ABOUT
US

Sarah Kay is a human rights lawyer specialized in counter-terrorism and warfare. She grew up in the Springfield Road area in West Belfast, and spent her early adulthood working in New York City. She moved back to Belfast in September 2020. She is a member of the Association of Mixed Race Irish. You can follow her on Twitter at @K_interarma.
Brendan Harkin is a Belfast-based photographer who primarily covers protests and activism in Northern Ireland. His Twitter and Instagram handle is @brendanjharkin

Trustees

Sara Canning is a phlebotomist from Derry. She joined the board of the Hume Foundation in 2019 and became a Trustee of Belfast Won't Always Be Like This in 2022 (after informally discussing the work since the beginning). She is Lyra's fiancee and knew better than anyone the nature and importance of Lyra's work. Sara loves chocolate, cocktails, and peacebuilding. She is committed to seeing an end to paramilitary violence and works towards promoting LGBTQIA+ rights initiatives in Northern Ireland.

Ayden J. Cox is an auntie, labourer, co-conspirator, anti-fascist, anti-racist and long-time student of Anthropology. Her academic interests include: history, colonialism, labour issues, anarchism, Marxism and borders. When not working or community organising she can be found in the kitchen cooking, reading or hanging out with cute animals back home in Belfast. She is also Belfast Won't Always Be Like This' director of communications. You can reach her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Creative Team

Tolu Ogunware is a film director and photographer. He began his journey creating music videos for local musicians, then diversified into documentaries, short films, fashion films, and commercials. He has been working steadily in these mediums for the past 4 years, continuing to hone his skills and voice. Representation has grown into an important theme in his work, as well as a guiding principle in his personal life. Tolu's feature documentary WE ARE HERE, demonstrating the lives, contributions, and hardships of black & mixed race personalities living in Northern Ireland, was acquired by BBC NI and will premiere in October 2022. Tolu is a board member and the head of the creative direction for Belfast Won't Always Be Like This under Brendan's helm.

Sarah McDonald is a recent graduate with a particular talent for film photography. Born and raised in Belfast, Sarah has soon started to travel far and wide, and with each return to Northern Ireland, grew her commitment to changing the social and political landscape for an inclusive, safe, diverse, and free region. She and co-founder Sarah Kay met at a Malaki concert in Belfast, during which the Irish rapper spoke about the mental health crisis in Northern Ireland. Sarah joined Belfast Won't Always Be Like This in January 2022 and works as a second photographer on both interviews and documentary production.
Dillon O'Brien is currently studying music management at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute, BIMM, in Dublin. An accomplished bassist and a great innovator in music cross-overs, Dillon has been inspired by traveling up and down the M1 between Belfast, where he was born and raised, and Dublin, where a thriving music scene enjoys the reopening after covid. Passionate about providing Northern Irish artists the same visibility and success than their southern counterparts, Dillon joined Belfast Won't Always Be Like This in December 2021 and will spearhead coverage of local musical talent and festivals.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  • Gary Woods
  • Ahmed Abojaradeh
  • The American Bar, Sailortown
  • Flax Coffee, Falls Road
  • Alexsis Rubio
  • Ana Cios
  • Angelique Dumat
  • Kathryn Beirne
  • All the people who loved and still love Lyra
  • Born and Bred in Northern Ireland
  • Helen McDonnell at Skullduggery Tatu, Belfast
  • Sarah was riding a @belfastbike
  • Brendan used his own camera
  • Website created and maintained by Clay Perkins
  • There is zero funding associated with this project
  • Inhaler’s music is owned by Polydor / Universal Music Group and has nothing to do with this project but it’s really a cool poster nonetheless
© Sarah Kay, Brendan Harkin. All rights reserved.