Background to the Research

• This research examines community relations attitudes and behaviour in rural Ulster and explores whether the rural equivalent of an urban 'peaceline' actually exists.

Research Approach

• A sample survey of 1050 people across Northern Ireland, stratified according to whether areas selected were rural/urban
• A sample postal survey of 202 households in a small Ulster town.
• Small-scale surveys, structured interviews and observation in two small villages (one overwhelmingly Catholic and the other overwhelmingly Protestant) - at the rural interface or 'peaceline'
• A case study using census data for the mid-Armagh area

Main Findings

Observation and qualitative interviews Northern Ireland-wide survey findings

• Rural areas were more likely to be religiously mixed than urban communities. 44% of rural dwellers defined their neighbourhood as mixed compared to 35% for urban areas. However 18% of rural Protestants compared with 5% of rural Catholics said that they preferred their own religion neighbourhoods
• Attitudes in rural areas were more positive than in urban areas. 74% of urban dwellers said that community relations were good or very good compared to 90% or rural respondents
• Over two thirds of respondents felt that rural areas were both less violent and more integrated than urban areas. This was more strongly felt by rural than urban dwellers. However attitude towards land emerges as a key variable. 16% of rural dwellers compared to only 8% of urban dwellers said that they would not sell land to members of the other religion. Rural Protestants were more likely than Rural Catholics to hold this view (23% as opposed to 7%).

Main census analysis findings

• The mid-Armagh area is highly segregated and only 7 of the 32 wards could be considered 'mixed'.
• Protestants tend to concentrate in the wards to the north and east of the study area, particularly around the city of Armagh, whereas all the wards in the south are in excess of 90% Catholic
• There are significant demographic differences in the profiles of the two communities. Catholics tend to be characterised by larger household size, a younger age structure and relatively fewer numbers in the older age cohorts than Protestants
• The sustained decline in rural population has been reversed in this part of Northern Ireland. The study area has a generally poor social and economic profile with a reliance on a poor agricultural base to the south, resulting in relatively high unemployment rates.

Postal Survey findings 'Life in a small Ulster town'

• When asked about integrated living, attitudes among Protestants and Catholics are more extreme in the town than among all rural dwellers and Northern Ireland as a whole. Only people living in Belfast's peaceline zones hold more negative attitudes - thus challenging the notion that rural communities are generally more harmonious than urban ones.
• While community relations were perceived to be good (79% thought the town had good community relations) social distance measures indicated lack of contact and an amount of segregation. 14% of Protestants in the town would not welcome a member of the opposite religion to 'live in your street as neighbours' or 'join your clubs or societies'. 43% of Protestants in the town would not allow a member of the opposite religion to 'marry into your family'.
• Again land, or the ownership of territory, emerges as key. 61% of Protestants feel that people generally don't sell their land or property to members of the opposite religion. Only 39% of Catholics believed this, although 38% were not sure.
• Households at the rural interface Glendale is predominantly Protestant and Whiteville is predominantly Catholic. The villages are one mile apart. The recent past of Glendale includes a bomb at the UDR base, the destruction by fire of the local Orange Hall and the murder of ten local Protestant employees in the same incident. Community relations within the two villages were perceived to be very good indeed, but only 45% of people in Whiteville and 29% in Glendale felt that community relations between the two villages were good.
• Half of the residents of Glendale and 29% of Whiteville wanted their area to remain all or mostly comprised of people of the same religion as themselves. The residents of Glendale use largely Protestant urban towns such as Armagh, Markethill and Portadown for goods and services. Residents of Whiteville tend to use the mainly Catholic towns of Newry, Keady and even Dundalk.

Observation and qualitative interviews 'Life and the Land'

• Interviews with local community leaders suggested that most land transfers were 'within-religion' sales and that group interests could supersede personal interests.
• In the case-study most evidence related to the retention of Protestant land and protectionism from Catholic buyers.
• The issue of control and ownership of land is inextricably linked to community relations and contact between the two communities.