Tag Archives: Antrim

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Antrim Cross-Community League

Last semester, you will recall that PPI-NI orchestrated it’s patented Cross-Community Basketball League (CCL) in Antrim between Rathenraw Youth Club, St. Comgall’s Youth Club, and Parkhall Youth Club for kids aged 14-17. It was the first time in a long time that there was collaboration and connection between various youth clubs in the town of Antrim. 20 pupils participated in the programme and were administered PPI-NI’s Open College Network Level I course “Diversity in Sport.” While it was only a 5 week programe, PPI-NI was extremely pleased, but not shocked, to hear that following the programme there was additional cooperation between the three Youth Clubs in various schemes and programmes but also the particiapnts from the three youth clubs would occasionally make plans to see each other socially, away from their Youth Clubs.

With this as a starting point, PPI-NI ran another CCL in Antrim. This time with children aged 9-13 from the three youth clubs in addition to a fourth one, Stiles Youth club, also from Antrim. For the past 5 Thursdays, 25-30 screaming kids would fill the halls of Parkhall Integrated Junior College’s school hall with the sound of bouncing basketballs, bank shots, and community-relations discussions and activities. It was such a success, that 15 members from Rathenraw Youth Club decided to make the 45 minute journey into Belfast on June 2nd to participate in PPI-NI’s year-end Spring Jam tournament. Sometimes, it’s amazing what can happen in just 5 weeks between kids who have never met one another.

Enjoy the video below highlighting some of the scenes from the past 5 weeks. Look out for the special “Jonah Dance!” as performed by Rathenraw’s own Jonah Crawford.

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by | June 12, 2012 · 5:34 pm
by | April 10, 2012 · 3:03 pm

Mapping PeacePlayers’ Communities


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PeacePlayers International (PPI) works in many different communities in each of its program sites. These communities are  selected based on a number of different characteristics: geography, demographics, urban-rural setting, and even proximity to other participating PPI communities.

However, where PPI aims to facilitate the greatest impact is in underprivileged and deeply conservative areas – those most resistant to change. In this way, PPI envisions its young people radiating change, influencing first their friends and family, then their neighbors and schools, and finally, the institutions that can formally embed progress at the regional and national levels.

Check out maps of our program sites and some of our Community Spotlight posts to get a better idea of how PPI creates change agents from some of the most disadvantaged communities in Cyprus, Israel and the West Bank, Northern Ireland and South Africa.


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by | February 22, 2012 · 9:00 pm

Bridging Divides, Developing Leaders, and Changing Perceptions in Antrim


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PeacePlayers International-Northern Ireland (PPI-NI) is in the middle of its second year working with children of all ages in the town of Antrim, about 20 minutes outside of Belfast. Last year, Parkhall Integrated College received a grant from the Integrated Education Fund’s PACT (“Promoting a Culture of Trust”) funding scheme and contracted PeacePlayers to help implement a series of programs. Last year, PPI-NI ran five-week twinning programs at both the Secondary and Primary school level in Antrim.

The program was such a success that Parkhall asked PPI-NI to not only to return this year to Antrim to run the same programs, but also to expand its work in length and involve the many youth clubs in the Antrim area in the scheme. Also, PACT took notice of last year’s programming and contributed funding as well to this year’s programs. According to Dermot Fyfe, teacher at Parkhall and coordinator of this year’s PACT grant, there has been little if any cooperation between the various youth clubs in and around Antrim in the last 10-20 years. However, this past fall, PPI-NI delivered its OCN level 1 course “Understanding Diversity Through Sport” to 20 teenagers aged 15-18 from Parkhall Youth Club, Rathenraw Youth Club, and St. Comgall’s Youth Club.  Parkhall’s Junior school became the host for the five-week program which was by no means confined to just the OCN course. Participants took part in basketball drills and skill development sessions, as well as scrimmages and games on mixed teams. It was the first of its kind in Antrim and a similar project with over 50 kids aged 9-12 will be organized later this Spring with the same youth clubs in addition to High Street Youth Club, Stiles Youth Club, and Ballycregagh Youth Club.

In addition to the Youth Club project, PPI-NI coaches coordinated a five-week Twinning program for Year-8 pupils from St. Benedict’s and Parkhall Integrated Junior College during the months of October and November. Over 40 children participated, which involved multiple trips to both schools as a part of the twinning program. But perhaps the biggest part of PeacePlayers’ participation in Antrim this year will be our work with four integrated primary schools (Crumlin, Maine, Rathenraw, and Round Tower).

