Something that was unthinkable for decades is happening on the Falls Road in nationalist west Belfast.
The rebirth of Presbyterianism in a part of Northern Ireland considered a hostile environment for Protestants since the outbreak of the Troubles.
Four years ago an Irish language and cultural centre located in the former Broadway Presbyterian Church, which opened in 1896 but closed in 1982, opened its doors for a congregation to return.
The Cultúrlann at the heart of Belfast's Gaeltacht quarter.
There were once five Presbyterian churches in nationalist west Belfast, but the Broadway building on the Falls Road is the only one to have survived.
The rebirth started slowly with occasional church services in 2024, which became monthly, and are now being held on a weekly basis.
Known as An Tionólann (Place of the Assembly), the ministry was formed by the Rev David Moore and his wife Elaine.
The congregation is currently around 40 strong and there are also weekly Bible study classes in the Áras na bhFál Irish language centre, two doors further along the Falls.
The majority travel from Protestant districts of west Belfast, but a few live in the area regarded as nationalist west Belfast.
"It's an amazing story. At the start you could have fitted us all inside a Ford Fiesta," says the Rev Moore.
"For a long time people thought that after the churches in this part of the city were closed, there would never be anything to follow, but I believe, obviously as a minister, by the providence of God a door was opened.
"It was a very daunting prospect for my wife Elaine and I at first. But within a matter of weeks, we felt at home, we've always felt at home. We've never felt any concern at all walking up and down the Falls at any stage and it's a pleasure to be here," he said.
The story is all the more remarkable because a former IRA prisoner played a key role.
Jake Mac Siacais, director of Irish language development agency Forbairt Feirste, spearheaded a campaign for the return of the original church bell which was moved to another church when Broadway closed.
It was returned as a gift from the Presbyterian Church in 2022 and is now on a stand in a gallery used by the new congregation for its weekly services.
In that same year, which marked the 30th anniversary of the Cultúrlann and the 150th anniversary of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, he reached out to the church and asked it to take part in a year long series of events to look at the history of Presbyterianism in west Belfast.
"It just sort of snowballed from there," he says.
"At that stage, I met David Moore, who was a minister in east Belfast and told him my ambition would be in terms of its cultural worth and its heritage worth to see Presbyterian worship return to the Falls.
"This was once a thriving Presbyterian area. There were Presbyterian churches right along this road. This one closed in 1982, that's not a big gap.
"The ambition to bring them back was really driven by the enthusiasm of David Moore, who accepted the Presbyterian Church's invitation to become minister to the Gaeltacht Quarter."
Close ties between Presbyterianism and Irish language
An Tionólann ministry also works with refugees living in the west of the city and has held a number of historical, linguistic, cultural, sporting and spiritual events.
The minister and the Cultúrlann are both keen to stress the close ties between Presbyterianism and the Irish language.
The full official name of the centre that now occupies the former church site is Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich.
It is named after the former Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Irish language scholar Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich and Robert Shipboy MacAdam, a Presbyterian industrialist who was a leading figure in the 19th century revival of the Irish language.
A red bollard from his Soho foundary, which produced steam turbines, stands just outside the centre's front door.
Rev Moore, who previously led Presbyterian congregations in counties Cavan and Kilkenny, and his wife Elaine have recently started learning Irish.
"The connections to the past are very significant," he says.
"The very name of this centre is evidence of the Presbyterian desire to keep the language a living language."
Mr Mac Siacais was delighted see Presbyterianism making a comeback in the area.
"It's brilliant. You now have a living, growing Presbyterian community back on the Falls Road," he says.
"I just see this as one community. Because of our politics and our past history we've been fractured and fragmented but we're all basically one set of people that live on this island, north and south, and our cultures and our traditions are just completely woven together.
"I think that bringing back into what had become a kind of mono-cultural space, to bring back that diversity enriches every one of us."
