Minister Cowen announces grants of €610,500 for Reconciliation Groups

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Brian Cowen T.D., announced today the allocation of grants totalling €610,500 from the Department of Foreign Affairs' Reconciliation Fund. The grants are being made to 33 organisations involved in a range of cross-community and cross-border outreach and reconciliation programmes.

Announcing the grants, Minister Cowen said:

"The ongoing work being carried out by so many organisations to encourage reconciliation and build mutual respect between the various communities and traditions in Northern Ireland, and between North and South, is deeply appreciated by the Irish Government. These grants are a further reflection of the commitment made by the Government, in the Good Friday Agreement, to support such endeavours and provide financial assistance for the work of reconciliation and mutual understanding.

Projects such as the Belfast Together project, and that run by St. John Vianney Youth Centre in Lower Ormeau, will bring young people from different cultural, religious and political backgrounds together through sports and youth activities. Other projects aim to improve understanding and create closer relationships among communities in Ireland through language, culture and the arts. The John Hewitt Summer School and the McCracken Summer School are good examples of this kind of interaction.

A number of the groups funded address the particular problems of interface areas in Belfast (Whiterock Festival; Limestone Youth Project; Short Strand Community Centre). The Fund has also assisted groups who promote community regeneration in areas of significant deprivation (Falls Community Council; Marrowbone Community Association; Mettican Glebe Residents' Association; Tullyally and District Development Group).

A number of the grants made also encourage the outreach and cross-community activities of various prisoner-welfare and victim-support organisations. Finally, substantial awards have been made to the Northern Ireland Scout Council for its work, in conjunction with its southern counterpart, involving over 10,000 young people from all parts of the island, and to the Women and Peace Building Programme at QUB, Armagh, which runs valuable cross-border projects for women from areas of targeted social need. "

Note for editors:

The Reconciliation Fund, established in the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1982, provides assistance to organisations involved in reconciliation work and creating better understanding between people in both parts of Ireland and between Ireland and Britain. The allocation for 2002 is €2.539 million. Recipients of the current allocation of grants announced by the Minister today include:

Ballysally Youth Project (County Derry) The Ballysally Youth Project has been in operation since 1993. The group coordinates a number of youth outreach programmes which provide assistance and support for young people from disadvantaged areas. Allocated: €20,000

Belfast Together (North and West Belfast) A cross-community project, Belfast Together is having great success in bringing young people together from both communities through football, with training sessions taking place in both communities on alternate weeks. Allocated: €9,000

Bloody Sunday Trust (Derry City) The Trust is developing the Bogside History Centre which will contain an exhibition centre, research area and offices, charting the political, social and physical evolution of the Bogside and its role in modern Irish history. The centre will also contribute to regeneration in an area of high deprivation by attracting cultural tourism. Allocated: €65,000

Brandywell Horse Society (Derry City) The society organises an annual horse show which is widely attended by both communities in Derry. It is hoped that the show will attract back many of those who left the area at the beginning of the troubles. Allocation €7,000

Carnany Community Association (County Antrim) The group was established in 1990 and has played a proactive role in identifying various social groupings within this deprived estate, leading to the formation of many cross-community events and ongoing projects. Funding is granted to finance different social activities in the estate, from preschool children to mature citizens. Allocated €30,000

Cathedral Youth Project (Derry City) The Cathedral Youth Club is the only facility for young people in the Fountain area of Derry City. The project will bring young people together over a two year period to explore what common problems they share. There will be workshops to build confidence and it is hoped that this will also facilitate a more neutral atmosphere to allow for open discussion among those from differing political backgrounds. Allocation: €15,000

Cloney Rural Development Association (County Antrim) The group provides social, educational and recreational activities for this rural community. They aim to provide a refurbished facility to welcome all sections of the community and encourage cross-community relations. Allocated: €1,000

Coiste na nIarchímí (Dublin) This republican ex-prisoners' organisation runs a Political Education Project - opening dialogue with all political parties, victims' groups, Loyalist ex-prisoners, and churches, which they wish to expand. Seminars have attracted speakers of diverse background and large audiences from outside the Republican movement. Allocated: €20,000

Epic Youth (West Belfast) This Loyalist ex-prisoners' group, recognising the need for youth development within their community, seeks to encourage young people in interface areas and areas of deprivation to reject sectarianism and become involved in cross-community and cross-border residential projects. Allocation: €20,000

Falls Community Council (West Belfast) The Community Council is an umbrella organisation for community groups that work towards regeneration in nationalist West Belfast. The group is awarded funding towards its Participative Democracy programme and its Oral History Archive Project. Allocation €50,000

FAIR – Families Acting for Innocent Relatives (County Armagh) This South Armagh group provides a range of support training and advocacy services to victims of the conflict from the unionist tradition. They plan six cross-border overnight and day visits (Waterford, Limerick, Dublin, Galway, Cork and Westport) for up to 140 members. The group aim to promote reconciliation through the development of meaningful and lasting cross-border links. Allocation: €10,000

Foyle Brownie Pack (County Donegal) Foyle Brownie Pack was founded last year in the village of St. Johnston in County Donegal and currently has a membership of 25 young girls from the Protestant and Catholic traditions. Allocation: €500

H.U.R.T. (County Armagh) Homes United by Ruthless Terror is a victims' self-help group working for the families of victims of the conflict. HURT offers a variety of services including welfare advice, youth work, training, job mentoring and a befriending service. Funding is granted towards their "Breaking the Barriers Project" – a series of exchange visits and talks by invited speakers. Allocation: €10,000

Irish Peace Institute (Limerick) The goal of the Institute is to contribute to the process of peace building through programmes of education, research and outreach and the development of mutual understanding between people North and South. Funding is granted towards several programmes, including a five-day residential trip for families of victims. Allocation: €40,000

John Hewitt Summer School (Belfast) The society aims to provide a safe

space for the exploration of the arts, culture and politics of Ireland, Britain

and Europe. Following on from a successful summer school last year, this

year's theme is "Not native here or anywhere", focussing on those outside

political/cultural orthodoxy in modern Ireland. Funding is granted to provide

12 bursaries to disadvantaged people from the South to attend the school.

