"Supporting couples who are united in love across traditional Christian divisions and promoting acceptance of these relationships within Northern Ireland society"
MIxed Emotions
All love stories are unique and the ten accounts of mixed marriage told in the latest NIMMA publication, launched at the Long Gallery at Stormont on 29 February 2012, are no exception.
Each story is shared in openness and with courage and their collective experience, stretching over seven decades, shows how society has changed and yet how it remains the same.
The couples are featured in an edition of our newsletter. Their experiences show how relationships can be made to blossom, even when it is made most difficult for those involved, and we can all learn from from their experience as they show us how in the face of adversity, we can aspire and achieve far beyond our common divisions.
The publication was authored by Paul McLaughlin, funded by the Big Lottery Fund and supported through Volunteer Now. Mixed Emotions is included within the Incore Accounts of the Troubles digital archive.
The stories in Mixed Emotions have been developed into ttwo drama productions. NIMMA and the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education created a teaching resource for young people. A video of the play, and accompanying discussion, can be viewed here.
Roley and Jo McIntyre and Sharon and Stephen Gault developed their story into a drama through Theatre of Witness. Unspoken Love isby Thomas Spiers is available here.
- Both Sides Now
- Stories
- Drama
There has been widespread interest in Mixed Emotions and considerable media coverage of those couples in the book and alos in the stories of others with their own tale to tell, NIMMA have followd this publication with further work of real people telling their own stories which explores the experiences of children of mixed marriages.Like Mixed Emotions, it provides honest reflections and powerfull testimony.
The work was launched in April 2015 and further details are available in our April 2015 Newslettter. To obtain a copy of "Both Sides Now", please contact us.
The publication of "Mixed Emotions" led to great interest in the press for the stories of those in mixed marraiges and how they had dealt with the adversity they had experienced. Everyone's story is different and "Mixed Emotions" provides a sprectum oif experiences and covers a period of over seventy years.
You can read Stephen and Sharon's story, as published in the Guardian, Love across the Divide. Ruth's story from "Mixed Emotions" is covered in an article entitled "My family and community would have nothing to do with me... because I married a Catholic" in the Belfast Telegraph here.
The stories in Mixed Emotions have generated two drama productions. NIMMA joined with NICIE to develop a teaching resource for young people. A video of the play, and accompanying discussion, can be viewed on You Tube by searching on "Mixed Emotions play Belfast" or use this link.
Roley and Jo McIntyre and Sharon and Stephen Gault developed their story into a drama through Theatre of Witness. Unspoken Love isby Thomas Spiers is available here.
Stormount Launch
The couples featured in "Mixed Emotions took centre stage at the launch of the publication in the Long Gallery in Stormount. It was the first opportunity each had to meet the other couples in the publication.
An Educational Resource
NIMMA is pleased to have worked in partnership with the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education to develop a play based on the NIMMA Mixed Emotions publication.
This is a valuable teaching resource aimed primarily for young people. A video of the play, and accompanying discussion, can be viewed on You Tube by searching on "Mixed Emotions play Belfast" or use this link.
Read about how local schools use this powerful educational tool here..
Unspoken Love
Following publication of their stories in "Mixed Emotions", Roley and Jo McIntyre and Sharon and Stephen Gault developed their story into a drama through Theatre of Witness. The production Unspoken Love is performed by the couples themselves and explores issues of sectarianism, family legacy, trauma and love. The Cmore Films recording of the 2012 production by Thomas Spiers is available here.
