Tag Archives: North Belfast

by | May 29, 2013 · 3:31 pm

Coach James Hughes Unites Children in Northern Ireland

Coach James Hughes

Coach James Hughes leads kids at PeacePlayers International’s Northern Ireland site

So, where to begin? I’m Coach James Hughes, now a Project Coordinator with PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland (PPI-NI), and this is my first blog post. I started my journey with PeacePlayers by helping out at Jingle Ball 2010 and Spring Jam 2011. I had never experienced a cross-community event like these in Belfast. The atmosphere created by bringing kids from different communities together was incredible and the coaching staff was fantastic. I was hooked!

Check out this video from last year's Spring Jam!

Click here to watch a video from last year’s Spring Jam!

Coming from a school in north Belfast, I have seen (and experienced) my fair share of sectarianism. Even as I write, I am starting to catch snippets of information filtering through about pipe bombs thrown at police officers. We’ve come a long way since the 1970s, but there is still a long way to go. So, knowing that there was an organization in the city striving to break down these divides was a comforting thought, and I knew I wanted to be a part of it. So, I took another, larger step into the organization by becoming a sessional coach for PeacePlayers in January of 2013. I was part of a small group of coaches that went with the coordinators to the twinning programs to coach basketball with one half of the group while the others went to undertake community-relations discussion with the coordinators.

I started taking on more of the community-relations discussions and became a lead coach after Christmas. Talking to the kids about their views and opinions was a new challenge. I was able to listen to their their stories and experiences, which they considered a normal part of life in an interface area. We talked about the likes of sectarianism, prejudice, and symbols. By the end of the program, some children had added members of the other school on Facebook. The sense of achievement in bridging these community divides is so tangible for us; this is what pushes me to keep working for PeacePlayers.

As Darryl Petticrew, Leadership Development Programme Coordinator, moved on to a new post with Ulster Rugby a few weeks ago, a spot opened up in the office. I had a chat with Gareth Harper, our Managing Director, about whether or not I’d be interested in the position, and of course I was. I have just finished my first week as a full-time member of the office and I love it! With Spring Jam only a few days away, there is a lot going on right now. There is so much involved in organizing an event like this. I can only tip my hat to the people who have done this in years prior. I’m grateful for this new opportunity to work full-time to unite and educate young people from Protestant and Catholic communities.

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by | August 8, 2012 · 7:30 pm

New Fellow Megan Lynch (PPI-NI) Takes a Tour of Belfast

As a way of welcoming the newest addition PPI-NI’s team, International Fellow Megan Lynch was taken by fellow Fellow Rory O’Neil and Project Coordinator Joanne Fitzpatrick on a quick tour of North and West Belfast. Megan was shown all the schools and community centres that PeacePlayers International-Northern Ireland works in these areas. Joanne takes us on their tour of North and West Belfast.

The first part of the tour was through the Ardoyne area in North Belfast, known more recently for its rioting during the 12th July marches, but known more fondly in PPI-NI as the place where a PeacePlayers t-shirt can be spotted after turning every corner. The tour continued down the Ardoyne Road, past the Peace Wall on Alliance Avenue, into the Glenbryn area where primary school twinning partners Holy Cross Girls and Wheatfield were pointed out. We drove down and stopped in to visit the Jolly Rancher Centre, a local community centre for the Glenbryn area, where a plethora of Wheatfield children ran on the streets in front.

We continued back through Ardoyne, waving to participants of our Advanced Leadership Programme and Primary School Twinning Programme as they shouted back, “See you at Seaview!”. We traveled out  onto the Crumlin road and turned right onto Tennant St., where waves of red, white, and blue began to appear- and where we could tell we were hitting the Shankill Road. There were hundreds upon thousands of flags blowing in the wind as we made our way down towards the Shankill Estate. As we turned into the estate, we were joined by several other travelers in the Loyalist tourist hot spot. When you turn 360 degrees, it’s very apparent as to why this is so popular with tour guides. Trying to take in all the murals takes about 15-20 mins, as nearly every end house has a mural depicting something important to the community. One mural in particular never ceases to amaze me- watch the video below to see that the picture follows you as you walk around it.

After we took in the very informative murals in the Shankill Estate, we hopped back in the car, made our way back up the Shankill Road, and turned down Lanark Way towards Springfield Road, travelling through our first peace wall of the day. We drove past St. Clare’s primary school (a PeacePlayers twinning school), and then over to Bombay St. to visit a memorial for those who have lost their lives in the greater Clonard area of West Belfast. Again, we were joined by many black taxis full of tourists. Here, in August 1969,  violent sectarian riots led to exchanges of gunfire and the burning of houses and businesses. Many believe that the events that transpired on Bombay St. in the summer of 1969 gave rise to “The Troubles”.

International Fellows Rory O’Neil and Megan Lynch check out the murals on Northumberland St., beside the peace wall that separates the Shankill Road and the Falls Road.

We made our way to Northumberland St., where we took in colourful murals that led us onto the Falls Road. We traveled up the Falls Road to see posters everywhere for the Feile and Phobail (Festival of the People), which is fully underway in the Falls area of West Belfast. We took a right and traveled up towards the Whiterock Community Centre to pay a visit to Sean “Topper” Thompson. There, we were greeted by the cheers of several of our participants from our Cross Community League, along with Junior Coach Michaela Thompson, who has been a PeacePlayers participant for nearly seven years and will shortly be moving into the role of Senior Coach.

