Centre gets £189k to work against vigilantes

Two hooded and masked members of the anti-drugs vigilante squad Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD) with one of their kidnapping victims.

Workers at the Rosemount Resource Centre helped mediate with paramilitaries in order to lift death threats and expulsion orders issued by dissident republicans and members of the Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD) anti-drugs vigilante squad against young people in the city.

Now the IFI has announced a new funding allocation to the centre “towards an intervention to support young people at risk of paramilitary attack and/or recruitment by paramilitaries.”

It’s part of a £435,616 roll-out for four initiatives - three in Dundalk and one in Londonderry - included in the IFI’s new Peace Impact Programme.

Following a board meeting in Dundalk the IFI announced a total of £1.4m in financial assistance across existing and new programmes.

For example, the Londonderry-based Reach Across also received £87,768 under the IFI ‘Sharing in Education’ Programme.

This will allow it “to extend the delivery of additional accredited and non-accredited training courses to approximately 320 young people across five courses and also two summer education projects.”

Under the ‘Community Based Economic and Social Programme’ two cross-border schemes in Donegal will benefit.

The ‘Fellowship of Good Counsel, An Tearmann Project’ will receive £80,327 to extend and deliver “an effective set of cross-border and cross-community activities tailored to meet specific challenges in Counties Londonderry and Donegal.”

Equally, Cashelard Community Development Ltd. will get £53,656 to extend ‘Engaging the Breesy Way,’ an “innovative cross-border and cross-community project, across counties Donegal, Sligo, Cavan, Londonderry, Armagh and Tyrone.”

Dr Adrian Johnston, Chairman of the Fund said: “Despite the enormous progress that has been made in recent years, tensions remain within and between communities that can and has, in recent weeks, erupted into violence.

“Our funding is strategically directed towards some of the root causes of sectarianism and delivering a range of targeted peace building and capacity building interventions.

“The projects we have made commitments towards are strategically working to create a better and more shared future for all - a future free from sectarian tension.

“Several of these projects are taking brave and important steps with communities that have had limited engagement in reconciliation activities.”