A street, a community, split in two. A familiar tale amid Northern Ireland’s Troubles.

Barriers, physical and cultural, driven by religion and politics, separating one side from the other.

Even now, amid relative peace, bridging the divide is not always as easy as opening the padlock on a gate.

Grassroots sport, however, is one of the most powerful keys to unlocking peace and reconciliation – and trust among the next generation. Brian Caskey held that the vision when he founded Limestone United in 2011 and now his work has been recognised by a leading charity.

In the heart of North Belfast, the Limestone Road remained splintered apart following the Troubles. Attempts to bring the area back together had not all hit the mark.

Through a cross-community football club for the young people of the area, Caskey saw an opportunity to create a focus for the whole community.

Its vision? Limestone. United.

“The reason we were formed was primarily to help young people move away from some of risk-taking behaviour primarily,” he reveals.

“We wanted to come up with some form of positive way of intervening, and we were immediately drawn to the power of sport to do that. We created a sort of motto of ‘sport across the interface’.”

Limestone United was established to go beyond 90 minutes, beyond a 1-0 win, beyond the touchline, and right into the heart of its locale through its young people.

“We used sport as a way to ask the young people to come on board,” Caskey says. 

“That was the idea to bring them off the streets, off the interfaces, away from the challenges that they were facing around negative behaviour. And then into a good relations sports programme that would hopefully give them a good pathway into better decision making and better opportunities for them – and ultimately then make the community safer.

“A lot of young people were making really positive decisions for themselves. The wider community at that stage just wanted the trouble to stop, and were very keen and supportive of any cross-community initiative that was going to help. 

“We still face some hostility from throughout the years. You know, the early days that people were trying to stop young people from coming to games. 

“We were determined. And we had some really incredible young people who came on board who were leaders in their community. If it wasn’t for the resurgence of young people, I don’t think would be still going today.”

It underlines the value that grassroots sport possesses to create community cohesion as well as reducing crime and other negative influences.

And Limestone’s efforts have now been backed by the country’s largest grassroots sport charity Sported who have held it up as a role model.

Sported, who offer resources and funding in Northern Ireland with partners such the Barclays Community Football Fund, the Rank Foundation and Garfield Weston, have supported the club in its plans to operate their own facility.

“Limestone really show how grassroots sport can transform young lives,” its Northern Ireland manager Judith Rankin says.

“It’s great they’re getting our next generation active but it’s the cross-community benefits that are really scoring big. Bridging the gaps in understanding and addressing the critical issues in an area that has suffered a lot of disadvantage has taken a lot of work from Brian and his team. But it underlines how groups like these can reach those who might otherwise slip through the net.”

Sported provided Limestone with professional consultancy through Seamus, a volunteer, who has helped draw up their future blueprint.

“This is where I’m very grateful to Sported over the years because it’s been challenging throughout the years to find your way because you’re a voluntary, grassroots organisation dealing with a very particular issue,” Caskey admits.

“I had that idea of our own pitch for a number of years, and to be honest, burned a lot of midnight oil on a laptop and basically didn’t get anywhere. Faltered with applications faltered with what to say and with my experience with Seamus, Seamus decluttered a lot of the stuff for me.

“It could be the difference between us getting this facility and having a reasonable usage for the community and the young people that we work with. So, I don’t underestimate how much time people give for organisations like ourselves, and Seamus certainly has played a very critical role in that.”

Caskey and Limestone United have also received two sets of grants from the Barclays Community Football Fund.

“Through Sported we’ve got the Barclays fund to help kick off our girls project, to help get some vital resources,” Caskey adds. “We got it and it helped kick off the girls project. You weren’t having to go through a lot of stress around trying to convince people that what you’re doing is worthwhile.”

“We found it very, very difficult to get funding that would allow the club to grow at a level we think it can grow at. We then got the immediate funding from Barclays and that allowed us to do immediate work with them. And now the girls are hooked and now they’re staying with us and growing and growing. It currently has 16 young girls who are involved.”

What next for the club? There’s a second boys team up and running to, and they’re exploring options to give their girls team a chance to visit New York and experience a new culture to learn from having taken the boys to Belgium and Romania in previous years.

“We were approached three months ago by a group of young people who would be called the next generation of at-risk youth,” Caskey said. “I don’t like that term, but they approached us and were watching how the other guys and girls had benefitted over the years.

“They said that they would like to do it and move away from the streets, and we’re absolutely delighted to launch a second team.

“They were saying things to me that I had to spend a number of years to get the other boys to say to start with. Unknown to me, they were watching what our boys were doing and saying.

“The trip to New York would be an amazing opportunity that we felt maybe wouldn’t come their way. I think there’s only two of the girls who have been outside Northern Ireland and it was just an idea of an aspirational experience.

“Then we would maybe leave a legacy for them, both in their personal lives and also for them to transition to new leaders.

“And we just wanted to give them an amazing experience both of learning from what can maybe happen across the water but also to turn them into even more amazing young women.”

You can find out more about Sported, the work the organisation does in your area, and your local contact at www.sported.org.uk/our-work/what-we-do/where-we-are/.

The Barclays Community Football Fund reduces inequalities in football by supporting community sports groups who need it most. Find out more about the programme delivered by Sported here: www.sported.org.uk/barclays-community-football-fund-2.

More information about Limestone United Football Club is available on their website here: www.limestoneunited.org.