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Life in Two Enclave Areas in Northern Ireland
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Text: Pauline Collins, Ruth Moore and Marie Smyth
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life in two enclave areas
in Northern Ireland:
a field survey in Derry Londonderry
after the ceasefires
[Image of front cover]
Templegrove Action Research Limited
First published 1996
by Templegrove Action Research Limited
13 Pump Street, Derry Londonderry, BT48 6JG ©
Templegrove Action Research Limited
Typeset by Pauline Collins and Marie Smyth
Photograph by Allen Kennedy
Prepared in collaboration with Ruth Moore
Written and edited by Marie Smyth
Printed by Print 'n Press, Foyle Road, Derry Londonderry
All Rights Reserved
ISBN1 9000 7106 1
LIFE IN TWO ENCLAVE AREAS
in Northern Ireland:
a field survey
in Gobnascale and The Fountain,
Derry Londonderry
after the cease-fires
the research team:
PAULINE COLLINS
RUTH MOORE
MARIE SMYTH
survey analysis by
MARIE SMYTH
written and edited by
MARIE SMYTH
project director
MARIE SMYTH
TEMPLEGROVE ACTION RESEARCH LIMITED
Derry Londonderry
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We are grateful to Ken Rooney, William Temple in The Fountain and
Donnie Sweeney, and those in Top of the Hill 2010, in Gobnascale for their
assistance in the field. Denis McCoy and Brendan Murtagh's advice on questionnaire
design, and the operation of the survey was invaluable. Thanks to Alan
Breen and Mike Morrissey for statistical advice, and to the staff in computer
services in the University of Ulster, Magee College, especially Trevor
McMullan, for their assistance. As always, thanks to George Row for further
informatics back-up. Denis McCoy's advice on data presentation also helped
in the preparation of this report.
We are grateful to the Physical Social and Environmental Programme
of the European Union, The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, The Ireland
Fund, The Londonderry Initiative of the Department of the Environment,
and the Central Community Relations Unit for core funding for the project.
We would like to thank the residents in both The Fountain and Gobnascale
who consented to be interviewed and who read transcripts of their interviews.
They provided us with the basis of the questionnaire for the survey and
we have been privileged by being welcomed into their homes and community
centres. We would also like to thank the many more people in both areas
who participated in the survey. These people - whose names we do not have
- have given their thoughts and opinions to us, and it is of these that
the survey is composed.
Marie Smyth Project Director May 1996
CONTENTS
Appendices
3. The Questionnaire
Introduction
From 1993, a group of people began meeting to discuss various aspects
of political life in Derry or Londonderry city. We worked together to develop
a project which addressed the issues related to segregation, the movement
of population within and out of the city, and the quality of life in enclave
areas. In September, 1994, Templegrove Action Research Limited, a community
based research company with directors drawn from both sides of the community,
began a two year action-research project on aspects of segregation and
sectarian division in the city. Funding had been obtained, and I had received
a two year leave of absence from the University of Ulster to work full-time
on the project. Just as the project began, the IRA, and shortly afterwards
the Combined Loyalist Military Command, announced cease-fires. By early
1995, the two other members of the team, Ruth Moore, and Pauline Collins,
had been recruited. In our research on segregation and enclave communities
in the city we have come to refer to as Derry Londonderry. Our work has
been based in two enclave communities: a Catholic community in the previously
predominantly Protestant Waterside area of the city, - Gobnascale or Top
of the Hill; and a Protestant enclave, The Fountain, in the predominantly
Catholic Cityside area.
Our research field had been substantially altered by the cease-fires.
We had planned the Templegrove research project when the violence of the
troubles had been ongoing. That the violence should end just as we were
beginning work was a challenge to our ability to respond to a changing
political climate. Sectarian division and violence did not merely provide
the backdrop to our research, they were central concerns, and at the very
beginning of our work, this major change had occurred - apparently the
violence had ended. This cessation of violence seemed laden with significance,
not only for our work, but for our daily lives, and for the country as
a whole.
We engaged in a range of activities throughout the period of the project,
and these are fully documented in the other publications generated by our
work. A list of these is included as Appendix 1.
