27 Apr 2026

The Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, Councillor Oliver McMullan, has officially reopened the Polytunnel community garden at the Corrymeela Centre in Ballycastle, as part of our 60th anniversary year, and celebrating six decades of peacebuilding and reconciliation work here in Northern Ireland.

The Mayor joined Corrymeela members, volunteers and staff for a ribbon–cutting ceremony at the Polytunnel on Saturday afternoon, before viewing a pop–up version of our new exhibition, An Unfinished Journey Towards Peace, currently on public display at the Linen Hall Library in Belfast until Friday, 15 May 2026.

The Polytunnel was severely damaged during Storm Eowyn in January 2025, but over the past year has been reconstructed and restored by Corrymeela’s members and volunteers. It plays a central role in life at the centre; fresh produce grown and tended by the community is used directly in our dining space in Ballycastle, providing food for the thousands of people who visit the North Antrim centre each year.

Rachel Craig has been part of the Corrymeela community since she first came as a volunteer in 1977, and has led on the care and maintenance of the Polytunnel for many years. For Rachel, the garden represents the intersection between Corrymeela’s peace and reconciliation work and our stewardship of the environment. “If we don’t have reconciliation with the earth, we will always fight over its resources,” she said. “We really need to take care of the earth beneath us.”

She describes the Polytunnel as an example of a circular economy in action — fresh food grown on site feeds into Corrymeela’s kitchen, and the kitchen waste is composted back onto the beds. “In Corrymeela our food comes from plot to plate, and nothing is wasted. It’s a lovely way of understanding how things grow, and how things return to the earth.”

The Polytunnel also serves as an outdoor classroom for the groups and school children who visit the centre. “When children come here and get curious about life and growing things — planting a seed and coming back to see it grow — you realise there’s so much you can teach within this space. My greatest joy is seeing that. It feels like building a succession plan for the next generation of peacebuilders.”

Our Leader Rev. Dr. Alex Wimberly said: “We were delighted to welcome the Mayor here today for the reopening of our Polytunnel. At Corrymeela, our ethos is peace from the grassroots up and our Polytunnel is a manifestation of that.

“It is such an important part of life here at the centre. We come together, work as a community, grow things, and then bring that produce into our shared eating space; enjoying together what we have grown together. That shared experience is an incredible way to do the work of reconciliation and to build the future we want to see.

“The seeds our members and volunteers plant here are symbolic of everything we do; planting seeds of hope through genuine encounter and exchange, and watching the work of peace and reconciliation really flourish from that.”

Speaking at the reopening, Mayor McMullan reflected warmly on his long connection with Corrymeela — including being at the centre for a previous visit by His Holiness the Dalai Lama — and spoke to the enduring importance of the community as a place for peace, dialogue and reconciliation on the island of Ireland.

An Unfinished Journey Towards Peace

Following the ceremony, the Mayor joined members for a viewing of a pop–up version of An Unfinished Journey Towards Peace in the Croí — the central gathering space of the Corrymeela Centre.

The exhibition, developed by Corrymeela members and featuring original illustrations by graphic illustrator Stéphanie Heckman, traces the origins and founding vision of Corrymeela in 1965; the role of everyday peacebuilders alongside the formal political process; and Corrymeela’s response to key moments in Northern Ireland’s history, from the Troubles to the peace process and beyond. It also looks at the global challenges facing peacebuilding today and how Corrymeela’s current programmes respond.

Alex Wimberly said: “For over sixty years, and often in times of darkness and division, Corrymeela has provided glimpses of a better world. Ours is the work of everyday peacebuilding — welcoming strangers, celebrating differences, listening with curiosity and empathy, and actively working for a future that works better for all of us. A just and lasting peace can’t be imposed from on high. It starts with us on the ground, working with each other.”

The exhibition officially launched on 10 April 2026 — the 28th anniversary of the signing of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement — and is free and open to the public at the Linen Hall Library, 17 Donegall Square North, Belfast, until Friday, 15 May 2026.

Photography by Press Eye Photography. View and download high–resolution images from the day.