Teens and territory in contested spaces: Negotiating sectarian interfaces in Northern Ireland

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine children's experiences of territory in one location in Northern Ireland. The research draws on stories, maps and focus group interviews with 80 children aged between 14–15 years of age, living in one of the most contested interface areas in Northern Ireland. Interface areas are locations where Catholics and Protestants live side by side in segregated communities divided by peace walls and other symbolic boundaries. Within these spaces, children made distinctions between place and territory. Place was referred to in relation to physical features of the surrounding landscape but more importantly as spaces where family and friendship ties were paramount. Territory on the other hand was referred to in terms of Protestant and Catholic identity.