Doris Panzer – AFSC symposium, April 2017

Measuring progress in tiny steps: local peace process implementation through civic engagement in

The province of Northern Ireland is now nineteen years into a peace process that ended

thirty years of armed conflict, commonly known as “.”i Beyond the shores of Ireland

the Troubles often were considered to be a sectarian war that pitted Irish Catholics against Irish

Protestants, but like the historical backgrounds of other conflict zones around the world, the real

contributing issues are more complicated and entangled than mere differences of religion.

Although the socio-political divisions in Northern Ireland do fall along ethno-religious lines, the

Troubles began and continued for thirty years because of extensive civil rights abuses and the nationalist minority’s desire to be free of British control (de Paor 1990; Murtagh 2002; Donnan

2005). Throughout the second half of the twentieth century and still present in many forms today, wall murals have been among the most visible expressions of heritage and ethnic or

national identity in Northern Ireland (Rolston 1995; 2010). Particularly during the Troubles, the

murals mirrored the socio-political divide and tensions between the Protestant-unionist-loyalist majority, and the Catholic-nationalist-republican minority. However, despite sectarian tensions that remain an undercurrent of daily life in various locations, now many residents are embracing new perspectives about accepting and respecting people from other ethnic and/or religious backgrounds (Rolston 2003).

Even before the Good Friday peace accords were signed in 1998, various governmental and community groups held discussions on the human impact of the conflict and how best to facilitate issues of victimhood and reconciliation between Protestant/unionist and

Catholic/nationalist communities. Once the was in place, it provided a clear framework and context for peace process implementation (O’Leary 2004). Nineteen years

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on, the peace process still is very much a work in progress. Using examples from my

ethnographic fieldwork in , , I highlight several town- and district-wide programs and organizations that focus on serving and bringing together people from “both sides

of the house,” which draw on and complement Province-wide initiatives. These activities provide insight into the lived experience of post-conflict Northern Ireland at the grass-roots level.

As one community leader told me,

The peace process, by its very nature has changed people’s views… The process of peace is about engagin’ the community - it’s about individuals. It is about the individual person understandin’ the opposite – you know, someone from the other culture – someone from the other persuasion.

A significant dynamic of this community engagement has been the deliberate inclusion of all

parties impacted by the conflict, without valorizing or condemning anyone’s involvement

(Towards Understanding and Healing 2008). Although progress towards peace may seem slow, I argue that these small incremental steps are essential for challenging and changing the socially constructed silence between the two “sides of the house” that contributed to Northern Ireland’s

divided communities and misunderstanding for generations.

Strabane is a small town of roughly 17,000 people, in County Tyrone, one of six counties

that make up the Province of Northern Ireland. Along with the island of , Northern

Ireland is part of the . The remaining twenty-six counties on the island of

Ireland are within the , an independent country. I have conducted

ethnographic research in Strabane for various lengths of time since 2009. In full disclosure, my

fieldwork was conducted solely within the nationalist and republican communities of Strabane,

where I lived in a republican housing estate. Although I met people from local

Protestant/unionist communities, formal interactions or interviews with them would have

threatened my ability to work and live in the republican neighborhood. In order to protect the

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names of interviewees I follow the common practice of assigning them fictitious names and in

some cases create composite characters. Marilyn Cohen notes the challenges of doing

ethnographic research in divided communities like Northern Ireland, but also argues that

maintaining neutrality and working with “both sides of the house” may not be necessary for

substantive scholarship (Cohen 2000/2001:225). My focus here is on those in Strabane who want

the peace process to succeed and look forward to an inclusive, equitable future for everyone in

Northern Ireland, but I have to acknowledge that dissident splinter groups exist who disagree

with those aims.

A variety of peace and reconciliation resources and organizations are available through

local, regional (district/county), and province-wide governmental initiatives as well as non-profit

organizations. For this paper I need to limit my discussion to a small, although significant

selection of these resources and programs. I have chosen to highlight the province-wide initiative

A Shared Future because of the ways it acts as an “umbrella” program for districts to implement their locally-designed Good Relations strategies. Then I will discuss some of the ways Strabane’s

St. Patrick’s Day parade contributes to local efforts towards making Strabane town and district a more welcoming, prosperous, and stable place for all residents.

