About UPATX

For 30 years, from the late 1960s through the late 1990s, Northern Ireland was scarred by a period of deadly sectarian violence known as “the Troubles.” This explosive era was fraught with car bombings, riots and revenge killings. The Troubles were seeded by centuries of conflict between predominantly Catholic Ireland and predominantly Protestant England. Tensions flared into violence in the late 1960s, leaving some 3,600 people dead and more than 30,000 injured.

The Ulster Project was started in 1975 by Rev. Kerry Waterstone, a Church of Ireland (Anglican) priest in Tullamore, County Offally.  Following an extended pastoral exchange with a clergyman in Manchester, Connecticut, Kerry Waterstone witnessed the freedom and safety of exchanging ideas and viewpoints among people of different religious beliefs while in the United States.  After the experience of his own family in America, Canon Waterstone felt that the attitudes of Teens from Northern Ireland could be changed.   If they could see and experience the way Americans have learned to live together in their “melting pot” society, they might influence the future of religious interaction and discourse in Northern Ireland.  The plan was to help ease the tensions in Northern Ireland by recruiting various Protestant and Catholic clergy to support the idea of a project based on reconciliation, trust and the destruction of stereotypes. 

After obtaining approval from church leaders, Canon Waterstone traveled into Northern Ireland to secure the cooperation of clergy willing to help in the implementation of his plan. Forming the original guidelines for the Project, he focused on addressing and minimizing the prejudices and stereotypes, which are the root cause of the bitter strife labeled Catholic/Protestant.

In Northern Ireland, an evaluation of the Ulster Project from all the participating towns and cities reveal success far surpassing the original expectations. The positive changes include parents of the project youth crossing sectarian lines in safety to work cooperatively on behalf of the Project.

The youth themselves have maintained their friendships with the support of the churches and neighborhood communities. Their influence extends to a large peer group, as well as their extended families.

Over 5,500 youth from Northern Ireland have participated overall through the end of the 2019 Project, and, to our knowledge, NONE have become paramilitary on either side. Moreover, project participants from Northern Ireland have increased, with no project teens having participated in any form of sectarian violence. From the Arlington area, there have been visits by American participants to our paired community of Belfast, confirming the continuing cross community association there, which the Belfast clergy, civic leaders and citizens have found so helpful in reducing violence.

The Project expanded to Arlington, Texas, in 1994 under the efforts and guidance Joe Frances.  Teens who participate in the Arlington project will experience activities and events from team building and leadership training, to group discussions, service projects and fun times at Six Flags, Ranger games, Lake Arlington, and more.   Under the sponsorship of the Ulster Project, approximately 16 Teenagers from Belfast, Northern Ireland participate in the Arlington-based program each year. This teen group is ideally comprised of half Protestants and half Catholics, half girls and half boys, and they come to Arlington in the month of July to live with host families in private homes. The teens are paired with American teens of the same sex and approximate age. They live with Host Families, becoming an extra son or daughter,  and are “matched” by a Committee, selected by the Ulster Project Arlington Board.

We consider diversity a strength.  The aim of UPATX is to provide an affirming and culturally responsive program that, through exposure and education, empowers local and international teenagers to navigate differences, create unity, and cultivate unlikely friendships.  Through intentional listening and team building, we foster understanding, especially regarding religion and national origin.  We build future leaders who are equipped to shape a diverse, inclusive, and empathically minded world.  We are committed to engaging our hearts and minds to recognize and challenge our biases, with a pledge to continuous learning and growth.  Through routine examination of our programs, practices, and policies, we identify ways UPATX is possibly colluding with racism, religious intolerance, and other forms of discrimination.