West Belfast cafe a 'vision of the community' creating heritage and social space

A new social enterprise cafe in West Belfast is creating a communal social space while giving residents a space to learn about the area’s heritage.

Anam – Caifé na Carraige was opened by community group Glór na Móna in the Whiterock area based on the wishes of locals to have a cafe and meeting space in the area.

Over the past month, members of the community group have been blown away by the support they have received. The cafe currently operates from a porta cabin, however, it is the first step towards creating an exciting new hub.

Memories of the area both past and present adorn the walls, with aspirations of the site becoming a heritage cafe in a new multi-purpose space currently under development. The plans from Glór na Móna for Croí na Carraige will see waste ground beside their current site developed to create more space for their operations which include a youth club, Irish language classes, and a creche.

Eoghan Ó Garmaile, Community Projects Officer at Glór na Móna, told Belfast Live that they have had great feedback since opening their social enterprise cafe. It has now developed into a meeting space, with local businesses and community groups using it frequently, alongside friends and family using it as a space to catch up over a nice cup of coffee.

He said: "The reaction has been unbelieveable, it’s been even better than we thought it would be. It’s been packed every Friday and Saturday, it’s clear that people having this space is needed.

"The idea is quite natural as there’s not actually a cafe in the Upper Springfield area. It’s mad as you have the leisure centre right next door, people are here all the time. The Whiterock can be bunged with people but there’s no cafe for them to go to.

"It’s part of a wider plan of our Croí na Carraige project which is Glór na Móna’s new plans to build a multi-purpose centre. We’re looking to extend our small centre and expand it down the side.

"Glór na Móna was founded in 2004 and we got that small building in 2016, and this site used to be a site of anti-social behaviour and was neglected. Now we’ve built youth services and the cafe, we’re trying to bring that positivity.

"Another part of the cafe is we’re trying to build a heritage cafe, showing the heritage of the area - community leaders, festival organisers, activists. We have displays here showing the history and what’s happening in the area now.

“We’re doing this for the wider building but that takes time, so we’ve now installed two porta cabins as a temporary measure. One of these is the cafe and the other is a youth club for young people with special educational needs, and this is done through Irish.”

Gearóidín Mhic Mhathúna, Operations Officer at Glór na Móna said the cafe, and the wider project, is all about community ownership. She explained: "We didn’t come in with a big business plan, we asked the community what they would like to see and that’s how everything has come together.

"If you look around the walls here, you’re getting a bit of everything; a bit of the youth club, you’re getting a bit of events, and the mountain in the background. This is a vision of the community when you wonder what the art on the wall is and what it represents. Each item on the walls means something to the people of this community.

"When we started off, because it isn’t a privately run business, we were able to aim it within the community to keep it affordable so people can continue to come back. We want people to be able to come in, sit in the cafe, and have a really nice coffee without having to pay an arm and a leg for it.

"It’s going to be amazing when the new centre is open. They [the community] feel they have ownership in it now, and going forward, it’s not going to be another big fancy building where you have to book rooms to use it.

“I think the cafe will have a really important role to play in bringing people together, you don’t need to attend a certain activity or part of a group - you can just come in and enjoy a coffee while other people are doing the same around you.”

They said the cafe, and Glór na Móna more widely, is giving people space to speak the Irish language in a social environment. It is helping those learning the language, too, by giving them a place to practice their skills.

Young people at the community group’s special educational needs youth club are also gaining vital work experience through the cafe, which will lead to employment as their experience builds up.

Gearóidín said: “Two young people from the youth club come in here every Friday and Saturday. They volunteer and work behind the counter, it gives them that work experience and has really helped build their confidence. It’s good to see we will have that space for more people to come through and gain experience. Eventually we’ll be able to offer them a position working here as their experience builds.”

“You hear young people coming in ordering in Irish, and we’ve had people come in who are just learning Irish who want to practice it in a social setting,” Eoghan added.