An overwhelming percentage of Northern Ireland education remains segregated so it’s a great opportunity to work with four primary schools that are as interested in bringing children from different religions and communities together as PPI-NI. This Thursday, PPI-NI will deliver the first of seven Primary School Twinning sessions to the four integrated primary schools in Antrim. Over the course of this program year, PPI-NI will work with close to 200 youth in Antrim; 200 kids with no previous PeacePlayers experience and, for some,  little or no cross-community experience as well.

PeacePlayers is very excited at the prospect or continuing to work in locales outside of Belfast, like Antrim, and thankful for funding from the Integrated Education Fund, as well as being able to work with able and willing partners such as Parkhall Integrated College and Antrim Borgough Council.

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by | January 25, 2012 · 2:08 pm

Let the Twinnings Begin!

Students from Holy Cross Girls' and Wheatfield Primary Schools competed against students from Our Lady's and Victoria Park Primary Schools last spring. The students will reunite with their Twinning partners this term for the P7 Twinning.

Today’s Twinnings between Victoria Park and Our Lady’s Primary Schools this morning, and Holy Cross Girls’ and Wheatfield Primary Schools this afternoon, mark the first Twinnings of the term.  The P7 classes that will come together today worked together last autumn as P6 classes, and, coincidentally, competed against each other in the first annual Super Twinnings Tournament in June. The Victoria Park/Our Lady’s Twinning emerged the champion of the tournament, but all of the students are eager and excited to reunite with their cross-community teams.  In the first classroom session in each school, students from both Holy Cross Girls’ and Wheatfield shared that they’ve been keeping in touch with their teammates from the other school, even exchanging messages on Facebook in anticipation!

Students from Holy Cross Girls' and Wheatfield participated in team-building activities as P6 students in the Autumn of 2010.

In addition to the two Twinnings that begin today, PPI-NI will host five more Twinnings in Belfast, two in Lurgan, and two in Antrim – 18 primary schools in total! Twinning participants in North Belfast will also be invited to participate in the junior Cross-Community League, which will commence in March, as well as a Cross-Community league for Antrim participants.  The P7 Community Relations curriculum will revisit the topics of similarities and differences and will explore the topics of diversity; identity and symbols; stereotypes and prejudice; sectarianism and racism; and how sport can be promote diversity in a positive way. It will be a very busy term, but we’re all excited to get started!

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by | February 9, 2011 · 2:08 pm

PPI-Northern Ireland Commences 4-Week Twinning In Antrim

Gooooo Black Tigers! A team of students from Maine and Round Tower Integrated Primary Schools in Antrim get ready to play their first game.

While PeacePlayers is no stranger to towns such as Dungannon, Claudy, Derry/Londonderry, Cookstown, Limavady, and Portadown, for the past couple of years PPI-NI’s home has been squarely in the city of Belfast.  However, from time to time, PPI-NI will venture outside of the city when we identify a need in a specific community. Beginning in early January, PeacePlayers ran a condensed 4-week twinning program with a group of primary and secondary schools in and around Antrim, which is located about 19 miles to the west of Belfast.


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The two secondary schools were Parkhall Integrated College (an integrated high school in Antrim) and St. Benedict’s College, a Catholic high school located about 15 minutes across the county in Randalstown. Approximately twenty students from the schools’ fourth year classes took part in the 4-week program on Monday mornings. The program started with the timid participants nervously putting their hands in the circle to quietly cheer the words “PEACEPLAYERS” in the first session, and ended last Monday with kids running and diving excitedly all over Parkhall’s gymnasium while enthusiastically competing in full-court games. Some participants even approached the PPI-NI coaches after the final session and asked our favorite question: “Do you do other events and can I get involved?” Music to our ears! Also included in the program were community relations discussions that covered challenging topics such as sectarianism, prejudice, and stereotypes.

PPI-NI also worked with the P6 classes of four primary schools in Antrim (Crumlin Integrated, Rathenraw Integrated, Maine Integrated, and Round Tower Integrated) on Fridays. PeacePlayers typically brings together two primary schools that are predominately representative of one particular community (Protestant or Catholic), but we were honored to be approached by the town of Antrim to run a special 4-week program with these recently integrated schools.

Coach Rory reacts to being labeled a "Ginger Man" during a Community Relations session this past month in Antrim.

Maine and Round Tower came together in the morning session, while Crumlin and Rathenraw were ‘twinned’ in the afternoon session. There were numerous highlights and memories over the four weeks, including Nicola of Crumlin Integrated referring to Coach Rory as a “Ginger Man” because of his red hair in one Community Relations session, and Coach Tony McGahran’s team referring to themselves as “Raine,” a combination of Round Tower Integrated and Maine Integrated. Perhaps even more creative was their team motto: “Let it RAINE and we’ll put out your fire!!!”