The overall aim of the initiative A Shared Future as explained in a government booklet, is

to establish, over time, a shared society defined by a culture of tolerance: a normal, civic society, in which all individuals are considered as equals, where differences are resolved through dialogue in the public sphere and where all individuals are treated impartially. A society where there is equity, respect for diversity and recognition of our interdependence. (Good Relations Unit. 2005:10)

The booklet continues by breaking down various aspects of the issues to be faced, such as

“tackling the visible manifestations of sectarianism and racism; reclaiming shared space; [and] reducing tensions in interface areas” (p.1), with a subsequent section addressing ways to work

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towards this shared future by the central, regional, and/or local governments, as well as at community and individual levels. Resources like this booklet are made available at no cost in hard copy through various outlets, in addition to being accessible on-line. Useful governmental resources on-line includes the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI), while one of the most extensive sites specifically about the Troubles is the Conflict Archive on the Internet

(CAIN), maintained by the University of Ulster. The CAIN website has numerous subdivisions including interactive maps, links to other databases and resources, and is continually updated with new or additional information.

Despite the extent of province-wide resources and programs, individuals are probably most aware of governmental peace initiatives on the district level. During the bulk of the time I conducted my research, County Tyrone was divided into two districts, with Strabane town being the hub for Strabane District. The council members for Strabane District have to balance the interests, needs, and perceptions of close to 40,000 residents living in rural villages, hamlets, and farms throughout the district, in addition to the town of Strabane. Part of that challenge is to move residents beyond the socio-political inequalities of the past in which Protestants/unionists controlled local as well as Province-wide governance, whether they were the actual majority in a given locale or not.

During the first half of the Troubles, most of the nationalist/republican community abstained from the political process because of the ways it privileged the Protestant/unionist community and marginalized Catholics. By the 1980s however, those attitudes changed with many nationalists/republicans not only voting, but actively getting involved in local and district affairs, in Strabane and elsewhere (McGarry 2004:328). Today the political affiliation of council members reflects the electoral engagement of the overall population within the district.

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According to the 2011 census, the primary religious make-up of Strabane District was roughly

65% Catholic and 34% Protestant,ii while Strabane town was roughly 93% Catholic and 6%

Protestant (Strabane District Council 2010:9). Local programs and activities intended to help

Strabane become a more inclusive and welcoming place include: special town events such as the

St. Patrick’s Day parade; cross-community commitment to the mandated power-sharing within

the District Council; encouraging participation in community-based policing partnerships instead

of the reliance in self-policing vigilantism in segregated neighborhoods; and cross-community as

well as cross-border peace and reconciliation initiatives.

I spoke with local Sinn Féin councilor Phil Cassidy about council membership and the

councilors’ role in Strabane District affairs. Like many republican men in their early fifties, Phil

is an ex-prisoner. He was an IRA Volunteer during the Troubles and served time in prison

because of his involvement in the conflict. Phil is committed to his home community, Strabane,

and in encouraging people, especially the youth of the district, to explore and maintain their Irish

heritage and culture, including the . At the same time he is keenly aware of his

responsibility to district residents who may not share his political or ethno-religious identity. Phil

seemed particularly proud of the council’s efforts to cultivate and maintain open dialogs with the

public regarding many issues such as removing offensive murals or curb painting, while

acknowledging some of the challenges inherent in that as well:

it has worked favorably, but it’s something, Dori, that you cannot take your eye off. You cannot take your eye off the ball for one second and it’s about bringin’ people with you. What the council’s done is they have a Good Relations program. And they brought people in, and they appointed people from inside council, and they got the views of the community and councilors --- and they listened first. They listened to what people had to say, rather than the council tellin’ them that you should remove [offensive symbols]. And see, the stakeholders, which included agencies that could’ve been alienated – like the [police] – the stakeholders, too, were consulted on it, you know, the road service and Housing Executive. Everybody had to listen to everybody and find out then, you know,

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what’s the most doable way of dealin’ with this… And sometimes, you know, it’s three steps forward, but maybe two back – that’s the way it’ll be.

