0:00:08 > 0:00:11It's one minute to midnight on a Saturday night
0:00:11 > 0:00:15and I'm back in Northern Ireland for the first time in many, many years
0:00:15 > 0:00:20Below me, the bars and clubs of Belfast are doing a roaring trade.
0:00:20 > 0:00:25The city is jumping and the weekend is in full swing...
0:00:25 > 0:00:28..but Saturday night is about to become Sunday morning.
0:00:28 > 0:00:33And a Sunday has always been a very special day in Northern Ireland.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38My name's Peter Curran. I'm a writer and presenter,
0:00:38 > 0:00:41who left Northern Ireland for the glamour of London building sites
0:00:41 > 0:00:44back in the 1980s.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47It was the height of the Troubles, when, if you were lucky,
0:00:47 > 0:00:48Sundays were drab and dull,
0:00:48 > 0:00:52and, if not, they were violent and nightmarish.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55The Sabbath could be the worst day of the week.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57The teenage me spent many a Sunday
0:00:57 > 0:01:00mooching about the empty streets of north Belfast,
0:01:00 > 0:01:04dreaming of girls and rock and roll stardom.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07But it's 2012 now, there's peace and prosperity,
0:01:07 > 0:01:13and I'm here to refresh my idea of Northern Ireland in its Sunday Best.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15So, I want to find out
0:01:15 > 0:01:18what the changes to Sundays in Northern Ireland are...
0:01:18 > 0:01:21..and maybe show you the differences that have evolved slowly
0:01:21 > 0:01:26but are really startling when set against the good old bad old days.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29What do people feel about Sundays in a society
0:01:29 > 0:01:32that's certainly less religious and more peaceful
0:01:32 > 0:01:35than the one I left behind?
0:01:36 > 0:01:38Hi!
0:01:38 > 0:01:40So, what's Sunday mean to you?
0:01:40 > 0:01:43Sunday means a hangover all day and then party all night.
0:01:43 > 0:01:48Usually very hungover and you just want to eat all day.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52Tomorrow is a day of rest,
0:01:52 > 0:01:55and I will lie in as long as I can...
0:01:56 > 0:01:58I just want to go out and have a good time
0:01:58 > 0:02:02and don't really want to think about the repercussions
0:02:02 > 0:02:04of having an alcoholic beverage.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Listen, hats off for being able to say the word repercussions
0:02:07 > 0:02:10at one o'clock in the morning on a Saturday night!
0:02:11 > 0:02:16Sundays used to be probably the most special day of the week for people.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20Do Sundays have any kind of religious significance for you?
0:02:20 > 0:02:24Mmm...no, no not really.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27You'd have to get dressed up in your best, go to Mass,
0:02:27 > 0:02:30and then have your Sunday dinner and all round with family,
0:02:30 > 0:02:33but it's not the same now.
0:02:33 > 0:02:34I'm going to work in Magaluf all summer,
0:02:34 > 0:02:38so being a Christian isn't really an option at the minute...
0:02:38 > 0:02:41And so begins another Ulster Sunday.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53It's 8am on a sunny Sunday morning in Belfast.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58# Sunday morning... #
0:02:58 > 0:03:03And the unique atmosphere is exactly as I remember it from my youth.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05As the poet Billy Wordsworth once said,
0:03:05 > 0:03:08"Dear God, the very houses seem asleep,
0:03:08 > 0:03:12"and all that mighty heart is lying still".
0:03:12 > 0:03:14Mind you, there are some people in Northern Ireland
0:03:14 > 0:03:18who've always found Sundays just a little bit boring.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21The day the North stood still!
0:03:23 > 0:03:25But is Sunday still a snoozefest
0:03:25 > 0:03:29in the regenerated peaceful and prosperous Ulster?
0:03:29 > 0:03:31And call me an even-handed fool,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34but I want to see how both of the big religious communities
0:03:34 > 0:03:36spend the sacred seventh day.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40The Bible says call the Sabbath a delight and we do call it a delight.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42Delight for many on the Sabbath
0:03:42 > 0:03:46can come from words that are less than holy.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49Any of the stories over the past few years which have been big sellers,
0:03:49 > 0:03:53probably would involve sex, politics, power and religion.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56And then there's the eye-popping Sunday Spectaculars
0:03:56 > 0:03:59that could NEVER have happened in my day...
