Bitter Spaces & New Beginnings

Today was a much needed day. Here at Corrymeela, we are having many critical conversations, sitting at the edge of an ancient country and attempting to understand its long and painful history. The opportunity to take in some of the beauty and mystery behind this space had most, if not all of us, feeling wide-eyed and adventurous. The thought of our curiosity being intrusive or even destructive did not cross our minds until we ventured into the town of Ballycastle, more than eager to see what lay beyond the hills we had only glimpsed in our photographs. The sense of freedom we had been welcomed into at Corrymeela transcended its lovely walls onto the sandy beaches we followed towards the town. Frolicking in the sand, we pressed on admiring the colorful rocks (the beaches of Ireland are a geological treasure chest).







Shortly after we stepped over an estuary and into the town limits; there were signs of separation all around us. The progress we had made just that morning in our understanding of everyday life in Northern Ireland was now being put to the test. Professor, Ross VeLure Roholt, had challenged us to use visual signs in order to understand who was in ownership of this town. Our inability to comprehend how the people in this community live time, space, self and the other was apparent as we tried to decipher meaning in every mural, street sign, door, gate, symbol, artifact and face we encountered. There was a feeling of tension we were not quite able to understand. Our position as tourists and outsiders left us feeling uncertain of how we fit into and/or affected this space. At the end of this experience we returned to the comfort of our temporary home where a new guest awaited.



Lisa Rae is studied in English, Museum studies, and most importantly has twelve years of experience in youth work. She has helped to provide neutral spaces for youth of a sectarian society in Northern Ireland by supporting them in redefining museum space. Youth of all classes are only welcomed into museums under restricted circumstances, but she has provided them with the opportunity to take ownership of the museum through self-curated exhibitions. A highlight in our discussion with Mrs. Rae was how she put this magic into words:

You need to put them in the right situations, at the right time, in the right place, in order to create an environment for them to uncover what they already know.

We discovered our own meaning in Mrs. Rae's powerful words after hearing the following conversation between two girls also visiting Corrymeela from an Irish primary school:

Girl 1: Why do Catholics and Protestants pure riot all the time?
Facilitator: Well why do you think that is?
Girl 1: Because the Catholics don't like the Protestants, and the Protestants don't like the Catholics.
Girl 2: But they're not really all that different!

This discussion is evidence that Corrymeela does what Mrs. Rae put so beautifully; We learned that our role as youth workers is to turn bitter spaces into new beginnings, and this place does just that.