Advocating “Good Relations within and between people regardless of their religious, political or

racial background” (Strabane District Council 2011:4) relates to specific issues that contribute to

an integrated and inclusive society with a shared future. In addition, “Good Relations” refers to a

form of “best practices” that councilors, district staff are expected, and the general public is

encouraged to adopt in day-to-day activities and when creating or presenting programs in their

individual neighborhoods. For example, roadside curbs painted blue, white, and red define or

claim an area as a Protestant/unionist neighborhood, while flying the Tri-color – the flag of the

Republic of Ireland – identifies Catholic/nationalist areas. Through the efforts of district councils and other organizations many people now understand that ethno-political displays like these can offend someone from the “other side of the house” so now they try to minimize using those symbols in public spaces.

To guide four years of programming in 2011, Strabane District Council adopted two distinct themes for their Good Relations strategy: Supporting Cohesion and Promoting Inclusion.

The rationale for “supporting cohesion” was their belief that the council could develop “cohesive communities through effective leadership and good governance and by [equipping] elected members, staff and the wider community to further the work of Good Relations in their workplace and local communities.” (Strabane District Council 2011:11). Regarding their theme of “promoting inclusion,” they looked for the council to work “in partnership with others to ensure its facilities and the district as a whole is welcoming to all, [and that] culture and identity are expressed sensitively and all communities are included in the wider civic life of the District”

(p. 11). Among the actions supporting this theme was addressing what council members labeled

“hard issues” – meaning various contentious issues such as ethno-political symbols or

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Doris Panzer – AFSC symposium, April 2017 performance that have been used to mark and claim public space at the same time they serve to intimidate and marginalize another segment of the community. Now a number of events held throughout the year may be self-consciously inclusive, but they are helping to break down socio- political stereotypes and suspicions of the “other side of the house.” One of the biggest of these events is Strabane’s St. Patrick’s Day parade.

In addition to being a celebration of Irish culture and heritage, for people in the town and district around Strabane, the St. Patrick’s Day parade has served as one of the “tools” for improving cross-community engagement and working towards the province-wide initiatives that stress good relations and the shared future of everyone in Northern Ireland. During my fieldwork in Strabane, I interviewed several key town and district leaders, particularly to understand how the parade was organized, as well as to find out what they considered to be significant about this relatively new public event. Although all of the men I interviewed happened to be part of the nationalist/republican community, it was clear they were working to make Strabane more inclusive and better for all residents. Among the initial questions I posed to parade organizer

Russ O’Brien was whether Strabane’s St. Patrick’s Day parade engaged more than the

Catholic/nationalist/republican community and he responded,

Oh aye, it does. I actually think, and I’m a nationalist/republican, and I make no apologies, but the event that we run …is about engagin’ everyone. It’s not about, you know, ‘This is ours and we hold it [for the nationalist community].’ It’s about Strabane, whether you be nationalist, unionist, Catholic, Protestant, whatever you want to be – this event is for you, if you want to participate in it. And, we actually do engage with other people.

Russ went on to tell me, “it’s all about bein’ involved – askin’ for respect and showin’ respect back.” Like district councilors and other community leaders, Russ is working to dispel deep- seated perceptions that hinder trust and engagement between people from different neighborhoods and political affiliations. A general perspective is that residents within the town

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Doris Panzer – AFSC symposium, April 2017 of Strabane are nationalists and Catholics, while those in the small villages and rural areas surrounding the town are unionists and Protestants. Like many misconceptions of the “other,” reality does not quite mirror those notions. Although the town is overwhelmingly nationalist, other identities are present, too, while census records show a broad mix of political and religious affiliations throughout the district.

As I noted previously, Strabane’s St. Patrick’s Day parade is relatively new. Hugh

McMurray, another community leader, told me that in the early 2000s, several people took note that the town was fairly deserted every March 17th as residents traveled over to or other places where there was some form of public celebration. He said they wanted to “get somethin’ goin’ in Strabane… [to] keep people in the town – sort of enhance or raise community spirit.

You know, pride in your home town. So we decided in 2005 to have a parade… It was a nice wee parade – all the community groups were involved... no bands or nothing.’” Each year after that the parade just seems to get bigger and better.

The St. Patrick’s Day parades I attended in 2012 and 2015 had people from both the town and more rural areas of the district participating. Students from several area schools either rode in decorated floats or simply had groups walking, but all were dressed up and acting out different themes. Other entries included a variety of bands: an accordion band that gets together just once a year for St. Patrick’s Day; the Strabane Memorial Flute Band that commemorates the death of three local Irish Republican Army (IRA) Volunteers killed during the Troubles; and a brass band. “St. Patrick,” himself was there, too, along with a wee small lad dressed as a leprechaun.

