Some €100,000 has been allocated to train youth workers dealing with sectarianism as part of grants worth nearly €1 million for reconciliation projects announced today.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said the second tranche of Reconciliation Fund grants this year, would help build relationships that will "create a better future for the entire island".
Some 40 initiatives were granted between €1,500 and €100,000 in today's announcement, and a further €1 million is due to be distributed later in the year.
A number projects fostering cross-Border links through music received grants of between €10,000 and €25,000. These were: Corduff/Killeen Pipe Bands, Co Armagh & Co Monaghan; Creggan Country Park Enterprises in Derry; Gig'n the Bann Cross Community Festival, in Portglenone, Co Antrim; and Cross Border Musical Links, Co Louth.
Some €15,000 was allocated to the Traditions Meetproject, which will see a brass band and a pipe band from both sides of the religious divide release a CD together.
Malahide International Festival of Piping & Drumming in Dublin, which receives bands from all over Ireland and the United Kingdom was allocated €5,000.
Some €1,000 was allocated to for research and publication of a book on the shared history of the entertainment industry in the Border area.
The Pat Finucane Centre in Derry, which assists members of both communities in human rights issues, was allocated by €25,000.
The Department of Foreign Affairs Reconciliation Fund was established in 1982 and has awarded grants of approximately €23 million to over 650 initiatives to date.