Community leaders visit the President of Ireland at home

COMMUNITY Leaders from across the North East area have made a special trip to Dublin to visit the official residence of the President of Ireland and gain a valuable insight into her role and the history of her residence, Áras an Uachtaráin.
By The Newsroom
Published 22nd Oct 2010, 17:55 BST

The ground-breaking cross-border visit, which involved community groups from the Moyle, Ballymoney, Coleraine and Limavady council areas, offered an exclusive opportunity for community representatives from the North East to have an audience with the President.

This visit, organised by Business in the Community as part of the Building Brighter Futures programme, aims to engage communities and remove visible manifestations of conflict. The programme is funded under the European Union's PEACE III Programme managed on behalf of the Special EU Programmes Body by the North East PEACE III Partnership.

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Such visits support The President's tireless campaigning to promote peace and reconciliation throughout the island of Ireland and her particular focus on the important role of community organisations.

Nicola Neill, Programme Manager with Business in the Community commented, "This visit offered a unique insight into the workings of the ras an Uachtarin and was a key aspect of our work to improve cross-border relations and communications between the participating groups."

"Our thanks go to the project partners Tides, Kilcranny House and Ballymoney Community Resource Centre, representatives of participating groups and the ras an Uachtarin for their warm welcome. A great step forward in strengthening cross-border relations and understanding."

Speaking on behalf of the NE PEACE III Partnership, Patricia McCallion, PEACE III Manager, stated that, "The Building Brighter Futures Programme is contributing to achieving the objectives of the PEACE III programme by 'challenging attitudes towards sectarianism and racism and by supporting conflict resolution and mediation at the local community level."

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She added, "The programme has also established meaningful cross-community and cross-border initiatives that are improving trust and tolerance, and reduce levels of sectarianism and racism throughout the North East Cluster area."

For more information on Building Brighter Futures, please contact Nicola Neill on (028) 7186 1550 or e-mail at [email protected].

Related topics:North EastIreland