Nearly €1m in cross-border grants

Grants totalling €816,000 were today announced for 33 cross-border community outreach projects.

Grants totalling €816,000 were today announced for 33 cross-border community outreach projects.

A range of sporting, arts and youth organisations will benefit from the money, from the Department of Foreign Affair's Reconciliation Fund.

"These grants give us an opportunity to give tangible support and recognition to the dedicated reconciliation work being undertaken by groups and individuals on a cross-community and cross-border basis," said Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern.

"All make an invaluable contribution to the promotion of tolerance and mutual understanding on this island."

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Among the 35 groups to reap the cash awards include the 174 Trust in Belfast, Boyne Fishermen's Rescue and Recovery Service in Co Louth, Creggan Enterprises in Derry, the Irish Peace Institute in Limerick, the Pat Finucane Centre for Human Rights and Social Change in Derry.

The Reconciliation Fund was established in the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1982 and provides assistance to organisations involved in reconciliation work to create a better understanding between people on the island of Ireland and between Ireland and Britain.

Since 1999, the Department of Foreign Affairs has awarded grants of just under €21 million to over 580 groups involved in a wide range of cross-community and cross-border reconciliation activities.