A playgroup in Kiltyclogher, Co Leitrim, attended by 18 children from both religious traditions in Leitrim and Fermanagh, shows the way things are changing in Border areas. The reopening of roads which were closed during the Troubles is facilitating such cross-Border projects.
Mrs Pauline Carson, who lives in Cashel, Co Fermanagh, and drives children to the Kiltyclogher playgroup, says the closing of Border roads meant a generation grew up not knowing their neighbours a mile down the road.
"My teenage boy would not have made contact in Kiltyclogher with young boys of his age. He went to school in Belleek, eight miles away," she says.
The area has had a troubled history during the last 30 years. A number of men working for the Northern Ireland security forces were killed by the IRA in the early years of the Troubles; others fled the area. The British army blew up the Border road crossing in the early 1970s, which had the effect of cutting people off from their land, their shops, bars and even their churches.
A steel footbridge was the only physical link between the North and the South on this section of the Border for many years. The footbridge, which has been lying in a builder's yard in Enniskillen for more than three years, was this week brought back and erected beside Cashel community centre by Cashel Community Association. Straddling a small stream, it doesn't lead anywhere, or look attractive, but serves as a reminder of what life was like during the Troubles.
"We brought it back because it is part of our history. I used to walk across it, I carried two of my children over it to have them baptised. History is history," says Mrs Carson.
Like about 10 other Church of Ireland families in Cashel, the Carsons had to cross the Border to attend church in Kiltyclogher. For many years, they drove as far as the footbridge, and then either walked the rest of the way or waited to be picked up by the rector's wife.
The footbridge was erected in the 1980s following a long campaign by local people, and the death of two elderly men who drowned in previous years while trying to cross makeshift bridges. It is hardly surprising that many people stopped making the 1 1/2mile trip from Cashel into Kiltyclogher - to have travelled by car meant a 25-mile journey through Blacklion.
All that is now in the past. When you pass through Kiltyclogher and cross a low stone bridge on a quiet country road, the only evidence that you've left the Republic is the sight of a Royal Mail van.
The Cashel Community Association, which is regarded as one of the best examples of a genuine cross-community group in Fermanagh, has built an impressive new community centre on the grounds of an old primary school. Mr Packie Treacy, a committee member along with Mrs Carson, says he believes the group is thriving because people were educated together up until 1973. A Catholic, he recalls going to fortnightly dances in Kiltyclogher with his Protestant neighbours in the 1950s.
Now, ironically, children from "the State" - as the Republic is termed - are coming to Cashel community hall for Irish dancing classes every weekend.
Relations cannot, however, be rebuilt overnight. Mr Treacy says that changing lifestyles often mean there is less opportunity for mixing. North of the Border the pattern has now been established for Protestant and Catholic children to attend different schools.
The playgroup in Kiltyclogher has been the most successful cross-Border project since the road reopened in October 1995. It provides a vital service and would not have been viable without the participation of people from both sides of the Border.
The Kiltyclogher Community Council, which set up the playgroup, has developed close ties with the Cashel Community Association, and these are set to grow. A full-time development worker is to be appointed next week on a joint basis with both groups.
Like most of the villages in Leitrim, Kiltyclogher has suffered from depopulation and its location so close to the Border exacerbated the situation. Despite its idyllic, peaceful setting, a number of premises on the main street are closed up.
Mr Liam Gallagher, chairman of Kiltyclogher Community Council, says the fact that the village is no longer a "cul-de-sac" is of huge importance.
Efforts are already well under way to capitalise on the area's tourism potential. A large, modern hostel has been built beside the community centre and the voluntary council also manages a holiday apartment. Two new homes are under construction in the village as part of the Rural Resettlement Scheme.
The community hall is the venue this week for the Kiltyclogher Drama Festival, with visiting groups from North and South of the Border. A traditional music festival is also held every summer. It is hoped all of these projects will be developed further.
Mrs Carson is optimistic that the four-year-olds she takes to the playgroup will know a very different life and she also believes that people may turn away from segregated education. "All of that is changing and becoming less important. I think people will start to send their children to whatever school is convenient for them."