This field survey was conducted as the second phase of our work, the
first being a series of in-depth interviews in each area. These interviews
provided the basis on which we based our questionnaire design. The survey
collected an enormous amount of data, and we have restricted ourselves
to a basic reporting of the data here. Secondary analysis of the data would
no doubt yield a more detailed picture, but that must take place at a later
stage. In order to remain within the time boundaries of the project, we
present here the initial findings of the survey, as a way of pointing to
areas of further work.
Marie Smyth, May, 1996.
Executive Summary
This is a report of a field survey in Gobnascale and The Fountain, the
fieldwork of which was conducted during the weeks from October 9 until
20 November, 1995. The survey employed a random systematic sampling procedure.
The sample in each area was selected from a list of addresses by a process
of selecting every third house. In the event of a house being void, the
interviewer was instructed to proceed to the next house in the sample.
When a house was selected, a KISH grid was used in order to randomly select
an interviewee within the household. Given the relative difference in the
population sizes, we opted for a 25% sample in The Fountain (116: total
population = 467) and a 20% (262: total population = 1312) sample in Gobnascale.
We increased our sample size slightly to allow for non-responses or non-valid
responses to individual questions in the questionnaire. The questionnaire
design was based on previous studies and on in-depth interviews conducted
in each area. The questionnaire was designed for self-completion and was
piloted in January, 1996. The survey was conducted in February and March
1996, and data was entered on SPSS 6.1 for analysis, and we present here
our preliminary findings which fall under a number of headings:
The sample and the populations in the two areas surveyed
Examination of census and sample data found a different settlement pattern
in the two areas, with the Gobnascale area experiencing an influx of people
in the 1970's associated with the building of new housing. The Fountain,
on the other hand, has experienced a steady decline in population, particularly
apparent in the mid to late 1980s. A new wave of inflow to the area is
currently being experienced with an estimated 6% of Fountain residents
having been there for a year or less. The two communities are virtually
religiously homogenous, but both contain a small minority of residents
from the other community. Comparisons between the sample and the census
data for each area suggest that there is an over-representation of females
in the Gobnascale sample, which may not be found in the Gobnascale population.
Age data show that 25% of the Fountain population was over the age of 60
in 1991, and 17.5% of the Fountain population are females over the age
of 60, whereas 42% of the Gobnascale population was under the age of 19
in 1991. The predominant housing stock in both areas is public housing,
although the Fountain has a significantly larger privately rented sector.
Data on household size suggests that well over 40% of households in the
Fountain are single person households, whereas households in Gobnascale
tend to be larger, and more Gobnascale households contain children under
the age of 18.
Migration and the stability of the populations
Around 75% of those surveyed felt that they had a free choice in staying
or leaving the area they live in, although a slightly lower percentage
of Fountain residents felt that this was the case. A greater proportion
of Gobnascale residents indicated that they intended to move in the near
future, and the most frequently taken measure to facilitate a move is to
apply for a housing transfer. Most decisions to move in both communities
were made as individual decisions, although a small number of people felt
they had to move because of dogs, vandalism or other nuisances in the area.
Differences between the two areas in factors which influence decisions
to move emerged. Availability of suitable housing was a major factor for
Gobnascale residents, while proximity to the town centre was a major influence
on Fountain residents. Troubles-related factors which influence decisions
showed marked differences between the two areas on matters relating to
policing. Gobnascale residents were more likely to be influenced by troubles-related
factors in their decision to stay or leave, whereas the need to defy intimidation
and protection by the security forces were reasons to stay for Fountain
residents, which tended not to influence Gobnascale residents.
Segregated living
Although 70% of Gobnascale residents and 77% of Fountain residents surveyed
saw their area as segregated, 18%-19% in each areas did not. By far the
most agreed statement about segregation was that a segregated community
is a sitting target for sectarian attacks. Segregation also means a freedom
to express your own culture and provided freedom to speak your own mind.
38% in both communities thought that segregation brought the community
closer together. Negative aspects of segregation examined were the loss
of natural friendships and lack of understanding of the other community,
although significant differences emerged between the two areas on these.
The majority of people in both areas had contact in their families, neighbourhoods
and social life with people from the same community as them, although there
some evidence of more mixing between Fountain residents and the Catholic
community than among Gobnascale residents and Protestants. On attitudes
to the movement of Protestants out of the city, significant differences
were found between the two areas in all but the "don't care"
responses.
