PeacePlayers International

For most children, sport conjures images of fun-filled pep-rallies, friendly school rivalries and team spirit—an experience that typically unifies children from diverse backgrounds. But, historically, for children in Northern Ireland this has not been the case.

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Traditionally, the sport a child plays in Northern Ireland—even the team they support—indicates their religious background. As a result sport can be a source of mistrust, instilling feelings of prejudice at a young age. But because neither side of the sectarian divide plays basketball, this is an activity that can be enjoyed by all. By setting up sustainable cross-community basketball programs, targeting 10-14 year olds in Northern Ireland, PPI enables Catholic and Protestant children to play and compete with each other. Most of these children are from the difficult flash point areas, where enmity between the two communities is at its most intense.

Founded on the premise that “children who play together can learn to live together,”
PeacePlayers has four main objectives:
to bridge social divides, develop future leaders, educate children to lead healthy, constructive lives and build community involvement, ensuring long-term sustainability. PPI is led by a global network of youth leaders who work together as coaches, mentors and facilitators.Utilizing a combination of in-school coaching and after-school club sessions, the program is delivered through schools, community centers and youth clubs.

PeacePlayers International creates a safe, fun environment where kids can form friendships based on their own experiences.

PPI’s ground-breaking curriculum directly addresses the issues of living in a divided society, with the emphasis on cross-community relationship building. Its approach is progressive, taking children through a series of exercises that advance from exploring stereotypes, to fostering acceptance and ultimately, establishing friendships.

Before children learn how to play basketball together, coaches visit the schools and discuss expectations. The goal during that first meeting is to overcome initial prejudices and encourage interaction. What begins as a new and tentative exchange evolves into hopeful, inspiring dialogue, as children discover they share much in common. Even the journey to the host school serves as an educational tool. As children walk to the schools, they are often exposed to new neighborhoods they never would have previously considered visiting. Within minutes of arriving, they are placed on mixed teams, and initial trepidations are replaced by echoes of laughter and cheering.

We asked Sean Tuohey to share the story of his experience with Peace Players in Northern Ireland and the difference they are making in breaking down the barriers of sectarianism with children.

"Peace Players implements year round coaching programs in Northern Ireland, South Africa, Cyprus and Israel/Palestine reaching over 45,000 children. Both Sean and his brother Brendan, the organization’s Executive Director, have made presentations on Peace Players at American Ireland Fund events in Washington DC, New York, Boston and Dublin."

"I figured this simple idea out while coaching in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1999. I traveled to the region to pursue a career playing basketball but failed to make a team in what many consider the lowest pro league in the world. Too proud to return home as a failure, and captivated by the revolutionary feel of the place, I opted to hang around Belfast and subsidized my living by coaching in primary schools.

Basketball is a new sport in the North and free of a sectarian bias that plagues most of the traditional games like Rugby (Protestant) or Gaelic Football (Catholic). Over the course of a year, I taught kids on both sides how to play basketball and then got them playing together, all very simple. Towards the end of my year in Belfast I can admit that I grew tired of the constant sideways rain, but felt very confident that I had created an interesting job and one that other like minded Americans would surely follow. I befriended an Irish Police Chief who had ties with South Africa and he suggested I might try using basketball as a tool for conflict resolution there as well.

With the help of my brother Brendan, who played for a team in Dublin a few years earlier, we incorporated Peace Players (Formerly Playing for Peace) in 2000, a non-profit that uses basketball to unite and educate children and their communities. With $7000 I set off alone to Durban, South Africa to test the idea’s legitimacy. It worked. A year later, we returned back to Northern Ireland as Peace Players and have grown every year since.

“The Troubles” in Northern Ireland have largely faded for the most part from the American conscience. The IRA has disarmed, the RUC has changed its name to Police Service and Belfast has a professional hockey team, yet the peace process remains very fragile. The schools and neighborhoods are still segregated and the paramilitary groups and politicians still refuse to let go of the past. It’s within these parameters that Peace Players has set up sustainable cross community basketball programs, targeting 10-14 year olds in Belfast, Derry, Armagh, Craigavan, and Cookstown. Utilizing a combination of in-school coaching sessions (“twinnings”) and after-school club sessions Peace Players aims to create safe fun environments where kids can play together and form friendships based on their own experiences.

Our programs are co-managed by a team of Americans we place on the ground each year to work alongside a staff of local coaches we recruit from communities where our programs run. Although we have done a decent job finding funding sources within Ireland, we rely heavily on individuals and organizations like The American Ireland Fund to help cover our yearly cost. Not only has the AIF supported us each and every year with a grant, but they have also provided a much needed platform for us tell our story and connected us with the most generous Irish-Americans, none more so than Mr. and Mrs. John Curran."