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L
AST month’s Merriman Summer
School in Lisdoonvarna focused on
north-south links. It seemed, at first,
strangely anachronistic. This was
the sort of thing that we talked about in the
s and s. Many among the audi-
ence sported the grey hairs to prove it. But
the topic was timely. Somehow, the commu-
nity sector is losing a sense of the island of
Ireland.
In times of strife, conflict and war the
community sector was to the fore with an
island of Ireland perspective and a broad
array of north-south links. Groups repre-
senting the unemployed, women, Travellers,
people living in poverty and the community
sector itself were
regularly en route
between Dublin and
Belfast. When all
that got too predict-
able, Brussels was the
venue of preference
in forging Irish rela-
tionships that were
cross-border.
Now we have
peace and some
reconciliation and
the travelling has
stopped. The Dublin-
Belfast routes are
faster and more
comfortable but
they no longer serve
any shared vision or
interests between
the community sec-
tor, north and south.
With peace, any
ambitions for the
seemingly obvious
gains of an island of
Ireland perspective
seem to have been forgotten.
Community-sector organisations in the
south are tied up in austerity. Their funding
is at risk. They have lost their seat at the pol-
icy table with the end of social partnership.
They are bogged down in providing local
services that are being pared to the bone. The
community sector is fragmenting
and turning in on itself, as it loses
a sense of purpose and a capacity
to achieve change.
Community-sector organisa-
tions in the north are tied up in
a peace process. In times of con-
flict they held a power to lead and
influence society in the absence
of representative politics. Peace
has brought back representative
politics. The dormant politicians
have moved out of the community
sector into Stormont. The activ-
ists remaining are resolutely
transforming themselves into
lobbyists for policy change.
The sector is losing its way,
north and south. This is a sector
that is unique in creating space
for the voices of those experi-
encing inequality and poverty.
North-south links would help.
The community sector in the
north is pursuing a strategy of
political lobbying of the sort
that has served the sector in the
south so badly. The community
sector in the south could learn
from the sector in the north
which achieved societal influ-
ence and leadership in times of
deep crisis. Links might foster
better strategy and promote relevance, in
both jurisdictions.
Peace in the north and austerity in the
south are both processes that, we are told,
will take us to a better place. All attention
is going into addressing the mechanics of
each process. Little attention is focused on
the nature of that better place.
In the past, the north-south links forged
by the community sector focused on models
of development, and reflected a shared con-
cern as to who benefited from these models
of development, This led to an inspirational
shared interest in devising alternative models
of development. Such models are particularly
needed as peace and austerity extend their
ambits in patently deficient ways.
In the past links were served by incentives
and leadership. Incentives involved funding
for the projects that we worked on together.
Leadership of those projects led the organiza-
tions involved to share vision and objectives
between organisations. Sadly there was a
failure to institutionalise these relationships
as more strategic, long-term partnerships.
Now the funding is less and the leadership
is lacking.
The community sector north and south
needs to invest in repairing these links. This
demands leadership at a time of scarce
funding. It requires strategic partnerships
between key organisations north and south
willing to pool resources and power – against
different backgrounds and challenges - to the
common end of a more equal, inclusive and
participative future.
Comm[dis]unity
End to north-south meetings means failure to learn from other group’s mistakes
and successes. By Niall Crowley
The
community
sector in
the north
is pursuing
a strategy
of political
lobbying
of the sort
that has
served the
sector in
the south
so badly
“
