Building Bridges Across the Atlantic: Ulster Project Transforms Lives in McPherson County
Northern Irish teens discovered common ground through service and friendship in Kansas community
McPHERSON, KS —For over a decade, McPherson County served as an unlikely bridge between the divided communities of Northern Ireland and the American heartland. From 2007 to 2019, the Ulster Project brought Catholic and Protestant teenagers from Northern Ireland to experience life in small-town Kansas. The 2012 cohort—Nial Maguire, Stuart Best, Adam Stevenson, Iarlaith Hendron, Megan Robinson, and Maren Hansen—exemplified the program's transformative power, volunteering with the McPherson Summer Lunch Program, serving meals with Steps Against Poverty in McPherson County (STEPMC), and organizing the sixth annual Disability Supports/Ulster Project dance to promote inclusion.
Founded in 1975, the Ulster Project's simple yet powerful premise was to foster reconciliation by removing teens from environments where centuries-old divisions run deep. In McPherson County, supported by organizations like the McPherson County Community Foundation, these young people discovered what they had in common rather than what divided them. Through packing lunches for local children, collecting donations at Fourth of July celebrations, and dancing alongside people with disabilities, the participants learned that peace isn't built through grand gestures but through everyday acts of service and connection.
Sponsors (click me!)
GET THE CITIZEN JOURNAL APP - FREE!
Contact: greg@loql.ai
