Dockside Stories

Belfast’s Port: The Gateway to Our Shared History

Dockside Stories is a major community heritage project exploring the history of trade, migration, and cultural exchange through Belfast’s port. Working with local residents, historians, artists, and volunteers, the project will uncover and share the diverse stories that have shaped the city’s identity.

At the heart of the project are the dockside communities of Sailortown, Little Italy, and the Half Bap — places where generations of dockworkers, migrants, and artisans lived, worked, and contributed to Belfast’s rich cultural tapestry.

What does it matter?

Much of this heritage is under threat from redevelopment and fading memory. Communities like Sailortown and Little Italy face cultural erasure, and there is an urgent need to record the oral histories of dockworkers and migrant families. By connecting these local stories to wider conversations about migration, decolonisation, and social justice, the project aims to make the past relevant to the present.

What are we exploring?

• Belfast’s evolution as a merchant city (tea, linen, tobacco)
• Community heritage of Sailortown, Little Italy, and the Half Bap
• Historical links to enslavement and the port’s role in rum and sugarcane trade
• Migration stories of Italian, Jewish, Indian, Vietnamese and other communities

What are we doing?

The project will unfold in three phases:

• Research & Co-Design: archival research, heritage mapping, and community engagement.
• Story Gathering: oral histories, training programmes, and crowdsourcing personal stories, artefacts and photos.
• Interpretation & Delivery: creative outputs including a pop-up museum, theatrical heritage trails, schools outreach, 3D projection mapping, and global music exchanges

Who are our partners?

Dockside Stories brings together communities, academics, artists, and civic partners. Collaborators include Sailortown Regeneration, Quarto Collective, Queen’s University, Belfast Met, Maritime Belfast Trust, PRONI, Belfast City Council, and local migrant groups.

How can I get involved?

Dockside Stories is built on community voices — and we’d love you to be part of it. Whether you have a story to share, old photos or artefacts from the docks, or simply want to volunteer, your contribution can help bring Belfast’s heritage to life.

Join us for storytelling workshops, training programmes, heritage tours, and creative events across Sailortown, Little Italy, and the Half Bap. Everyone is welcome — no experience needed.

To find out more email us here