Black Mountain Shared Space, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Lewis Lyttle is an ex-Loyalist prisoner. He was sentenced to 15 years for attempted murder during The Troubles and was released early, with the signing of The Good Friday Agreement.
Now Lewis works to facilitate cross-community groups with Black Mountain Shared Space, a community center built on the site of a former peace wall and designed to bring people from both Protestant and Catholic communities together to get to know one another and build relationships and trust.
Stay tuned toward the end of the recording for some generational insights from Lewis’ daughter Roxy, a high school student, who is engaged with programs at Black Mountain Shared Space as well.
Black Mountain Shared Space, Belfast, Northern Ireland
“I want my kids to have a better life than what was forced upon me.”
On his school during The Troubles:
“So, picture your primary school. I’m sure you have some good memories of your primary school. Mine was amalgamated with the British Army. So that was the British Army up and down the corridors, fully dressed, guns. Helicopters landing daily. Then The Troubles, so bombs, bullets, people getting murdered every day. That was normal to us growing up.
“If I fast-forward to starting here and working here probably about six years now, I look back and question myself of why do we class that as normal as society? Do I want my kids and my grandkids growing up with what I grew up through? Absolutely not.”
On Black Mountain Shared Space:
“It’s a cross community building. So I will go back before I joined, probably 2009. Even before that, there was a factory here. Finlay’s Packaging. So you’ll get the odd riot here on Martin Road. It was daily, nightly, and it wasn’t just bricks and bottles. It was petrol bombs.
“Finlay’s was knocked down and this became just barren ground. It was cordoned off with big, thick metal sheeting and for me to see the transformation…when I was growing up with the rioting and the anti-social behavior, sometimes the odd shooting here, to have what we have now that can serve both communities, I think it’s amazing.
“Last year in June we opened up on a Sunday and there was over a thousand people in this building. Dance groups all come together and hold the competitions and the car park was full.
“We had a comedy night. We had a meet your neighbors, and when I say meet your neighbors, I don’t mean you’re next door neighbor. I mean Protestant and Catholic. Boxing venues held here as well. It’s bringing a lot of people together.”
On being in the room:
“One of my friends sits on the board of Black Mountain Shared Space and he wanted me to join them at the men’s group.
“When I heard the mix, you know, ex-prisoners from both sides, my first feelings were this is going to be Sinn Fein ramming their rhetoric down our throats. I remember our first meeting was in a wee community center in Springmartin.
“When you walked in the room, you sorta kept to yourself, your mate who you knew all your life. And you didn’t sort of mingle much with what we call the other side. Maybe four weeks in I knew that it was wrong in the sense of Sinn Fein going to ram their rhetoric down our throat. That wasn’t what was happening. Everybody is entitled to an opinion. It doesn’t mean you’re right or wrong. But I’m entitled to my opinion as much as you are. Because you say something that I disagree with, we’re not gonna jump on top of the table trying to fight each other. I mean we’ve got that respect in the room now.
“And I keep telling people, Isn’t it better being in the room? Arguing your point rather than sitting in your nice wee house pointing your finger?”
From Roxy:
“Obviously there’s two different communities. People think that there’s always a barrier here but I think people are people. It doesn’t matter what side they come from. And the fact that this building’s here, it shows that you can actually get along with the other side and it doesn’t mean you have to fight or nothing like that.
“There’s so many projects coming along. I’ve started recently really helping out. There was a big event on where we had to get plates, dishes, saucers, cups, spoons. Each trolley stacked, and it’s good to actually get out of the house and do something and help out. You want to help people.
“People my age these days mix with the other side. What’s the point? It’s just people. We’re all people. We’re all the same. It doesn’t matter where we come from and what we are. I just think people need to stop and just actually get on. I understand that there’s two different sides and maybe you have gaps between them, but at the end of the day what we are, who we are…we’re all people.
“I’ve learned how community works. When I’m here with my dad helping, I learned how to communicate with more people. I’ve actually opened up in my shell and I know how to do community work. I know how to help people if they need help.
“Never hold back. The world’s in front of you. Work for it.”
To read the introduction to this series, follow this link.
The Troubles: Finding a Path Toward Healing in Northern Ireland
To listen to our podcast, follow this link or find us on the platform of your choice.
A Peace of My Mind on Buzzsprout
Credits:
Interview and photos: John Noltner
Field production: summer interns Kate West, Sawyer Garrison, and Kaitlin Imai
Audio engineering: Razik Saifullah
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