Rapper Gareth Spence AKA Young SpencerTG4
An impactful new documentary, Glúin an tSosa Cogaidh on TG4, follows the lives of five people from the North of Ireland born after the 1994 ceasefire; the so-called “ceasefire babies.
The observational documentary captures the diverse lives of five different people, including popular rapper Gareth Spence AKA Young Spencer from the Shankill Estate and youth worker Aoife Enright from west Belfast, whose father was murdered before her second birthday and in the months prior to the Good Friday Agreement.
Each person in this documentary was born after the 1994 ceasefire, and before the Good Friday agreement in 1998. It was hoped that this generation would have a more prosperous and peaceful future. However, Glúin an tSosa Cogaidh shows that, although they were born towards the end of Troubles, the impact of the conflict has had a marked effect on their lives.
Each contributor has recently turned, or is soon to be 30, a landmark birthday when they are not only reflecting on the past but, also thinking about their future. We hear about their different experiences of growing up in Northern Ireland and how their various upbringings have shaped their lives in diverse ways.
This 50-minute, bilingual Irish/English documentary was produced with support from Northern Ireland Screen's Irish Language Broadcast Fund. It was created by Belfast-based production company Clean Slate Television by two children of the 90s, Producer/Director Eve Logue and Director of Photography, Josh Bell.
Producer/Director Eve Logue says, “What is special about the stories of each of those featured in Glúin an tSosa Cogaidh is that they tell us about what it is like growing up in a place that is trying to move on from a war, rather than living through it and the many layers there are to that. What we discover is that in this post-conflict world, light and dark go hand in hand. Although the North has a dark past, the people here are resilient and want to embrace change.
"The people in Glúin and tSosa Cogaidh reflect that. Director of Photography Josh Bell and I felt privileged that they brought us into their worlds; they are creative, driven and making their mark on this society in their own way. They each reveal to the viewer the things in their life that are important to them and share their intimate thoughts and their attitudes and opinions on life here, present and past. Their stories are unique and personal, and each give a different and fresh perspective on what it is really like to grow up in a place in the aftermath of a conflict.”
Young Spencer
32-year-old Gareth Spence (AKA Young Spencer) opens up about how his alter-ego, the rapper Young Spencer, has helped him to escape the trauma of his own childhood. He shares how he takes pride in his Protestant and Unionist background as well as being open to, and respecting, other cultures, and how this has led him to unexpected places like supporting Kneecap in the SSE Arena in 2024.
“I’m sure there were some people in the crowd (the SSE Arena) who were not receptive towards it, but …the majority of that building stood side by side in support of me as they did in support of Kneecap. Because we are at a point now where none of us want to go back to that troublesome period. We all want to be understood and respected and have our culture appreciated … this is the starting point.”
Aoife Enright
30-year-old youth worker Aoife Enright, from the Whiterock Road in West Belfast speaks about how she can see the impact of intergenerational trauma on the young people from her district who she works with. She also shares the trauma of losing her father in a paramilitary killing just a few months before the Good Friday Agreement.
‘I don’t have any memories of a life before he was shot because I was so young. It was hard but that was the only life I knew, a life without him. It wasn’t until I was in my twenties really that it hit me how awful what had happened was.’
Séamas MacEochaidh
32-year-old Séamas MacEochaidh from rural Mayobridge works promoting the Irish language to young people from various backgrounds across the island. He reveals that although he feels that he had an upbringing shielded from the conflict in the North, because of where he grew up, he was forced to consider his own identity in an unusual way from a very young age.
‘I think that shows the difference there is between North and South, that I had to reflect on my identity when I was very young… I suppose it was decided for me what kind of friends I would have because of the type of school I went to. I suppose there is a problem with that here in the six counties - that your path is predetermined for you.’
Órlaith Mac Eoin Manus
27-year-old Dublin based Órlaith Mac Eoin Manus, born Ballymurphy but brought up in Armagh, describes how the activism of her parents (her father was on the 1981 hunger strike) has influenced her life now in campaigning for and creating art about the causes that are important to her such as the Irish Language and LBGTQ+ rights and how she uses art as a way to understand her experience and where she’s from.
‘When I’m in Belfast…I think about the missed opportunities in coming together through art, we are not coming together in the same way as we are in Dublin. When people are coming together, this results in positive effects. I think we would have a different society and experience in the North of Ireland if we were able to come together and work together.’
Andrew Clarke
30-year-old Andrew Clarke, originally from east Belfast, runs well-known Instagram page, Tanistry, where he posts about Irish history, politics and social issues. He talks about how and why he has moved away from the culture he was brought up in. Andrew speaks about how the positive changes in legislations and attitudes to the LGBTQ movement give him hope about the future of Northern Ireland.
‘People are always boxed into one of two broad political boxes, it's always nationalist or unionist and while those still exist, of course, I think more and more young people want to be less defined by each of them. I think their politics are defined more by what they believe in and the things they support, and more and more the hatred they oppose will help define who they are.”
Glúin an tSosa Cogaidh airs Tuesday 6th October, 2026 9.30pm on TG4 and globally on TG4.ie