Community issues and identities
The majority of residents surveyed in both areas were satisfied with
life in their area, although more Gobnascale than Fountain residents thought
that their area had improved in the last three years. Conversely, fewer
Gobnascale than Fountain residents felt their area had deteriorated in
the last three years, and Gobnascale residents were more optimistic than
Fountain residents about the prospects for improvement in the next three
years. Factors which influenced residents to stay in both areas were the
significance of the area to their side of the community, and local churches
and institutions. Differences between the two areas were found in the influence
the historic past of the area had on decisions to stay, roots in the area,
and the attractiveness of the area. Lack of facilities for children and
handiness of amenities emerged as important in both areas. Car parking
and traffic problems emerged as important for Fountain residents in particular.
Variations were often related to materially different conditions in the
two areas. 36% of Gobnascale residents surveyed and 58% of Fountain residents
felt part of a minority. Those surveyed tended to refer to the context
of the city, rather than the context of the country or the island when
defining whether or not they felt in the minority. The two areas divided
sharply along predictable lines in selecting identities such as Unionist,
Nationalist, Protestant and Catholic, and the only position that was equally
if rarely chosen by both sides was 'Northern Irish".
Perceived problems in each area
When asked about problems of access, both areas reported difficulty
in accessing facilities for children, but Fountain residents had fewer
access problems than Gobnascale residents. There was agreement between
the two areas that shootings and bombings were no longer a problem, but
had been in the past. Divergence occurred between the two areas in relation
to their experience of the police and security forces, with Gobnascale
residents more likely to perceive the security forces as a problem. The
biggest problem for Gobnascale residents was paint, stone and bottle throwing,
whereas the biggest problem for Fountain residents was vandalism to cars
and property. Desired improvements in both areas include improvements to
housing stock, vacant dwellings and land put to use and improvements to
the environment. Community relations issues, such as more contact with
the other community ranked fourth in both areas. The most serious problem
facing the residents in Gobnascale was unemployment, they felt, whereas
Fountain residents felt that their most serious problem was lack of amenities
for children and young people.
Secondary analysis of these data could usefully explore a further age
and gender breakdown of data, in order to explore sub-groups within each
community.
A note on the interpretation of the data for
those who are not familiar with statistics
When we analysed the figures from the survey, we used statistics to
test whether the differences between the two areas were due to more than
chance. In order to do this, we used SPSS 6.1, which is a package of computerised
tests. The main test we use here is called the "chi square".
This test will tell us whether, in all probability, the differences between
two sets of figures are accidentally different, or whether they are systematically
different. For example, it is unlikely that there is a systematic relationship
between the number of rainy days this year, and the sale of eggs, but there
might be a systematic relationship between the number of rainy days and
the sale of umbrellas. Running a chi square on a two sets of figures, one
on umbrella sales and the other on the number of rainy days will show if
there is a statistically significant relationship between them. In this
report, we describe the level of significance as well. If the result of
the chi square test is larger than .05, then we say that there is not a
statistically significant relationship. If the chi square is .05, then
there is only a 5% or a "one in twenty" chance, that the differences
we observe in the two sets of figures are accidental. If the chi square
is .04, or .03, then the relationship between the two sets of figures is
even less likely to be by chance, and the " statistical significance"
is greater.
However, two notes of caution. We have done a large number of comparisons
here, and no matter how well we test the data, the more data we test, and
the more tests we do, we increase the probability that some of the results
will arise by chance. Since we have tested roughly 190 variables here,
which is roughly 190 tests, then we can estimate that 9 of those tests
(1 in 20) show chance results. For example, one statistician many years
ago came up with a highly statistically significant relationship between
the number of storks in the country one year, and the birthrate. His calculations
were impeccable, and there really was a statistical relationship there.
However, common sense would tell us that there is no causal relationship
between one variable, - the number of storks, and the other, - the birthrate.
So, this report should be read with a critical eye, and a large helping
of common sense, bearing in mind that statistics, too, have their limitations.
Finally, one further point about the use of our results to support arguments
or causes. Given the complexities of the issues we are dealing with, any
figures which others wish to use elsewhere should be placed in the context
of the wider findings of the surveys presented here. It is sometimes tempting
to select the statistics which support our pre-existing ideas, and ignore
those which challenge them, or are ambiguous of contradictory. However,
the nature of the issues we have studied here is often ambiguous and contradictory,
and to present them as straightforward or simple misrepresents their richness
and complexity.
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