Our Stories — Our Times: After Good Friday

Last updated: 3 October 2024

Although the history of the Red Cross in Northern Ireland is one of change, in the post-conflict society the movement still fills an important role dedicated to our fundamental principles. 

The work of volunteers and, increasingly, staff at the Red Cross in Northern Ireland changed but never ceased after the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement brought an end to the Troubles in 1998. Post-conflict the movement focused initially on renewed event first aid and commercial training, the expansion of fire and emergency response, and resettlement programmes. 

Restructuring during the period, often referred to as ‘unification’, abandoned the established branch system in favour of a modern charity structure.

The process effectively transformed the British Red Cross into a more dynamic and responsive organisation to large-scale emergencies and disasters, and was influenced by the work of many volunteers in Northern Ireland’s darkest days. Although it was a process not without resistance.

If you want to change anything in the Red Cross it will take 5 years, if you try and do it fast it will take 10 years.

The change included the introduction of numerous paid roles for core functions, for example the first paid directors and duty managers.

The process was led centrally, with key figures such as Sir Nick Young travelling regionally in support of the cause. For many volunteers interviewed for the project, this was seen as fundamentally altering the character of the Red Cross, some concluded their commitments but others continued to volunteer or even become employees.

Frances Sanderson was amongst the first employed duty managers. Her interview recounted both professional and personal accomplishments. She oversaw key international events hosted in Belfast such as a leg of the Giro D’Italia and the World Police and Fire Games.

You can watch her full interview below, in which she also discusses efforts to relieve communities impacted by blizzard conditions in 2010, her role at the Belvoir Bombing, and saving the life of her husband.

The Red Cross in Northern Ireland remains a vital support throughout the region in times of natural disaster and emergency. Locally, the Red Cross maintains a Fire & Emergency Support Service (FESS) that provides important support for victims and first responders.

Nathan Chambers leads the Enniskillen Centre for the Red Cross in Co. Fermanagh. Nathan himself was a survivor of the 1981 Enniskillen Bombing which claimed the life of Red Cross volunteer, Samuel Gault.

In 2009, the Lakeland County lived up to its name with protracted flooding impacting the region. Red Cross volunteers provided support to locals, ferrying people, and supplies through floodwaters.

In 2013, the Red Cross in Northern Ireland published Cut Off by The Floods a report on the impact of flooding on rural communities. The report signalled a groundbreaking shift in the consideration of the impact of climate change on Red Cross response. In 2015 further flooding impacted Fermanagh.

The work of the Red Cross in Northern Ireland has continued through novel, impactful situations. These were captured in the recollections of current and former staff as part of the project.

Local Red Cross staff travelled to London to provide critical support, direction, and leadership in tragic events such as the London Bridge attack and the Grenfell Tower Fire. The national response to the Coronavirus pandemic was initially orchestrated from a kitchen table in Belfast. And local volunteers travelled again to London to participate and volunteer in Operation London Bridge, that is, the funeral arrangements of Queen Elizabeth II.

To this day the work of the Red Cross in Northern Ireland continues to impact the lives of ordinary people, to support their humanity and encourage voluntary service. Below are two interviews detailing the current work of the movement in the region from Steven Hughes, independent living, and Neil McKerracher, emergency response.