At the start of every primary school twinning program, PPI-NI encourages the host school give a tour of their school to their visiting twinning partners. In the Antrim program, however, all of the sessions were held in Parkhall’s gymnasium, so PPI-NI asked the four schools if they could make a small presentation about their school at the beginning of the first session. When Mrs. Hall of Crumlin Integrated emailed two days before the first twinning asking if her class could do a “rap” about her school, PPI-NI International Fellow Rory O’Neil didn’t know what to expect. When Crumlin arrived at their twinning with Rathenraw Integrated Primary School, the entire class “dropped” the following lyrics:

Crumlin Integrated is the best,
It is better than the rest.
Our teachers put us to the test,
And we always try to do our best.

Crumlin Integrated is the best,
Why not come along and be our guest.
See what makes us different from the rest.

We like to share because we care,
We always try to be fair.
We are proud of the uniforms we wear,
That’s why people join us there.

YO!!!

CRUMLIN INTEGRATED IS THE BEST,

WORD!!!

Thank you card from the children at Round Tower Integrated Primary School after the twinning program sadly came to a close this past Friday.

Needless to say, when a twinning starts off with a class of 9-10-year-olds rapping about their school, it is a good indicator of just how successful the twinning program is going to be – and it was! Thanks to Dermot Fyfe (a teacher at Parkhall) whose enthusiasm and hard work made this 4-week twinning program a reality. Also, a special thanks to the students and teachers of Parkhall Integrated College, St. Benedict’s College, Maine Integrated Primary School, Rathenraw Integrated Primary School, Round Tower Integrated Primary School, and Crumlin Integrated Primary School for participating! We hope to see you all in the future!

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by | January 26, 2011 · 2:25 pm

Tony McGaharan Returns to PPI – Northern Ireland

Tony McGaharan first became involved with PeacePlayers International as a volunteer several years ago. Recently, he returned to the program as part of a two-week work study. Below, he shares his thoughts on his experience and how the program has developed since he first encountered PPI – NI.

Tony (center), working in a Belfast Primary School with PPI - NI.

What a week!

I have been involved with Peace Players International for many years and so, when the opportunity came up to choose a local organization for my 2-week work-study placement, there was no doubt where I wanted to volunteer.

This time last year, I was living and studying in Sweden and was the Head Coach of a professional women’s basketball team in the city of Umea. I then spent the summer in the United States, working as a coach for an 8-week basketball camp. I returned to Belfast in September to complete my undergraduate studies at Stranmillis University College, a local teacher training institution.


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Organized chaos?

One of my favorite memories of PPI-NI goes back to my first Jingle Ball. I could not believe how many kids were packed into the sports hall; it was organized chaos. The energy, the buzz and the excitement was overwhelming. I then remember being asked to coach a team. I was privileged to be asked to coach a cross-community team with a mix of Holy Cross Girls and Wheatfield Primary school pupils. It was incredible to witness the power of sport in breaking down prejudices. The girls came together at the start of the day quiet and distant from one another, but by the afternoon they were sharing high-fives and heaps of laughter.

Ryan Douwie, now the Operations Manager of PPI - South Africa.

Throughout the day, there were numerous games, competitions and role-playing. As a young coach and future educator, I was blown away by the talent of the PPI leaders. I remember watching Ryan Douwie for the first time (now the Director of Basketball Operations in PPI- South Africa) at Jingle Ball and leading a warm-up for approximately 200 kids in attendance. It was like watching a magician at work! You could not keep your eyes off him and he amazingly held the attention of those young children for a full ten minutes.

This past week, I have been involved with a few twinnings in Antrim, working with both primary school children and secondary school pupils. Gareth Harper, Managing Director, has been exceptionally accommodating and has taken the time to guide me through the strategic direction of PPI-NI, as well as recent developments and ideas for the future. I have been involved in their weekly Operational Meetings, where the entire team encouraged me to share my ideas and thoughts regarding PPI-NI programming.

Over the past several days I have experienced a passionate team of people, whose deep commitment to advancing the mission of PeacePlayers is evident in every aspect of their position – whether they are facilitating community relations activities, coaching basketball, developing relationships with teachers, or working behind-the-scenes in the office.

Tony, working with children on the court.

Working with the good people at PPI-NI has been a real privilege. I have enjoyed every moment of coaching with them on the court and have shared lots of laughs on the road and in the office. A particular favorite of mine is when Rory and Meghan, two Fellows here from the U.S., felt a craving for an American meal, which inevitably led us to make a quick pit-stop on our return trip from Antrim. You should have seen their faces light up when they saw those golden arches. I have never seen people happier than they were to be in McDonald’s!

Now, years after my first experience of PeacePlayers, this work-study has allowed me to discover that PPI-NI has changed in a way I didn’t think possible.

It has gotten better.

- Tony McGaharan

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