North Belfast kids share hopes for future in time capsule to be reopened in 50 years

North Belfast kids have had the chance to share their hopes for the future in a time capsule which has been buried at a new train station.

Pupils from Currie Primary School and Blessed Trinity College, as well as members of the local community, have buried a time capsule at York Street Train Station as part of Translink’s plans for the station’s opening. The station, which opened to the public earlier this year, is in the final stations of external public realm works.

The time capsule was put together by the schools, alongside local arts groups via Golden Thread Gallery, and buried at the station site this week. It will be reopened 50 years from now and features some illustrations and poems that reflect the importance of the station to the local community, as well as reflections from the pupils on what the Belfast of 2074 might be like.

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Speaking about the project, Michael Holmes, Translink Programme Manager, said: ‘‘York Street Station is an important gateway to North Belfast and a vital community asset, one that is now used frequently as a meeting place and as an event space.

‘‘We’ve also been glad to work alongside the pupils of Currie Primary School and Blessed Trinity College, as well as the local community through our community arts and engagement initiatives, and we are grateful to them for helping us to populate our time capsule.

‘‘Thank you to the whole community in North Belfast who have helped us to launch the station and who have made it an integral part of the area’s story in such a short space of time.’’

Mrs Galway, Principal of Currie Primary School, said: "Our pupils have been delighted to play their part in this project by helping to fill a time capsule with some detail on life in North Belfast today and their dreams and ambitions for 50 years’ time, when hopefully many of them can play a part in opening the time capsule. It’s been good to work with Translink on this lovely project, and we look forward to maintaining and developing these links in future.’’

Bernadette Lyttle, Principal of Blessed Trinity College, added: ‘‘We are delighted that some of our students have had the opportunity to work with Translink as part of their plans to mark the opening of York Street Station, and they thoroughly enjoyed preparing material for inclusion in the time capsule, including some evocative poems. We hope that those who recover and open the time capsule 50 years from now will enjoy them.’’

Liz Byrne, Development Manager at Golden Thread Gallery, said she hopes the capsule will help those travelling through the station 50 years from now get a glimpse into life in 2024. She added: ‘‘Golden Thread Gallery have been pleased to partner with Translink in an exciting project, facilitated by Arts and Business NI, to deliver community engagement in connection with York Street Station.

"This has included the landmark Journeylines sculpture by local artist Kevin Killen, a planned community artwork, and a series of perforated panels on the station exterior.

"We’ve also been pleased to collaborate on the time capsule project, working with local groups to deliver a variety of pieces for this, and we hope that the York Street Station users of 2074 will gain an insight into the vibrant Arts community of Belfast in 2024 by these pieces."

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