This is Gerry: Talking Our Way to Tomorrow
I’m Gerry McClory, 76, born in the Mater and reared on John Street at the bottom of Divis. I refer to myself as a “Westee” and I wear the badge with a grin. I’ve three kids, three grandkids, and a lifetime of stories that prove Belfast is bigger than the labels we stick on each other.
From Conflict to Contribution – How I Kept Going
I left school and started as an apprentice mechanic at Isaac Agnew on the Falls in ’67. Two years later the Troubles kicked off, and I was out of work for six months. My uncle spotted a Post Office job; I started in the Engineering Department in February 1970 and then went to work at BT and stayed for 38 years until early retirement in March 2008.
Retirement? Thought I’d love it. Dropped my golf handicap from 18 to 10 but come winter I knew I still had petrol in the tank. Saw an advert for an outreach support worker with a disability charity and applied on a whim. Night before the interview a mate said, “Gerry, it’s going to a woman, relax.” So, I did - couple of pints, no stress. Next day they asked in the interview, “What if a client’s rowing with a neighbour?” I laughed and said, “Well, now we’ve a ceasefire and no guns will be involved, we’ll have to talk!” Got the call that afternoon - I was in.
They paid for counselling training; three years later I graduated in psychotherapy. After that I ran sports programmes for three years, giving kids somewhere to go instead of the streets. It worked. Simple as that.
Crossing the Divide – Donegall Pass and Me
Then I saw a Community Development Officer post on Donegall Pass. First interview, half the panel said, “No way a West Belfast Catholic works here.” Funder stood firm, second interview, I got the gig - reluctantly.
Three years later I’d helped build the CRI centre, pulled in grants, and even funded the local bonfire. One fella shook my hand and said, “Gerry, you’re sound, you get us money.” That was it - trust had been earned. Working on the Pass we realised that working-class Protestant and Loyalist areas hurt the same as Catholic and Nationalist ones: no money, no facilities all combined with trauma that is passed down like an old coat.
Part of working on the Pass included teaching essential skills to young women from the Market and the Pass. One Tuesday half the class was missing. Turns out the Markes girls were round at a Pass girl’s house singing Happy Birthday. I just smiled - religion didn’t matter, friendship did. Real hope, right there.
Touring our Troubles Together
I then decided to go “back to school” at Belfast Met, got my Level 2 and 3 Tour Guide badges, and teamed up with a Protestant lad called Frank who lived 200 yards from me my whole life. We only met in 2020. Now we take visitors round Belfast, swapping stories of the Troubles and how peace happened. Turns out our mothers fought together in 1964 for indoor toilets and bathrooms - won by 1966. Like them, we’re proof that working together gets results.
One aspect of my friendship with Frank, was I wrote the foreword to one of his books, entitled: “You could die laughing! Growing up in Troubled Belfast.” We have mutual respect for one another’s religion and culture, without losing our own identity.
Who I Am – Proud and Open
I’m an Irish Catholic, Nationalist to the core - I love the language, GAA and the music. I’m not a weekly Mass-goer but every week I light four candles in Clonard Monastery. And I love Flute Bands - the sound, the discipline, the colour of the Twelfth. I’d hate to see any of it vanish.
In fact, I remember my granda used to put on his best suit and head to the Farmers Inn in Hannastown to celebrate the Twelfth with his Protestant neighbours. That’s the Belfast I grew up in.
Facing the Labels Head-On
Donegall Pass interview taught me how quick people assume. “He’s from the Falls, GAA, Catholic and we can’t trust him.” When I got the job, I just kept talking, kept showing up and doing my best for the community. Over time they saw the man, not the postcode.
I’ve backed projects like Game of Three Halves - soccer, rugby, Gaelic in one afternoon. After three months, the children who participated would be able to go to Washington with the Cuchullain Project wearing one team top. There may have been Celtic and Rangers jerseys in the changing room, but on the pitch? Just teammates.
What I Love About Belfast
I love the people and the craic. There’s nothing like the strong Belfast spirit – a people that keeps going, no matter what.
Still Busy “Retired”
I don’t believe in sitting still. I’m alive and there’s much to do. So when I’m not working, I’m busy volunteering as Chair of Lisburn Féile, All Saints College, St Bernadette’s Nursery. I also sit on the boards of Donegall Pass Community Enterprises and Belfast Interface Project. And it that’s not enough, I also sit on Lisburn & Castlereagh Policing Board. Because working to support the community is important. Besides, there’s never a dull minute and community work keeps me busy.
My Hope for the Grandkids
That they walk Belfast without fear or old grudges. We’ve come far - let’s not step back. Talk, listen, share a story. That’s how we keep the peace.
This is me. This is my Belfast. A small city with a big heart. So, let’s keep singing together!
"Talking, listening, connecting. That’s how we can live peacefully together.”
One city. Many stories.
Meet the people behind the stories.
Real voices, lived experiences, and the moments that shaped them.