0:03:59 > 0:04:02We always say at the top of the show, expect the unexpected.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09But let's begin by getting to the roots of our old sedate Sundays,
0:04:09 > 0:04:12and it all goes back to the Good Book.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17In it thou shalt not do any work,
0:04:17 > 0:04:20thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter,
0:04:20 > 0:04:23thy manservant, nor thy maidservant,
0:04:23 > 0:04:26nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger
0:04:26 > 0:04:28that is within thy gates.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33That'll get you out of that shift at Tescos.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36Infamously, the authorities here used to lock up
0:04:36 > 0:04:38the kids' swings on a Sunday.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40Such strictness is a thing of the past,
0:04:40 > 0:04:44but many still respect the Lord's day.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47So I went to Conor to meet the Reverend Richard Murray,
0:04:47 > 0:04:50for tea, buns and to touch on matters biblical.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54- Reverend Murray, I presume? - Yes?
0:04:54 > 0:04:56- Peter Curran.- Good to meet you. - You too.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59- You're welcome to Conor.- Thank you. - It's good to have you here.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02- Thanks for seeing us on a Saturday. - Not at all, you're very welcome.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05May we come in and see you prepare for the day tomorrow?
0:05:05 > 0:05:06- Come ahead.- Lovely.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10The Reverend Murray is a member of The Lords Day Observance Society
0:05:10 > 0:05:14and believes in preserving Sunday as a God-ordained day of rest.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17And that means no film crews in the house,
0:05:17 > 0:05:18so we came to see him on a Saturday
0:05:18 > 0:05:21as he prepared for the Sabbath.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24So, what wouldn't you do on a Sunday?
0:05:24 > 0:05:29On a Sunday we wouldn't go the shops at all.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31We wouldn't watch television.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33We would try to avoid public transport.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37It's simply a way of trying not to let other people have to work
0:05:37 > 0:05:42and also a way of just keeping ourselves just for worshipping God.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48The Ballymena area was always seen as Ulster's Bible Belt -
0:05:48 > 0:05:51and braces - but these days, even here,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Sunday is a shopping day for many people.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57The shops are just allowed to be open and there's sport happens
0:05:57 > 0:06:00and there has been an erosion...
0:06:00 > 0:06:04But yet there doesn't seem to be a very vocal protest.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07People just don't listen any more and no matter how much we protest
0:06:07 > 0:06:10they're just going to carry on with their agenda.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12But it never gets to the point where you think,
0:06:12 > 0:06:14"We might be wrong"?
0:06:14 > 0:06:17No. We take our stand upon the unchanging word of God,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20and the Commandments were written in stone after all,
0:06:20 > 0:06:22they weren't written on paper to be ripped up,
0:06:22 > 0:06:25they were written in stone, so we believe that they're there
0:06:25 > 0:06:27and they're fixed for eternity.
0:06:29 > 0:06:30There can be wind erosion, though,
0:06:30 > 0:06:34that can take the letters off stones sometimes!
0:06:36 > 0:06:39Do you feel that Sundays are always going to be significant
0:06:39 > 0:06:43for Protestant people in this part of the world
0:06:43 > 0:06:48or around Ballymena or are we on the road to nowhere?
0:06:48 > 0:06:50I think for Protestant people
0:06:50 > 0:06:53the Lord's day will always be significant.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56It is the fourth of the Ten Commandments...
0:06:56 > 0:06:59..there are ten, not nine, commandments and yes,
0:06:59 > 0:07:02things HAVE slipped, but we believe with a revival
0:07:02 > 0:07:05of genuine Christianity there will once again
0:07:05 > 0:07:09be the implementation of laws, like trading laws
0:07:09 > 0:07:12or whatever it is to protect the Lord's day.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14Is it an easy thing for you to do on Sunday
0:07:14 > 0:07:18to devote yourself to prayer and going for a walk
0:07:18 > 0:07:21rather than entertaining yourself or is it a struggle?
0:07:21 > 0:07:25No, it's not a struggle because, as a committed Christian
0:07:25 > 0:07:29you just want to spend time with the Lord and with the Lord's people...