As we left the community centre, we stood at the foot of Blacks Mountain and took in the amazing view of Belfast City. I thought to myself…I love this city!

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by | July 13, 2011 · 7:42 am

PPI-NI North Belfast Schools Collaborate at Game of Three Halves

On Wednesday, July 6th, 2011, PeacePlayers International-Northern Ireland partnered with the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), the Irish Football Association (IFA) and Ulster Rugby for the North Belfast Game of Three Halves at Ballysillian Leisure Centre.

Pupils from PPI-NI's North Belfast School playing gaelic football, soccer and rugby.

This event gave young people from both of the major traditions in North Belfast the opportunity to participate in the three most popular sports in Northern Ireland, some of which they may or may not have played before. All of the participating organizations and PPI-NI designed the event to create a safe and inclusive environment for the young people to play Gaelic Football, Soccer and Rugby, as well as participate in PPI-NI teambuilding and community relations activities.

Leadership Development Program Coordinator, Darryl Petticrew, led the participants in two community relations discussions. The first was Thoughts Passing and Perfect Teammate Qualities. The second CR discussion, Perfect Teammate Qualities(as shown in the above picture), asked the participants what their ideal qualities of a soccer player, rugby player, gaelic player and a basketball player would be.

Leadership Development Programme Coordinator Darryl Petticrew led PPI-NI's Community Relations discussion, Perfect Teammate Qualities.

Participants had to discuss which was more important if they were friendly or tall, a good-shooter or a good teammate or whether religion played an important role. The North Belfast children posed some interesting questions and learned a lot from each other.

Game of Three Halves participants were joined by some local celebrities on the day, including US Consul General, Kamala S. Lakhdhi, who took some time to meet some of the children and the coaches of the three sports. One of the North Belfast pupils had a profound question to ask the US Consul General: “Do you eat hamburgers?”. The answer was extremely important as it was a debated point during the First Thoughts discussion, as many of the participants supported the stereotype of “ALL American’s eat hamburgers”.

Game of Three Halves participants pictures with US Consul General, Kamala S. Lakhdhi.

The day was rounded up with a presentation ceremony for the winners of the Spirit and Hustle Awards, compered (hosted) by PPI-NI Chairman and Irish rugby legend, Trevor Ringland. The awards were presented by local sports personalities from Cliftonville FC, Ulster Rugby and Antrim GAA.

The unique dynamic served as a celebration of sport in Northern Ireland and helped develop positive relations between all of the young people involved, most of whom participate in PPI-NI’s Twinning Program.

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by | October 27, 2010 · 1:46 pm

Meet Ronny, a PPI-NI Twinning Participant!

This week, PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland (PPI-NI) offers a sneak peek at the documentary currently being filmed and produced by former PPI-NI Program Director, Will Maloney. The as-yet-untitled documentary chronicles the experiences of four PPI-NI program participants at various stages of their involvement with the organization.

The video clip below features Ronny McAuley, a P6 (10 year old) student at Carr’s Glen Primary School in North Belfast. This footage documents a school’s first session, held in the classroom, which aims to introduce students to PeacePlayers. For the next eight weeks, Ronnie and his classmates will be participating in PPI-NI’s twinning program alongside their twinning partner, St. Clare’s Primary School.




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by | February 17, 2010 · 8:55 am

A Twinning with Coach Joanne

Joanne Fitzpatrick is PPI-NI’s Coach Training and Engagement Coordinator. In addition to managing the PPI-NI local coaches, Joanne also leads a number of primary school twinnings herself. Today, she describes a recent twinning between St. Clares and Carrs Glen Primary Schools.

One of the discussion sessions that form a crucial part of PPI-NI's Twinning activity.

Going into Session 5 of the St Clares/Carrs Glen twinning, things are looking up, with all teams working together to gather points from various competitions each week. This term we have 53 children from the two schools, mixed up and split into four teams: the Blue Bulls, Fitzies, Brussel Sprouts and Dairylea Dunkers. St Clares PS is situated just off the Falls Road in West Belfast, and Carrs Glen is found a short distance away on the Old Park Rd in North Belfast, each surrounded by interface areas, sectarian attacks and peace walls. All of this is forgotten when backgrounds and religions are put aside by teamwork, competition and PeacePlayers jerseys.

Carrs Glen and St. Clares students huddling up.

In the last session, the kids were lucky enough to get a visit from the PeacePlayers International-Cyprus programme, who were more than happy to give a helping hand at each station. The kids learned some ball-handling skills from Coach Emily, how to shoot with Coach Dean, laughed with Coach Shaun, discussed stereotypes with Coach Laura, and signed a contract and discussed different methods of communication with Coach Joanne. Coach Rory O’Neill and the other Cypriot coaches helped the kids understand PeacePlayers International’s worldwide operations a bit more and the extent of the work done in all its sites.

In the next session, the kids passing and shooting skills will be put to the test, we will find out how much they know about sectarianism and racism, and we’ll check up on their dance moves and teamwork!

Want to take a simple action to support Coach Joanne and PeacePlayers International in Northern Ireland?  PPI is now eligible for inclusion in the latest edition of CauseWorld, a mobile app that lets you earn “karmas” – badges backed up by donations from Citi and Kraft – for your favorite causes just by visiting your own local hangouts. Vote for PPI to be one of three new Causes included in this round. (You can find us fourth from the bottom of the list on the right.) There’s no registration required and, with just a few seconds of your time, you’ll help others support PPI for a lifetime!

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