Allocation: €15,000

Limestone Youth Project (North Belfast) This project has been put

together by the Newington Residents' Association and the Parkside

Community Association and is aimed at breaking the cycle of violence that

has afflicted the Limestone Road area of North Belfast, by looking at the

long-term effects on young people living there. Allocation: €12,500

Marrowbone Community Association (North Belfast) This North Belfast

group was formed in 1996 in response to socio-economic problems within

the area and a desire to co-ordinate a community response. The group

currently presents a range of classes to the community ranging from I.T.

skills to English and Maths. Allocation: €30,000

McCracken Summer School (North Belfast) The aims of the Summer School

are to promote the Irish language, history and culture. Based in Duncairn

Presbyterian Church, the group is providing an intensive Irish language

course for children who, for example, cannot afford to travel to the

Gaeltacht. Allocation: €15,000

Mettican Glebe Residents' Association (County Derry) This group, from the

town of Garvagh, aims to bring people from both communities closer

together through cross-border outreach, chiefly involving senior citizens.

Allocation: €800

Newtowncunningham Orange Lodge (County Donegal) A small country

lodge made up of men from the various Protestant denominations, it seeks

to foster good relations with the whole community and to maintain the

viability of the lodge in Donegal. The group is awarded funding towards

hosting a lecture on Irish men and women who served in the two World

Wars, to which the whole community will be invited, along with guests

from across the border. Allocation: €2,000

Northern Ireland Scout Council. The Council is working with its southern

counterparts on a programme for a Scoutlink project that will involve over

10,000 young people over a 3 year period from both parts of the island.

Funding is awarded toward the upgrading of their facilities at

Crawfordsburn which will greatly facilitate the North-South Scoutlink

programme. Allocation €90,000

Old Drogheda Society (Drogheda) This historical society maintains the

Millmount Museum in Drogheda and has hosted many groups from both

communities in the North, often returning the visits. With increasing

requests for visits from the North to Drogheda (in particular to the Battle

of the Boyne site), the group is awarded funding to develop and expand

the service they provide. Allocation: €2,500

Pat Finucane Centre for Human Rights and Social Change (Derry City) This

Human Rights Group has been active in facilitating dialogue between the

two communities, and in advocacy on issues including policing and the

criminal justice system, mediating between victims' families and the Police

Ombudsman and long-term research projects. Allocation: €10,000

PEACE (Cork City) This group has been promoting peace and reconciliation

since 1975 and has been involved in organising a host of activities for

peace over the years. Their eighth International Song Contest for Peace is

to be held in March next year. Allocation: €1,500

Relatives for Justice (West Belfast) This group provides support for victims

and their relatives, advocacy work, and producing information on human

rights issues. With the recent increased focus on issues of collusion, the

demand on the group's already stretched resources has increased

dramatically. Allocation: €30,000

St John Vianney Youth Centre (South Belfast) This full-time Youth Centre

runs a Girls' Community Relations Group, which has made contact with a

youth club from the unionist community. They have been meeting for a

year and now seek to further their contacts through social activities and

cross-border outreach. Allocation: €12,500

St Macnissis' Children's Project (North Belfast) This playgroup in

Newtownabbey operates in a very deprived area. The group aims to forge

links with neighbouring playgroups and nurseries so as to enhance

cross-community understanding. They welcome children of all

denominations, helping to promote understanding and reconciliation.

Allocation: €2,500

Short Strand Community Centre (East Belfast) The Community Centre has

for the past number of weeks been operating as a field hospital for the

Short Strand community as access to local services such as the post

office, GP's surgery and pharmacy has effectively been cut off while the

trouble in the area has intensified. The group is awarded funding towards

transporting old-age pensioners to essential services. Allocation: €1,200

Tullyally and District Development Group (Waterside, Derry) This group is

focused on the regeneration of a predominantly loyalist area within the

Waterside in Derry. It is awarded funding towards a community

enhancement project and equipment for members of their youth and

football clubs.

Allocation: €10,000

Ulster Project (County Offaly) Working with teenagers from Northern

Ireland, the project is dedicated to building tolerance, trust and ongoing

relationships between potential leaders from Protestant and Catholic

backgrounds. Teenagers participate in a broad range of educational and

social activities. Allocation: €10,000

West Ferrard Boyne Rural Development Group (Drogheda) This group aims

to provide suitable facilities and guides at the Battle of the Boyne site and

to create greater understanding by encouraging visitors to the site and

presenting a balanced account of its history. Allocation: €2,500

Whiterock Festival (West Belfast) This is an umbrella organisation for

community groups in an interface area of West Belfast, which aims to

alleviate tensions in the area by arranging a cross-community football

tournament, bringing together up to 120 young people from both sides of

the interface. Allocation: €3,000

Women and Peace Building (Queen's University, Armagh Campus) Since

March 2000, this group has worked with over 900 women, most from areas

of targeted social need. This project will deliver a fully-inclusive

cross-community, cross border citizenship programme through

developmental activities, workshops, visits and conferences that would

bring together several hundred participants from each community and from

both sides of the border. Allocation: €62,000 Top