0:07:29 > 0:07:31and it's not a struggle at all.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33- Really?- No, not at all.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37The Bible says call the Sabbath a delight
0:07:37 > 0:07:39and we do call it a delight.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44But what about all the young dudes of Ballymena?
0:07:44 > 0:07:46In the age of an internet social life
0:07:46 > 0:07:50and manic texting, do they really delight in the Lord's day?
0:07:52 > 0:07:55Are Sundays a day that you might look forward to,
0:07:55 > 0:07:59in terms of your faith, but dread as teenagers?
0:07:59 > 0:08:01I do like it... I do, I think it's a really good day
0:08:01 > 0:08:04and I have a good time on a Sunday, to be honest.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06You've got to remember it's God's day,
0:08:06 > 0:08:08so you have to spend time with God.
0:08:09 > 0:08:14Have you noticed that people outside your church and school community
0:08:14 > 0:08:19are understanding of your faith or do they think it's strange?
0:08:19 > 0:08:23I suppose there's a number who see it as a wee bit weird...
0:08:23 > 0:08:27kind of like not living your life, so to speak,
0:08:27 > 0:08:32then there is other ones who respect we have a faith.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36They're going out, they're clubbing, and we're sitting in
0:08:36 > 0:08:38and they invite you and say, "Why're you not doing this?"
0:08:38 > 0:08:42and we say, "We're Christians. We don't believe it's the right thing to do."
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Yeah, there would be that element of everyone thinks you're strange.
0:08:46 > 0:08:51I'm really interested in how you think life is going to develop
0:08:51 > 0:08:55for your faith and for Sundays over the next 10 or 20 years,
0:08:55 > 0:08:59given that it's such a time of change at the moment.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03It's like our responsibility to try to change it back to how it was
0:09:03 > 0:09:06and try and make sure that they don't all open on a Sunday
0:09:06 > 0:09:09and Sunday becomes like every other day.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15The world is becoming more secular
0:09:15 > 0:09:18and religion is trying to be more accessible...
0:09:18 > 0:09:20I've actually seen with mine own eyes
0:09:20 > 0:09:23a vicar in a denim waist-coat...
0:09:23 > 0:09:28So, there's an attractive resolve to this corner of Country Antrim
0:09:28 > 0:09:31where they're still trying to keep Sunday special.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37But for the Keep Sunday Special squad, it's been a losing battle.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40In 1995, our leaders thought to ask people in Northern Ireland
0:09:40 > 0:09:44if they'd welcome the shops and businesses trading on a Sunday.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48And a majority of us replied, "What time do you open?!".
0:09:58 > 0:10:00What about working on a Sunday? Is that not a real drag?
0:10:00 > 0:10:05Would you not prefer to be lying in, playing footsie with each other, reading the papers?
0:10:05 > 0:10:06Need the mortgage paying.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08THEY LAUGH
0:10:08 > 0:10:13No, I enjoy working on a Sunday, it doesn't bother me.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17I work every day, my favourite days are Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19On Friday afternoon through to Sunday
0:10:19 > 0:10:21we get a lot of people from the UK coming,
0:10:21 > 0:10:24from all over England and Scotland.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27We've moved on in our society, it's come a long way and why not?
0:10:27 > 0:10:31More tourists coming, so, we've got to accommodate them.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34It's a new era now, and we don't want to go back
0:10:34 > 0:10:37to nobody out on a Sunday, the swings all chained up
0:10:37 > 0:10:39and everything like that, no, it's better now.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42- Fantastic, thanks very much for talking to us.- All right, then.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45Although, unlike the rest of the UK,
0:10:45 > 0:10:47where you could be buying a new pair of shoes
0:10:47 > 0:10:49or a chicken at ten o'clock in the morning on a Sunday,
0:10:49 > 0:10:52in Northern Ireland, the big shops don't tend to open
0:10:52 > 0:10:54until one in the afternoon,
0:10:54 > 0:10:57thus giving us all lots of time to go worshipping in the morning.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00Because, after all, that's what people want in Northern Ireland
0:11:00 > 0:11:03on a Sunday morning...isn't it?