Even Strabane’s Ethnic Community Association had a float, highlighting the newer ethnic groups who have settled within the town.

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One intriguing aspect of Strabane’s parade changes every year – which group organizers

choose to lead-off the parade. In 2012, organizers were pleased when a pipe band from the

nearby village of finally accepted their yearly invitation and agreed to participate in

the parade. Since Sion Mills is perceived to be a Protestant community, having the pipe band join

the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Strabane was a significant step in cross-community relations,

something parade organizers acknowledged by giving them “pride of place” at the front of the

parade. Hugh explained that

It’s all about understandin’ and acceptin’ each other’s culture, so it is… [a way] towards peace and reconciliation …Yeah we were delighted that the pipe band [participated]... Now I’m only surmising there was Protestants among them, but I hope there was. You know, you don’t ask people’s religion.

In actuality, the Sion Mills band already was working on being an inclusive organization on their

own – something Hugh and I missed (or did not remember) amid all the excitement of the St.

Patrick’s Day parade in 2012. Much later while going through my photos, I realized they had a

large banner leading their band that proclaimed:

SION MILLS INDEPENDENT PIPE BAND Your LOCAL cross-community band

Clearly, members of the Sion Mills band were committed to welcoming and including musicians

from “both sides of the house” and also felt it important to express that commitment openly. The

fact that neither Hugh nor I remembered the banner and its explicit message may also say

something about any one of us holding on to outdated perceptions of others.

In contrast to parade organizers’ interest in involving the Sion Mills band, the Strabane

Memorial Flute Band was not invited to march in the parade during the first few years because of the common perception that they were directly linked with the outlawed Irish Republican Army.

Including an IRA band clearly would not be in keeping with organizers’ efforts to present an

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inclusive event for the town. The memorial band was established in 1985 to honor three local

lads – all volunteers in the IRA – who were ambushed and killed by British forces in February of

that year. Although the IRA has no connection to the band, its members and the community that

supports them are all staunch republicans – and unapologetically so. Their uniforms are all black

in a decidedly militaristic style. In addition, their music – particularly in the early 2000s –

included confrontational anti-British sentiments common throughout republican communities

across Ireland. However, in 2010 parade organizers negotiated with the memorial band to “tone

down” their music and join the town celebration. Then in 2015, it was their turn to lead off the

parade, in recognition of the memorial band’s thirtieth anniversary. In the early years of the

memorial band, police blockaded roads so they could not march beyond their immediate

neighborhood while commemorating the deaths of the three lads. With implementation of the

peace process, much of that antagonism between police and the band has lessened. Moreover,

participating in a district-wide event like this parade validates the Strabane Memorial Flute Band

and their right to perform in public spaces the same as any other local organization.

Beyond public events such as the St. Patrick’s Day parade, other programs offer

additional ways for individuals and groups to gain respect for people outside of their ethno-

political community. The NGO Towards Understanding and Healing is among organizations

offering programs geared towards peace and reconciliation between unionists and nationalists.

They bring people from both sides of the conflict together in small encounter groups for sharing

personal stories, offering a safe setting to step out of their comfort zones of ethno-political separation. In many cases people discover they have more in common with the “other side” than they previously believed.

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As time progresses, a new generation of youth are coming of age who never experienced

the Troubles. A dynamic publication intended as a curriculum supplement for schools across

Northern Ireland, From Prison to Peace: Learning from the experience of political ex-prisoners, presents the lived reality of former combatants who are ex-prisoners from both sides of the conflict. Part of their goal was to ensure that the history of the Troubles was written by many of the people who were involved, not just politicians and historians. In addition, ex-prisoners were concerned that today’s youth not romanticize or glamorize any aspect of armed conflict. The material is designed to be integrated in regular class learning, but overall it is

an honest portrayal of how individuals can become caught up in violence; inflict and suffer pain; endure often long prison sentences and still hold a commitment to make society a more just and inclusive place… [the writers hope the program] can contribute to, and inform, a future sense of citizenship that can avoid these circumstances and work to create a more inclusive, welcoming and equal society. (Community Foundation for Northern Ireland, n.d., p. 8)

