Creating new possibilities together
174 Trust has been rooted in North Belfast since 1983, walking alongside people at every stage of life.
Our approach
174 Trust has walked alongside this community since 1983, helping people belong, connect and grow stronger together. Early years and Disability Clubs, a volunteer-led Clothes Bank, and community-led arts and culture at The Duncairn are all part of the same effort, turning a shared space into something that lasts.
Behind every programme is a team of dedicated, experienced people who take the time to properly get to know who they're working with. That consistency, that care, is what makes the difference.
Our Story
Growing stronger together since 1983
1983
174 Trust is founded by people from Duncairn Presbyterian and Antrim Road Baptist churches. We buy 174 Antrim Road and open the Saltshaker Café and youth clubs, offering practical support, jobs and a place to build relationships.
1995
We buy the vacant Duncairn Presbyterian Church buildings and turn them into a shared community space. Our nursery and disability programmes take root, supporting hundreds of children, adults and families ever since.
1998
Rev Bill Shaw becomes Director, opening a new chapter of partnership and creativity. Our rooms welcome a fledgling Irish-medium school, still onsite today.
2014
fter years of planning and refurbishment, the former church reopens as The Duncairn Centre for Culture and Arts, giving people new ways to meet, create and take part together.
Today
Led by Executive Director Tim Magowan, 174 Trust supports people 65,000 times a year, through Disability Clubs, Pre-School, the Arts Centre and our tenants, from a community café to a boxing club to a number of local charities.
A place of connection
For over 40 years, 174 Trust has been a safe space for people from different communities to build relationships and work together, through shared projects, monthly interfaith dialogue, and, more recently, our Circles of Change programme.
That work hasn't gone unnoticed. We've welcomed The Taoiseach, the British Prime Minister and international visitors who've come to see what real community connection looks like.
Looking to the future
As we look to the future, we want to support even more people to belong and grow stronger together. That means strengthening our early years programme, expanding Disability Clubs, growing Clothes for All, and developing new programmes for newcomers, alongside improving our facilities and expanding Circles of Change and our Arts programmes.
We'll also look beyond North Belfast, working with partners to share what we've learned and keep learning from others.
The aim is to continue walking alongside people, help good ideas take root, and create more opportunities to meet, listen, talk and build trust.
Touching people’s lives over 65,000 times a year
Across our Pre-School, Disability Clubs, Clothes for All, The Duncairn and the groups who share our spaces.
Our Governance
174 Trust is governed by a Board of Trustees and a Management Committee, who work together to keep us true to what we were founded to do.
Our Trust Deed
174 Trust was established by a Trust Deed in 1983. Our Trustees safeguard our charitable purpose, property and assets, and make sure we stay true to the values we were founded on.
Our Purpose
Our original purpose was to serve local people, especially young people, through practical support, education and community life, or in the words of our Trust Deed, "Christian service without denominational bias or sectarian prejudice." It has since grown to include better community relations through arts, culture and heritage.
Our Management Committee
Our Management Committee oversees day-to-day direction and risk, supports our Executive Director and staff, and reports regularly to the Trustees. Over the next year, new sub-committees for audit and risk, arts, community engagement, nursery and disability will bring clearer accountability.
OUR TRUSTEES
Rev Prof J Patton Taylor MBE, Chair of Trustees
Heather Carey
Gavin Pantridge
OUR MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
Heather Carey, Chair of our Management Committee
David van der Merwe, Treasurer
David Read
Audrey Petersen
Jane Gray
Aisling McCormick
Rev Prof J Patton Taylor MBE
Our vision is to continue to support thousands of people to survive and thrive together, in North Belfast and beyond.
Our strategy
We have entered a period in the 2020s marked by skyrocketing need in our local communities, a fragile peace process and increasing polarisation, locally and globally.
Within 174 Trust we endeavour to be a community thriving together, always learning and trying to improve our relationships and our practice. Each of us, and each of our projects, stands on its own while also depending on the others.
We believe that each of us can thrive with the particular support needed at a particular time, and we work hard to provide the highest standards of support.
The Duncairn Complex
We're based in the Duncairn Complex a beautifully renovated former church in North Belfast, home to The Duncairn Centre for Culture and Arts, Pre-School, Disability Clubs and 7 tenants.
Our Team
Tim Magowan
Executive Director
Tim Magowan was appointed Executive Director in July 2025, after a year as our Operations Director. He brings over 20 years in charity leadership, including as Director of Tearfund Northern Ireland and Corrymeela. He holds a Masters in Social Work and a Level 7 Certificate in Strategic Leadership and Management, and is a qualified Coach.
Ray Giffen
Creative Director, The Duncairn
Ray Giffen is Creative Director of The Duncairn, leading our arts programme since 2014 with a focus on inclusion, young artist development, Irish language, traditional music and community collaboration. His work includes bringing Other Voices to Belfast, developing the Shared Island project The Ties That Bind, producing Belfast's St Patrick's Day concerts, and serving as Creative Director of the 2026 Fleadh Fringe City-Wide Programme.
Linda Duffy
Disability and Community Partnership Manager
Over the past 20 years, our Disability and Community Partnership Manager, Linda Duffy, has established nine clubs that now support more than 100 children and adults with disabilities. As the mother of a disabled young man herself, Linda is deeply committed to supporting people living with disabilities and their families. Born and raised in the New Lodge, she also launched our Clothes for All food bank and works closely with partners The People’s Kitchen and Reach Out to support marginalised people in the area.
Kelly Burke
Pre-school Leader
Kelly has worked in early years education since 2010, bringing a warm, child-centred approach rooted in play, connection and hands-on learning. She especially loves nature play and creating inclusive spaces where every child feels valued and free to be themselves, and most mornings you'll find her in the mud kitchen or the art area, following the children's ideas wherever their curiosity takes them.
Our Partners
None of our work would be possible without the support of these organisations. Thank you for walking alongside us.