0:11:09 > 0:11:11- Hello, Sunday World.- The Sunday World and the Sunday Life
0:11:11 > 0:11:14battle it out for readers every week
0:11:14 > 0:11:17and their success depends on understanding exactly
0:11:17 > 0:11:21what fascinates Northern Irish readers on a Sunday morning.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27The headline screams at you, the introduction shouts at you
0:11:27 > 0:11:30and the picture is a window on the world!
0:11:31 > 0:11:34Two newspaper editors, I want a nice clean fight,
0:11:34 > 0:11:36no holding onto each other...
0:11:36 > 0:11:38but tell us, what are Northern Irish readers
0:11:38 > 0:11:40looking for on a Sunday morning, Jim?
0:11:40 > 0:11:43Romance! Same auld thing...
0:11:43 > 0:11:46tragedies and triumph, that's what newspapers are about.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48There's three things we aim to do on a Sunday -
0:11:48 > 0:11:50inform, entertain and expose.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52If you do those things on a Sunday for people
0:11:52 > 0:11:54you're doing your job right.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56If it takes your breath away, it's a good story.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59Could be a financial scandal, could be a sex scandal...
0:11:59 > 0:12:03It could be something which makes you want to pick up the paper.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08The Sunday papers here have to gel with the people who live here,
0:12:08 > 0:12:11'cos we expose criminals, we expose paedophiles,
0:12:11 > 0:12:14we expose drugs dealers, and that's what we do,
0:12:14 > 0:12:17and that's why Sunday papers sell.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21Do you get a sense that it's quite an edgy hot house here sometimes
0:12:21 > 0:12:22with some of the stories that you break?
0:12:22 > 0:12:27It is a busy newsground and I suppose one of the reasons
0:12:27 > 0:12:29there's so much crime here is because of the aftermath,
0:12:29 > 0:12:33the legacy of the Troubles and what the paramilitaries are up to now...
0:12:33 > 0:12:35but for a place the size of Northern Ireland,
0:12:35 > 0:12:38less than two million people, there have been a lot of scandals here...
0:12:38 > 0:12:41and there have been a lot of big stories...
0:12:41 > 0:12:44Any of the stories over the past few years which have been big sellers
0:12:44 > 0:12:47for either of us probably would involve sex,
0:12:47 > 0:12:49politics, power and religion.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52# God bless you, please, Mrs Robinson... #
0:12:52 > 0:12:53The Iris Robinson affair,
0:12:53 > 0:12:56there were weeks we were selling an extra 25,000 copies,
0:12:56 > 0:12:59literally selling every copy out.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02So, I wonder, when Sunday morning comes around
0:13:02 > 0:13:05and you two guys wake up in your bed,
0:13:05 > 0:13:07do you have a quiet smile at the havoc you're wreaking
0:13:07 > 0:13:09throughout Northern Ireland society?
0:13:09 > 0:13:12No, no, at four in the morning I'm like him,
0:13:12 > 0:13:14you're waking up, your backside's sweating,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17your oxters are sweating, there's bubbles of sweat on the baldy head
0:13:17 > 0:13:20and you're thinking, "What did I do with that paper yesterday?
0:13:20 > 0:13:24"What's going on the street? When's the lawyers coming looking for us?"
0:13:30 > 0:13:34So, today you can have Northern Ireland's randy politicians,
0:13:34 > 0:13:38vice girls, corrupt officials and drug barons
0:13:38 > 0:13:40over your Sunday toast and marmalade.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44Back in the 1980s though, if we wanted sex and sleaze,
0:13:44 > 0:13:47we'd have to climb up the Cavehill for a bit of light snogging,
0:13:47 > 0:13:51surrounded by the glory of nature.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56The odd thing is that compared to the headlines in today's Sunday papers,
0:13:56 > 0:14:01the height of the Troubles seems like it was a more innocent time.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04Back then I was being brought up as a Catholic,
0:14:04 > 0:14:06an alter boy no less,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09and in those days, Sunday's saw 95%
0:14:09 > 0:14:12of all Catholics attending Mass every week.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18But I've returned to find around a third of Northern Ireland Catholics
0:14:18 > 0:14:23go to Mass regularly. After centuries of solid numbers,
0:14:23 > 0:14:26that's a catastrophic fall in attendance.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28For Catholics in Northern Ireland these days
0:14:28 > 0:14:31is it more of a choice than an obligation, do you think?