I have described only a small selection of activities designed to promote peace and bring about reconciliation in Northern Ireland. Deliberate acts of inclusion like these – actions on a local level – are changing hearts and minds incrementally. Granted, concerns over socio-economic inequality and tensions between unionists and nationalists have not disappeared totally, but change is happening and I feel strongly that these efforts are not one-sided. To me, these examples reflect a broad-based interest and willingness on “both sides of the house” to engage in creating a better, more inclusive community. Now communities can openly wrestle with the memories of, and unresolved issues from the past, utilizing a range of programs that confirm and address the significance of those issues in the present and on into the future. Furthermore, these examples also demonstrate ways that grass-roots organizing and engagement – not merely the initiatives of elected officials – contribute to accomplishing the goals of Good Relations in

Strabane District. Activities such as the St. Patrick’s Day parade depend on empowered local

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leadership, who reach out to all groups in the area as they create welcoming events in public

spaces that truly are meant for everyone’s enjoyment. Hugh summed this up well when he stressed that no one group has a “monopoly on St. Patrick’s Day – it’s for all Irish people... it’s good to see [everyone] gettin’ involved, takin’ pride, and enjoyin’ the parade.”

i In the mid-twentieth century, the term “the Troubles” was used to describe any of a range of events that disrupted ordinary life in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland, from the Easter Uprising of 1916 onward, that were “related in some way to the political status of Ireland or Northern Ireland, vis-á-vis Great Britain” (Shivers and Bowman 1984:6). By the late twentieth century, the term shifted to specifically define the thirty years of armed conflict between the late 1960s through the late 1990s. ii NINIS, 2011 Population Statistics for Strabane Local Government District. http://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/public/AreaProfileReportViewer.aspx?FromAPAddressMulipleRecords=Strabane@ PostCode@BT828BZ@3? (accessed October 12, 2013)

Bibliography

Cohen, Marilyn. 2000/2001. “From holism to context: recent anthropological analyses of Northern Ireland.” Eire-Ireland, Vol. XXXV, No. 3 & 4, pp. 217-237.

Community Foundation for Northern Ireland, n.d. From Prison to Peace: Learning from the experience of political ex-prisoners. : The Community Foundation for Northern Ireland. de Paor, Liam. 1990. Unfinished Business: Ireland Today and Tomorrow. London: Hutchinson Radius.

Donnan, Hastings. 2005. “Material identities: fixing ethnicity in the Irish borderlands.” Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power, Vol. 12, pp. 69-105.

Good Relations Unit. 2005. A Shared Future: Policy and Strategic Framework for Good Relations in Northern Ireland. Stormont: Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister.

McGarry, John. 2004. “‘Democracy’ in Northern Ireland: experiments in self-rule from the Protestant Ascendancy to the Good Friday Agreement.” In The Northern Ireland Conflict: Consociational Engagements, eds. John McGarry and Brendan O’Leary, 323- 351. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.

Murtagh, Brendan. 2002. The Politics of Territory, Policy and Segregation in Northern Ireland. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave.

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O’Leary, Brendan. 2004. “The nature of the Agreement.” In The Northern Ireland Conflict: Consociational Engagements, eds. John McGarry and Brendan O’Leary, 260-289. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.

Rolston, Bill. 1995. Drawing Support 2: murals of war and peace. Belfast: Beyond the Pale.

------. 2003. Drawing Support 3: murals and transition in the North of Ireland. Belfast: Beyond the Pale.

------. 2010. Drawing Support: murals in the North of Ireland. Belfast: Beyond the Pale.

Shivers, Lynne, and David Bowman, SJ. 1984. More Than the Troubles: A Common Sense View of the Northern Ireland Conflict. Philadelphia: New Society Publishers.

Strabane District Council 2010: “Good Relations Audit Report.” Belfast: Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister.

------. 2011. “‘Together We Can’: Strabane District Council Good Relations Strategy 2011- 2014. Belfast: Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister.

Towards Understanding and Healing (TUH). 2008. Towards Understanding and Healing: Information. Yes! Publications.

Related Websites http://cain.ulst.ac.uk – CAIN (Conflict Archive on the Internet) http://www.community-relations.org.uk/ - Community Relations Council www.conflictresearch.org.uk – Institute for Conflict Research, Belfast www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk – Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister, Northern Ireland https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/proni – Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) www.thejunction-ni.org – Towards Understanding and Healing (TUH)

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