Community Restorative Justice Ireland Newry/Armagh

15/09/2026

Exploring Community Restorative Justice in County Louth

We’re delighted to be launching a new project to explore whether Community Restorative Justice is wanted and needed in County Louth, what it could look like and how it could work in practice.

We want to hear from local communities, organisations and statutory agencies and make sure local views help shape the project from the beginning.

📅 Friday 9 October
⏰ 10.30am–12.30pm
📍 Muirhevnamor Community Centre

This project is supported by PEACEPLUS, with Louth County Council as the funding partner, and is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).

We look forward to bringing communities together and starting the conversation. 🤝

14/09/2026

CommUnity Connect – Together for Hope 💛

Last Thursday, we were delighted to attend CommUnity Connect: Together for Hope at the Monasterboice Inn, organised by Healthy Louth to mark World Su***de Prevention Day.

It was a really worthwhile day of networking with so many charities, community organisations and local agencies working across Louth. We made some great new connections and shared ideas about how we can work together to support people and communities.

Building these relationships will not only help strengthen our own work, but also the work of the organisations we connected with. Stronger together. 🤝

A big thank you to Healthy Louth, Louth County Council, the HSE and SAFE Castlebellingham for bringing everyone together and creating such an important space for connection, awareness and support.

***dePreventionDay

08/09/2026

As part of the Safer Stronger Communities Project, we were delighted to bring a group of Indian and Zimbabwean newcomers from the Newry area to the wonderful Ulster American Folk Park for an afternoon exploring heritage, identity and belonging.

Our visit included a private guided tour of the Folk Park, followed by a fascinating presentation on migration to and from the port-town of Newry, followed by discussion and reflection on everyone's own personal and family stories of migration.

One of the most meaningful aspects of the visit was exploring the overlap between the experiences of recent migrants arriving in Newry and the experiences of Irish people who left these shores for America during the Great Famine. Although separated by generations, geography and circumstances, there were powerful connections in the stories we heard: leaving home in search of safety, opportunity and a better future; adapting to unfamiliar surroundings; and finding a sense of belonging in a new community.

We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who came along. A huge thank you is owed to the staff of the Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh ,and Dr. Liam Campbell and Sebastian Graham of the Mellon Centre for Migration Studies for their warm welcome, knowledge and for helping create such a memorable and thought-provoking experience for our group. We would also like to thank Siju George of the Newry Indian Arts Club for helping coordinate the visit.

06/09/2026

We're at Newry Indian Arts Club's Mela Festival this afternoon and looking forward to talking to visitors about restorative justice and community development.

Why not pop down, say hello, and enjoy some tasty cuisine and some Indian/Irish music!

02/09/2026

Staff members Ryan, Fiona and Ann had a very informative and engaging day at the Thomas D'Arcy McGee Summer School last week in Carlingford, County Louth.

For over a decade, the Summer School has provided a space for thoughful discussion, learning and debate around the most pertinent and topical issues facing Ireland north and south of the border. This year's theme was 'Culture, Identity and Inclusion in a Turbulent World.' Diverse persepectives were brought together into meaningful conversations about the challenges and opportunities before us.

For CRJI, themes of dialogue, inclusion and reconciliation are particularly relevant to our work in restorative justice and community development. We learned alot about we can continue to build more inclusive and resilient communities through our respective programmes.

A sincere thank you to the Carlingford Heritage Trust for hosting a excellent Summer School, and to all the keynote speakers and participants who contributed to such thought-provoking discussions.

28/08/2026

A fantastic achievement to celebrate! 👏

Since January, our Engagement, Wellbeing & Signposting Project for Young People in Rural Co. Louth has been supporting young people.

We are so proud to say that one young man has successfully completed his course with National Training Solutions, secured a job and is now feeling much more positive and confident about his future. 🙌

This is exactly what our project is about — supporting young people, building confidence and helping them take positive steps towards their future.

FUNDED BY PEACEPLUS supported by SEUPB

26/08/2026

CRJI Newry/Armagh strongly condemn the deliberate burning and vandalism of the wishing well outside the Meadow & Armagh road community association Centre.

Vandalism of community facilities like this are completely unacceptable and undermine the fantastic work being out by Community Association volunteers to improve their areas.

Community spaces be places of safety and welcome for everyone and deserve our support and respect, not mindless acts of destruction and defacement like this.

CRJI Newry/Armagh stand in solidarity with the volunteers, residents and families of the Meadow/Armagh Road community.

We are deeply saddened to learn that yesterday/last night our wee wishing well was deliberately set on fire outside our centre! Our association invest alot of time VOLUNTEERING to facilitate activities, entertainment and games for the people of the community, to wake up to this vandalism is very disheartening especially after the great successful fun weekend 💔! However as we are determined to find who's to blame we will not let them stop the good effort and time we invest for the kids!!
LET'S GO HYDRO trip Friday bus is leaving Armagh Road at 9.30am please if you can arrive at 9.15am for registration

19/08/2026

A sincere thank you to everyone at Cuidigh Linn in Muirhevnamor, Dundalk, for facilitating one of our recent Border Women Oral History recording sessions last weekend.

It was a pleasure for Border Women facilitator Ryan to spend time with a wonderful group of women and hear them reflect on their lives. The conversations touched on family, childhood, work, but also on more painful experiences. Many of the women interviewed were displaced from their homes in Belfast during the early years of the Troubles, eventually coming to permanent settle in border towns like Dundalk. These women and their families formed part of the biggest involuntary movement of people seen in Western Europe since World War 2. They also spoke about the many social and political changes they witnessed over the years.

Every interview brings something different and helps us understand how life has changed across the border communities of Counties Louth, Armagh and Down. We're very grateful to everyone who generously shared their memories and experiences with us.

A special word of thanks to the team at Cuidigh Linn for their warm welcome and for helping to make the session possible. Their work supporting older members of the local community is invaluable, and it was a privilege to hold the session there.

17/08/2026

What a fantastic day our Safer Stronger Coordinator Ryan and Ewan had at Barcroft Community Association’s Family Fun day last Friday! 🎉🙌

A huge congratulations to the committee for organising another brilliant event and bringing the community together.

It was also great to see funds being raised for Rathore School in memory of Fiachra Maguire For Fiachra . ❤️

Well done to everyone involved. 💚