0:14:31 > 0:14:34Peter, it would still be an obligation to go to Mass on Sunday,
0:14:34 > 0:14:39My own view is turn your back on Mass, you turn your back on Christ.
0:14:39 > 0:14:44In the name of the Father, and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46And maybe there's varying levels of faith
0:14:46 > 0:14:48and that's part of our Catholic tradition.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51We're not the Russian army where everybody has to go,
0:14:51 > 0:14:54do what their told and not march in step.
0:14:54 > 0:14:59So, how do you go about attracting people back into your church?
0:14:59 > 0:15:03Or do you just have to observe and look after the flock that you do have?
0:15:03 > 0:15:06An American sociologist looking at trends
0:15:06 > 0:15:08as to why people don't go to Mass...
0:15:08 > 0:15:13funny it's not the reasons like abuse scandals, contraception, divorce...
0:15:13 > 0:15:17it's bad sermons is the biggest thing for keeping people away.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21..to address the people of Jerusalem. An electrifying message...
0:15:21 > 0:15:25A Catholic priest's sermon, you have to be like a NATO pilot,
0:15:25 > 0:15:27you've got seven minutes to take off, select your target,
0:15:27 > 0:15:30drop your load, turn around, wheels down and land...
0:15:30 > 0:15:33if you don't, people are going to start pointing babies at you.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35Seven minutes, that's your lot.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37It's a warzone out there.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39It is!
0:15:42 > 0:15:45Although the Catholic Church must be worried about the number of locals
0:15:45 > 0:15:48who prefer a lie-in to the Lord on a Sunday morning,
0:15:48 > 0:15:51there are some new arrivals who can't wait to get church!
0:15:56 > 0:16:00There's a massive number of Polish people now in Northern Ireland
0:16:00 > 0:16:02who attend Mass in great numbers every Sunday,
0:16:02 > 0:16:06and they're served by a cadre of padres
0:16:06 > 0:16:09who fly in from Poland to serve their flock.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15Evalina is a university lecturer
0:16:15 > 0:16:19who does like to stop for a chat, outside Mass.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24What's it like for you being a Polish Catholic in Northern Ireland,
0:16:24 > 0:16:26how do the two camps compare?
0:16:26 > 0:16:29Peter, let's put it like this, when I came here in 2006
0:16:29 > 0:16:31and I went for my first Mass
0:16:31 > 0:16:34and I saw boys in football tops in front of me
0:16:34 > 0:16:37and girls in tracksuit bottoms!
0:16:37 > 0:16:39And how would you compare Northern Irish Catholics
0:16:39 > 0:16:41to Polish Catholics?
0:16:41 > 0:16:44Are we different in how seriously we take it?
0:16:44 > 0:16:48I think you adjust it a little bit to your lifestyle
0:16:48 > 0:16:51and you don't take it as serious as Polish people do,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54because some of the rules of the church are too strict for them.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Poland is like Ireland 20 years ago.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59And have you talked about this to people of your age
0:16:59 > 0:17:02- who are Northern Irish about that difference?- Yes.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06- What's their response? - Their response is modern times are different,
0:17:06 > 0:17:08we can't live like that any more...
0:17:08 > 0:17:11Do you mean like people don't believe it in their hearts,
0:17:11 > 0:17:13- they're just saying the words? - Some people, yes.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17- That's a terrible thing to say! - I'm sorry.- Unbelievable!
0:17:17 > 0:17:19We welcome you over here, then you just run down
0:17:19 > 0:17:21the poor old Northern Irish Catholics...
0:17:21 > 0:17:24I don't know if they believe it in their hearts,
0:17:24 > 0:17:29the way we live means we change the way we can commit ourselves to religion.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35I feel a Eurovision Catholic contest coming on...
0:17:35 > 0:17:38think of the songs!
0:17:38 > 0:17:40But Sunday for Catholics in Northern Ireland
0:17:40 > 0:17:44has never been just about nipping into the chapel in a nice scarf.
