In 1975, Belfast was one of the most bombed cities in the world.
Life was about survival. Hatred separated Catholics and Protestants.
Childhood was a world of fear.
A world away from The Troubles, in Greenwood Lake, Upper New York, two Irish brothers – Denis and Pat Mulcahey – sat down at the family’s kitchen table.
Together, they held one simple wish: to bring six children to America for six weeks.
Boys and girls.
Catholics and Protestants.
To allow them 6 weeks of swimming, baseball, hills, and lakes safe from bombing, shooting, and endless violence.
And so it was that Project Children was born.
What started with 6 children, grew day-by-day, and year-by-year to finally embrace over 23,000 children from all across Northern Ireland.
50 years later, we are celebrating the collective stories of these children who swam together, ran together, and made peace together in an exhibition and permanent archive called The Project Children Stories.
Project Children changed the lives of thousands of children. The Project Children Stories may very well change yours.
