Part 1: New Gate Arts and Cultural Center

Today we woke up in Derry and had the privilege of visiting three different organizations, all of which spoke to us about their work and the personal experiences of the individuals who hosted us.

We began the day at New Gate Arts and Cultural Center, where we met three self-described loyalists who were a part of the origins of the organization and remain active today. Brian, the CEO, explained that the center came from grassroots loyalist activism in the community of Derry. He described that loyalists here felt isolated and unwelcome in their republican majority communities. Even after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, segregation and social exclusion persisted, especially among young people. In these communities, bands became a haven for youth to create connections and express themselves. This sparked the beginnings of the center.

Learn more about the New Gate Arts and Cultural Center: https://www.newgatearts.com/ 

Photos from https://www.newgatearts.com/about 

The most striking conversation that took place at the center was about the lack of support the protestant community felt after the Good Friday Agreement. While most reconciliation conversations on our trip have focused on justice for republicans, this was the first from a loyalist perspective. Brad explained that the loyalist community in Derry realized that the British government would not provide them with the necessary resources to rebuild their communities. Even though loyalist communities had committed their lives, and some of them lost, to the cause, they felt abandoned by the British government to rebuild on their own. Howard Zehr writes in Restorative Justice that “[w]hether we have victimized or have been victimized, the journey from brokenness and isolation to transcendence and belonging requires us to re-narrate our stories so that they are no longer just about shame and humiliation but ultimately about dignity and triumph” (2002, p. 35). The community turned to NGOs, non-governmental organizations, and private fundraising to provide sources, like the New Gate Arts and Cultural Center, to do their own reconciliation.

The center uses art as a way of reaching people and responding to a need, as music is so popular in this community. Band members look out for each other’s mental health and well-being and build bridges between different identities through a common connection. Older band members can mentor to younger ones, passing down history and legacy. By speaking about these issues, band members mitigate passing down trauma, a theme that became more prevalent as the day went on. As one therapist in a study on intergenerational trauma in Northern Ireland recounted, “I had a client recently who was an ex-paramilitary in his 60s saying that he was out with a few of his ex-comrades and they all realised after discussing it that they had all been experiencing the same symptoms but they just hadn’t been talking to each other about it … and that was very powerful for him to realise he wasn’t just mad or weak” (Day & Shloim, 2021, p. 9). Community spaces like New Gate foster connections that can break cycles of silence and shame.

References

About, New Gate Arts & Culture Centre, Londonderry. (2023). Newgatearts. https://www.newgatearts.com/about

Day, N., & Shloim, N. (2021). Therapists’ experiences of working with the intergenerational impact of Troubles-related trauma. Psychotherapy and Politics International, 19(2), e1585. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppi.1585

Zehr, H. (2014). The little book of restorative justice (Revised and updated ed.). Good Books.