0:17:46 > 0:17:51Many of the men rush to play some blood and snotters Gaelic sports,
0:17:51 > 0:17:53and it must be said, that nowadays, the GAA
0:17:53 > 0:17:56opens its doors to both communities.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59The women and the girls on the other hand
0:17:59 > 0:18:02are engaged in a much more competitive activity
0:18:02 > 0:18:04All right, girls?
0:18:07 > 0:18:08You eat...
0:18:08 > 0:18:10you breathe...
0:18:10 > 0:18:12you live feis's...
0:18:12 > 0:18:14every Sunday, that's all you do...
0:18:15 > 0:18:17On Sundays we get up
0:18:17 > 0:18:19and we get all kitted out
0:18:19 > 0:18:22and we come from feis and we dance from it starts
0:18:22 > 0:18:25until it finishes, every Sunday.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29Do you still go to Mass in the mornings
0:18:29 > 0:18:32or is feis the main religion these days?
0:18:32 > 0:18:35I'm ashamed to say but I don't go to Mass.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40Skipping Mass is one thing,
0:18:40 > 0:18:43but few here would dream of skipping a feis.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46There's one almost every Sunday of the year.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49This one's in Cookstown and every week hundreds of girls -
0:18:49 > 0:18:53and some very brave wee boys, turn up for a jig and a joke.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55It's a competitive world,
0:18:55 > 0:18:58but one where just to be here, is to be a winner.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04They want to please you, first and foremost
0:19:04 > 0:19:07and it gives them confidence and builds their self-esteem,
0:19:07 > 0:19:09so, it's not always all about winning.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14How long have you been Irish dancing for?
0:19:14 > 0:19:16- Two years.- Two years.- Two years.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19And what about giggling, how long have you been giggling for?
0:19:19 > 0:19:22- Seven!- Seven years.- Seven!
0:19:24 > 0:19:28When I was growing up, the feis would have been almost exclusively Catholic,
0:19:28 > 0:19:32but these are happier days for cross community knees up and arms straight.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37In our school we have from both sides of the community dances...
0:19:37 > 0:19:41it means these children are mixing with children from other backgrounds...
0:19:41 > 0:19:43which is good for them...
0:19:45 > 0:19:48Tell us a little about Sundays
0:19:48 > 0:19:50where people might go into different churches
0:19:50 > 0:19:53but they come together here... talk a wee bit about that for us?
0:19:53 > 0:19:56Well, Joanne will you and I talk about that?
0:19:56 > 0:20:00- Will we talk about that?- Joanne and I are from different sides of the community,
0:20:00 > 0:20:03so we are, and I mean without Irish dancing
0:20:03 > 0:20:05I would never have met Joanne even though she lives
0:20:05 > 0:20:07five miles down the road from me.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10I never knew she existed until I met her through Irish dancing.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12And the girls have become the best of friends.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15They go to each other's houses and they meet for classes three
0:20:15 > 0:20:20and four times a week, and only for that I would never have had the pleasure of meeting you, Joanne.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22I can see you're both actually quite moved by that.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25Has it made a big difference that you come together
0:20:25 > 0:20:26on a Sunday like this?
0:20:26 > 0:20:30It does, because you do see that it's a person, not just a religion,
0:20:30 > 0:20:34somebody on the other side, and they're exactly the same as you.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36Just because of the way that you were brought up
0:20:36 > 0:20:39and your religion doesn't mean that Irish dancing should be a barrier.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42- As a matter fact, it's broken down the barriers, so it has.- Yes.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48This is an amazing place.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50It's not only sisters doing it for themselves,
0:20:50 > 0:20:55but it's grannies and grandchildren, aunties.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58It's a real sense of women of all ages coming together
0:20:58 > 0:21:03on a Sunday afternoon, and it's not particularly about the competition,
0:21:03 > 0:21:07or who will win the silverware, it's actually about communities,
0:21:07 > 0:21:10about sharing an event together across generations.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13PIPE MUSIC PLAYS
0:21:24 > 0:21:27Everywhere you look there's wee girls leaping like Day-Glo gazelles
0:21:27 > 0:21:31and, just occasionally, you spot a dazed-looking young male.
