Corrymeela Community

The Corrymeela Community was founded in 1965 by Ray Davey, along with John Morrow and Alex Watson, as an organisation seeking to aid individuals and communities which suffered through the violence and polarisation of the Northern Irish conflict.

The Corrymeela Ballycastle Centre overlooks Rathlin Island.

Corrymeela Community

Founded	1965 by Ray Davey
Type	Charitable organisation
Location	5 Drumaroan Rd, Ballycastle BT54 6QU and 83 University St, Belfast, BT7 1HP, Northern Ireland
Services	runs programmes aimed at establishing a shared society defined by tolerance in schools, families, communities
Fields	reconciliation, peace-building, building community
Members	161
Key people	Alexander Wimberly
Website	www.corrymeela.org

Early members were Christians in Northern Ireland from diverse backgrounds who wanted to begin a new community which could counter apathy and complacency and open up new possibilities.

In early 1965, to give the community a physical gathering place, Corrymeela moved to the Holiday Fellowship Centre near Ballycastle in County Antrim. The new centre was formally opened that same year by Pastor Tullio Vinay, founder of the Agape Community, which was one of Ray Davey's greatest inspirations.

Its structure formalised, and a council was elected with Davey serving as treasurer and secretary. Corrymeela opened for the public in November 1965, opening itself as a place for Christian reconciliation in Northern Ireland.

Corrymeela was awarded the Niwano Peace Prize in 1997, in honour of "its contribution to significantly to interreligious cooperation, thereby furthering the cause of world peace."^[1][2]

Programme work

Each year over 6,000 participants take part in programmes at the Corrymeela Ballycastle Centre.

The community also exhibits artwork with themes of peace and reconciliation for Northern Ireland. In 2007, it exhibited The Linen Memorial, a piece made from almost 400 Irish linen handkerchiefs listing almost 4000 names of those killed in the Northern Irish conflict. Visitors left mementos and tokens beside names of those killed, making it an interactive and evolving artwork.

The community also hosts educational programmes at the Corrymeela Ballycastle Centre for groups of students and faculty members visiting from colleges and universities around the world.^[3][4]

Leaders

The Rev. Dr. Inderjit S. Bhogal, OBE, Leader of the Corrymeela Community, speaking at the Centre in 2012.

• Ray Davey 1965 – 1980
• John Morrow 1980 – 1994
• Trevor Williams 1994 – 2003
• David Stevens 2003 – 2010
• Kate Pettis 2010–2011
• Inderjit Bhogal 2011 – 2013
• Pádraig Ó Tuama 2014–2019
• Alexander Wimberly 2019–present

Volunteers

• Shaunagh Craig, Northern Ireland netball international^[5][6][7]

See also

• Reconciliation theology in Northern Ireland

References

1. Pulford, Cedric (24 February 1997). "Corrymeela Community Wins International Peace Prize". Ecumenical News International. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
2. "Home – The Ireland Funds, Progress through Philanthropy". Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
3. "Aquinas College Academics". aquinas.edu. Aquinas College. Archived from the original on 13 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
4. Lilly Fellows Program in the Humanities and the Arts. "Past Summer Seminars". lillyfellows.or. Valparaiso University. Archived from the original on 13 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
5. "Proud to wear green: Shaunagh Craig excited to get World Cup chance with Northern Ireland". www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
6. "Gaelic football fuelling Northern Ireland's Netball World Cup bid across the water". www.the42.ie. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
7. "Shaunagh Craig". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 10 January 2020.

External links

• Official website
• Youth as Evaluators: Contested Spaces and Identity Short film of interviews with young people at the Corrymeela Centre