In the past the small village of Newbuildings outside Derry/Londonderry was called sectarian, this means Catholics and Protestants fought a lot and didn’t mix very well.
Some Protestant families still don’t like to go into Derry city centre because it’s thought to be mostly Catholic. Children from Newbuildings Primary School and St Columba’s PS shared their views on Protestants being attacked or bullied by Catholics and the fact that they didn’t feel welcome in the centre of Derry/Londonderry.
Tyler asked: “How do Catholics even know who is Protestant and how do Protestants know the Catholics? Maybe they’re wearing a football shirt of something, maybe a Northern Ireland top because Catholics don’t like that. Every time I go into Foyleside Shopping Centre in Londonderry my mum says not to wear my Northern Ireland top.”
Annie added: “I don’t think it’s fair, the city centre is not just for Catholics, Protestants should be allowed over to city hall and Foyleside too.” Ethan from Newbuildings PS said: “There’s no point Catholics hating Protestants and Protestants hating Catholics because they’re like the same only different religions, there’s no point hating each other.”
The only Protestant area in Derry’s Cityside is call the Fountain and it often comes under attack. Sarra from Newbuildings PS said: “My mummy’s friend lives in the Fountain. One day in December, it was a snowing and when my mummy’s friend went out to get her shopping, a person had a snowball with a stone in it and they threw it at her windows. She had to call the police.”
Even in the Waterside area which is mostly Protestant, one Newbuildings PS pupil felt scared when she and her father stopped at a shop in small Catholic area. Katelyn explained: “My daddy was wearing a Northern Ireland top and Catholic schoolboys threw eggs at our car and the window smashed and the police had to come. It was really scary, it happened a couple of years ago when I was only about six.”
The children from St Columba’s Primary School didn’t like to hear about some Protestant children feeling left out and feeling scared of Catholics. Rachel said: “I think it’s not fair to be bullying other people because you would make them cry.” Sinead added: “I would play with the Protestant children and not call them names.” Gabrielle stressed: “I don’t think it’s fair, they might not make new friends if they don’t go places in the city.” Her classmate Qwen added: “I think it would be better if Protestants and Catholics lived together in the same area and went to same shops because they’re not really that different.”
When asked about their futures and sharing space with one another, the pupils from both schools agreed that it should be a happy place with no fighting. The children from both Newbuildings Primary School and St Columba’s Primary School all wanted to see everyone treated equally and all were open to making friends with one another, regardless of religion. Having come together with the International Fund for Ireland’s Sharing in Education programme, they are already showing people of all ages in their communities the way to a peaceful, shared future.
About this article
The Unity Show Radio podcast and story was produced by: Owen 8, Rachel 7, Grace 7, Sinead 8, Ethan 9, Ewan 8, Andrew 9, James 9, Tyler 9 and Tyler 8.