0:21:31 > 0:21:32Aye, that's you, son.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36And the Feis feels like Northern Irish women and girls
0:21:36 > 0:21:39reclaiming Sunday afternoons for themselves.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42It's a woman's day out, so it is.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44We still have to go home and make the dinner, though.
0:21:44 > 0:21:49It's better than peeling the spuds at home for dinner!
0:21:49 > 0:21:52Is it important for you to spend time with the beloved daughter?
0:21:52 > 0:21:58Och, it is, yeah. She's dancing three nights a week, at gymnastics,
0:21:58 > 0:22:01so at night time you don't really get to spend much time with her,
0:22:01 > 0:22:04but wee weekends away are good as well.
0:22:04 > 0:22:10I love the fact that you will devote hours to an expensive sport
0:22:10 > 0:22:12rather than peel spuds and watch Gaelic.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16It's a terrible indictment of male sporting pursuits in this country,
0:22:16 > 0:22:19and indeed of the lack of automatic spud peelers.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21Well, there's a few beautiful restaurants along the way
0:22:21 > 0:22:24so they can peel the spuds for us!
0:22:24 > 0:22:27MUSIC: "Every Day Is Like Sunday" by Morrissey
0:22:29 > 0:22:35# Every day is like Sunday... #
0:22:35 > 0:22:38It strikes me that in these more enlightened times,
0:22:38 > 0:22:41we put a lot of work into our day of rest in Ulster.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Be it religion observance, shopping with the family
0:22:44 > 0:22:46or even a bit of dancing.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53And for a prodigal son returning, it's both reassuringly familiar
0:22:53 > 0:22:55and takes some getting used to.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01Sundays have changed beyond recognition in Northern Ireland.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04I feel a little bit like a sleeping beauty who nodded off
0:23:04 > 0:23:09about three decades ago in a thicket of thorns, but have woken up,
0:23:09 > 0:23:12balder and fatter, in a garden of variety.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17Even though we're no longer forced to comply
0:23:17 > 0:23:19with others' religious beliefs,
0:23:19 > 0:23:22I think Northern Ireland should hold onto the idea
0:23:22 > 0:23:24of Keep Sunday Special.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26I don't mean in the religious sense.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30Even the Sabbatarians would hesitate to padlock the swings nowadays.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33But to make Sunday not like all the other days
0:23:33 > 0:23:35when you're a consumer or a worker,
0:23:35 > 0:23:39when you're encouraged to reflect, to recharge, to have fun,
0:23:39 > 0:23:43to experiment. But Northern Ireland has already figured that out.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45And for the ultimate proof,
0:23:45 > 0:23:48let me take you the biggest Sunday night out in Ulster.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52Ladies, put on your best high heels.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56Gentlemen, put on HER best high heels, and join us
0:23:56 > 0:23:59for the Sabbath spectacular that is Drag Queen Bingo.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01CHEERING
0:24:06 > 0:24:10For the last seven years we've been performing, dancing,
0:24:10 > 0:24:15showing off, because this place just fills with the most excited people
0:24:15 > 0:24:19you've ever seen in your entire life. And it still amazes me to this day.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24We always say at the top of the show, expect the unexpected.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28Because we are men in dresses and we are on stage,
0:24:28 > 0:24:31dragging everything across that stage,
0:24:31 > 0:24:34and if you walk in front of it, forget it.
0:24:34 > 0:24:35- You're fair game?- Mm-hmm.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38Unless you're wearing Dolce & Gabbana, we'll let you away with it
0:24:38 > 0:24:42but if you're dressed top-to-toe like a complete mess in a dress
0:24:42 > 0:24:44you may keep on walking out that door.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48Everyone, in your really camp voices, say 'Hi, Peter!' One, two, three.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50- CROWD:- Hi, Peter!
0:24:50 > 0:24:51Hi!
0:24:51 > 0:24:53CHEERING
0:24:55 > 0:24:58- Ooh!- Hello, you must be Rusty.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01- Yes, hello, how are you? - Nice to meet you.- Great.- Great.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04So, listen, are you a bag of nerves on a big show night like this?
0:25:04 > 0:25:06Absolutely not. It's just like a normal, everyday thing,
0:25:06 > 0:25:09it's like going to sign on the dole, just normal.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16When did Rusty arrive on the planet? Was it a gradual process?
