Monkstown people focus of exhibition

Tuesday March 6th 2007

Life in Monkstown, on the outskirts of north Belfast, will be under scrutiny in an exhibition running until March 15.

The ‘Our Kind of People’ exhibition is organised by the Church of Ireland’s Hard Gospel Project, and documents the lives of those who have attended local schools or live in the area.

The aim of the exhibition is to inform and inspire people in the area about the accomplishments of 70 local people whose achievements have propelled them into careers in university, business and the world of sport.

Recent figures indicate that urban loyalist communities in the Belfast area fare less favourably in education than nationalist communities. In Catholic areas 24 per cent of school leavers achieved a ‘C’ or above grade in their GCSE Maths. In Protestant areas the figure was four per cent.

On the final day of the exhibition, careers not traditionally followed in loyalist communities will be highlighted. These will include the PSNI, University of Ulster, Stranmillis University College and the Fire and Rescue Service.

The Hard Gospel Project was founded by the Church of Ireland to address the hard issues of sectarianism and to stimulate fresh and creative thinking about finding ways of a shared future in the Ireland of the 21st century.

The exhibition will be held in Monkstown Village Centre, Monkstown Road, Newtownabbey, opposite Monkstown Community School, opening from 10am to 4pm on Monday and Tuesday, 10am – 4pm and 6pm – 9pm on Wednesday, and 2pm – 5pm on Thursday.