Anniversary of the 1981 Hunger Strike." The event on Saturday is to include contributions from Francie Molloy and Jim Gibney, who played a key role in getting Bobby Sands elected MP for the Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituency 30 years ago.

Speaking about the event, Sinn Fein MP Michelle Gildernew commented: "We would encourage everyone to come along to the public talk, young and old alike, people who worked on Bobby's election or even people who are just keen to find out more about this defining moment in our recent past. The 1981 Hunger Strike was a catalyst, a truly historic moment in the struggle for Irish freedom. The election of Bobby Sands on April 9th 1981 effectively ended the British government's policy of criminalisation, and his 30,000 votes reverberated across the world showing the support that existed for republican prisoners.

"The election of Bobby as MP for Fermanagh South Tyrone was a truly international event providing hope and inspiration for oppressed peoples across the world. Bobby Sands election and the sacrifice of the 10 ten hunger strikers has and will continue to inspire Irish republicans to achieve a new and United Ireland," she said.

Meanwhile, Pearse Doherty TD and Seanad Candidate Kathryn Reilly were guest speakers at a Sinn Fein Youth Talk in Donagh at the weekend.

Phil Flanagan chaired the event and was joined by fellow Assembly Candidates, Michelle Gildernew and Sean Lynch.

Kathryn Reilly and Pearse Doherty discussed the issues facing young Irish people and said their party was committed to combating youth unemployment, getting free education, adequate health, proper housing, decent youth and sporting facilities and working to reverse the plight of youth emigration.

Ciaran May, spokesperson for Ógra Shinn Féin, said: "The talk was an extremely useful engagement for local young people, many of whom asked very relevant questions of things facing them in their everyday lives. Everything about the event was youthful, the speakers, the chairperson and the crowd. It is clear from the quality and confidence of the young people in attendance that Sinn Fein is a party of youth and they have a bright future ahead of them," he said.