0:25:16 > 0:25:17No, it was a dare, really.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22Tina Leggs Tantrum hosts Opportunity Frocks and I won that
0:25:22 > 0:25:24and ever since then I've been performing,
0:25:24 > 0:25:27working all over Northern Ireland and the UK, so it's brilliant.
0:25:34 > 0:25:39Do you notice a big difference between a young person like yourself
0:25:39 > 0:25:43as a gay man compared to, say, the good old bad old days, as it were.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46- I'm not gay.- Oh, you're not? - No.- Beg your pardon...- I am!
0:25:46 > 0:25:49MUSIC: "Dancing Queen" by ABBA
0:25:52 > 0:25:55Not so long ago, being gay in Northern Ireland
0:25:55 > 0:25:56was no laughing matter.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00Well, I have three sons and I would die if it came to my home.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02We don't talk about corruption and doubt like that.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04That's all right for England, but not for Ireland.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06We don't talk about corruption and doubt.
0:26:06 > 0:26:087 and 6, 76.
0:26:09 > 0:26:14So even though Drag Queen Bingo doesn't take itself too seriously,
0:26:14 > 0:26:19its existence in the centre of Belfast on a Sunday night of all nights
0:26:19 > 0:26:22shows how much the old place has changed.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25Tell us about the Gerry that was walking around the streets
0:26:25 > 0:26:29of hard-faced Belfast trying to be a gay man, how easy was that?
0:26:29 > 0:26:33Gerry being a gay man was easy cos everybody knew Gerry was a gay man
0:26:33 > 0:26:35before our Gerry knew he was a gay man.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37# Say you'll never let me go... #
0:26:37 > 0:26:40Anywhere in Belfast, anywhere in Northern Ireland, anywhere I went,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43I never found it difficult because I just love what I do.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48- How you doing? I'm Peter. - Nice to meet you. I'm Gordon/Trudy.
0:26:48 > 0:26:49Lovely to see you.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53Forward slash the woman/man of your dreams!
0:26:53 > 0:26:56We've done straight venues, the gay venues and, in a way,
0:26:56 > 0:26:58I like to think that we're pushing boundaries in our own way.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02We're kind of like wonder women/men, letting people know we exist.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07I suppose us mere mortals just kind of stare at you and wonder
0:27:07 > 0:27:10whether we've got even a tiny bit of what you've guys have got
0:27:10 > 0:27:12inside, you know what I mean?
0:27:12 > 0:27:15We know the answer but we'll let you figure it out for yourself!
0:27:19 > 0:27:22Living abroad, I've spent years explaining the joys
0:27:22 > 0:27:25of Northern Ireland politics and history.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28So it's refreshing to be in a club with three striking trannies,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31where, to be honest, I really haven't a clue what's going on.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35But it feels like a brash celebration of freedom and tolerance.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38Everybody's very welcoming, especially in Belfast.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41I know it sounds very cliche, but it definitely is the best audience
0:27:41 > 0:27:44and you take that with you no matter where you go.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48You're always going to have that traditional Belfast bit of craic.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50# Say you'll never let me go
0:27:50 > 0:27:52# Say you'll never let me go. #
0:27:52 > 0:27:54CHEERING
0:27:57 > 0:28:02So, Sundays, a day when faith has been peeling away from religion
0:28:02 > 0:28:06like the back of an old mirror in which we used to see ourselves.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10There's still many people on this day who commune with their God.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13Sunday's also the day that Protestant and Catholics
0:28:13 > 0:28:15go Irish dancing together.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19Sunday's the day when you come down town and play Transvestite Bingo.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23Now, when I left Northern Ireland nearly three decades ago,
0:28:23 > 0:28:26it was a definitely the place to be from.
0:28:26 > 0:28:32Today, rather movingly, it's a brilliant place to come back to.
0:28:32 > 0:28:33# Oh, home
0:28:33 > 0:28:36# Let me come home
0:28:36 > 0:28:40# Home is wherever I'm with you
0:28:40 > 0:28:42# Oh, home
0:28:42 > 0:28:45# Let me come home
0:28:45 > 0:28:48# Home is wherever I'm with you... #
0:28:51 > 0:28:54Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd