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16 CHIARA MAGLIACANE With this premise, particular attention will be paid to the relationship between poor mental health and residential segregation, through the analysis of key studies, such as Ferry et al (2010) and French (2009). With the support of the concept of the social reproduction of space from Lefebvre (1974), the correlation between mental illness and the spatial representation of segregated areas will be investigated. French (2009) recorded a high index of mental disorders mainly in those specific areas known as interface areas, which still have a high prevalence of sporadic episodes of violence. The representations of space at interface areas might influence the prevalence of mental disorders among individuals. Moreover, a correlation between economic aspects, residential segregation and mental illness will be also analysed, in order to highlight how the disadvantaged conditions in segregated areas contribute to poor mental health. Some suggestions will be provided for future research into this topic. Mental Health in Northern Ireland During ‘the Troubles’2 more than 3600 people were killed and over 40,000 injured (Fay, Morrissey and Smyth 1999: 121). A large part of the population experienced the trauma of indirect violence, imprisonment and the suffering and death of their loved ones. Even after the Belfast Agreement in 1998, tensions between Catholics and Protestants have remained and sectarian violence continues to affect the population. Today, the symbolic landscape of Northern Ireland is still influenced by an ethnic contraposition. For example, the display of flags, fiercely contested in Belfast, highlights the complexity of Catholic and Protestant identity (Bryan and Stevenson 2009). The construction of social space is shaped by ‘run of the mill’ locations, such as streets, and everyday life is integrated into the tactics of resistance (de Certeau 1984). According to Wolff (2006: 3), “inter-ethnic violence is always a sign of underlying conflict”. Fundamentally, sporadic episodes of violence represent a transformation of a continuing protracted conflict. The ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland is commonly referred to as ‘the Troubles’ and is generally acknowledged to have started in the late 1960s. The end of the conflict is considered to be the Good Friday Agreement (or Belfast Agreement) of 1998. For the purpose of this essay, I will be using the ethno-nationalist terms of Catholic and Protestant, but I am fully aware of the multilayer dimensions and factionalism w hich are encountered within these identities. The Troubles were a complex conflict with multiple armed and non-armed actors. Investigating such complexity goes beyond the scope of this article. 2