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Belfast Live
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Brendan Hughes

Brendan Hughes: Gen-Z singing 'up the Ra' a depressing sign of a society still divided

A conversation with three young women on West Belfast's Falls Road gave an insight into the mindset of some teenagers chanting "up the Ra".

The Gen-Z trio, two aged 19 and a 20-year-old, were born years after the Good Friday Agreement. They have no memory of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

But they admitted joining in with pro-IRA chanting at the Wolfe Tones concert last weekend as part of Feile An Phobail without much consideration of what it could mean.

Read more: Tory leadership hustings in Northern Ireland brings wriggle room to Protocol rhetoric

One of the teenagers acknowledged she understood the chants would be hurtful to some people, but she would unapologetically do the same thing again.

Asked what they think "up the Ra" means, one of the young women responded: "I don't know, we just sing along like."

"Men who fought for Irish freedom one day, so 'course I'm going to sing," she told BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra. No mention of the many innocent people murdered by the Provisional IRA during the decades-long conflict.

"My family are very strong republicans like so that's where I've came from, so obviously I'm going to carry on that beliefs like (sic)."

Over on the Shankill Road, a 19-year-old man admitted singing sectarian songs at Rangers football matches.

"Like it is hateful what you're saying like, you're slabbering, it's just not right to say some of the stuff," he told the programme.

"I think it's just if they do it we're going to do it and it's just back and forward."

Almost 25 years on from the Good Friday Agreement, these young people should be enjoying the bridge-building opportunities of peace.

Instead, these conversations paint a depressing picture of a society still deeply divided along sectarian lines.

Where there should be reconciliation, acknowledgment of loss, and a process of healing, old battles and arguments are instead being passed down to a new generation.

It would be easy to simply blame the young people involved, but their actions are influenced by the world around them - and the choices of those in positions of leadership.

In many respects Stormont has failed to show this leadership.

A recent study revealed a straining of cross-community relations in the years since Brexit. The number of adults who think relations between Protestants and Catholics are improving has fallen to its lowest level since 2002.

More than 100 peace wall barriers remain across Northern Ireland decades on from the Troubles. A Stormont target to raze them all by 2023 is nowhere near being met.

For Feile an Phobail, there is no doubt that it hosts many events which are to be commended, including over 70 debates and discussions this summer.

But the blind insistence on booking the Wolfe Tones every year - knowing the controversy, hurt and upset it will cause - only serves to undermine the rest of the festival.

The apparent unwillingness to change looks set to become increasingly untenable.

Agnew Group suspended a woman from her role at the Mercedes-Benz dealership after she was identified on social media allegedly singing pro-IRA chants, apparently linked to the Wolfe Tones concert.

The prospect of facing action from their employer could put off some people from attending in future years.

Continuing controversy over the concert will also eventually lead to greater scrutiny of the large amounts of public funding the festival receives.

The more than half-a-million pounds a year from Belfast City Council - the biggest funder of the festival - may come under particular pressure.

Past claims a political "carve-up" of council funds - with Sinn Fein backing the festival and the DUP securing funds for events in loyalist areas - will only lead to fresh questions over value for money.

But without political leadership to tackle divisions and address such issues, expect the same old arguments to resurface again next year.

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