Teens and territory in contested spaces: Negotiating sectarian interfaces in Northern Ireland

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine children's experiences of territory in one location in Northern Ireland. The research draws on stories, maps and focus group interviews with 80 children aged between 14–15 years of age, living in one of the most contested interface areas in Northern Ireland. Interface areas are locations where Catholics and Protestants live side by side in segregated communities divided by peace walls and other symbolic boundaries. Within these spaces, children made distinctions between place and territory. Place was referred to in relation to physical features of the surrounding landscape but more importantly as spaces where family and friendship ties were paramount. Territory on the other hand was referred to in terms of Protestant and Catholic identity.

Keywords:

• Children
• North Belfast
• Catholic
• Protestant
• territory

Acknowledgement

I would like to acknowledge the support of Save the Children, Belfast, for funding this research.

Notes

1. In December 2001, the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister and the Department for Social Development jointly commissioned the North Belfast Community Action Project to conduct a study in North Belfast. The project team published its report (the Dunlop Report) in May 2002 and set out an analysis of the issues facing residents in the area. They recommended that the government make available £3 million funding per year for community capacity building.

2. The number of children taking part in the research varied during different stages of the research depending on the number who were absent from school during periods when the research was carried out.