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The peace wall and political murals of Belfast

Back in the 70's and 80's we all heard of The Troubles in Northern Ireland particularly in such places as Belfast and Londonderry and even my beloved London was affected by targeted attacks by the IRA.  It seemed that never a day passed without hearing about some atrocity in the country and it was definitely a "no go" zone for tourists.  I never thought I would be able to visit Belfast...in fact I had no ambition to!  Truth be told it's the Giants Causeway I wanted to visit and Belfast was a logical place to base myself. While looking up things to do before my trip I saw there were what were called "Black Taxi" tours to the troubled areas and I thought it would be interesting. 

Please note:  these are my observations of Belfast and its former troubles.  Someone else might have a totally different opinion and that's okay.  
So on my very first morning in Belfast my driver Gerry picked me up at 9 am and off we went in his black taxi.  I was staying in North Belfast (Cliftonville) which was one of the areas of conflict during that time so the first thing he did was show me the wall that separates Catholics and Protestants in this area (I was staying in the Catholic area) ...they are now called Peace Walls....however they are sadly still in use...


I wrote this original post while I was in Belfast and I didn't want to write of my feelings about this tour as I felt so uncomfortable the two days I was there.  Well now I am writing about it...sort of. As I mentioned before...my feelings. Nearly six years on it still makes me very uncomfortable which is mainly because my paternal grandmother's roots are from County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Even though my background is one-quarter "Irish" my DNA is Scottish with not a wit of Irish.  I am not even going into the long complicated history of the north of Ireland and how Scots were moved over as part of an organized settlement scheme in the 17th century. It is what it is and nothing can change it.  History is there for us to learn from. 

I did not like the guide's judgy attitude when I got in the taxi and he asked my last name (Ross) and immediately said  "Protestant".  I said that's not my Irish family name so he asked what they were and I recited them back...  "McKeown" and "Lee".  He snapped back "Protestant".  Well yes, that's true I am a "Prod".  And let's just say my dad's side of the family had some very (very) strong opinions on Roman Catholics and leave it at that.  I won't get into that here.  Myself, I don't care what religion people practice as long as they themselves are kind and open-minded. Religion itself?  That's a totally different ball game and I do have an opinion and willing to share if I've got enough wine inside me. 


Murals can not depict any hatred or racism.  



Gerry wanted me to pose here  (hey I know a vision in grey ..but when you travel with one suitcase for six months neutral is the way to go..)..these gates are closed each evening and at weekends preventing traffic from going through....they can only reach the area but driving around other streets...this divides the Catholic and Protestant sections. 

We headed for the Falls Road, the infamous Roman Catholic/Republican area of Belfast. 


Sinn Fein headquarters...tribute to Bobby Sands who starved himself to death. 


Catholic Martyrs





This is a house right behind one of the walls.  That may look like a lovely greenhouse at the back of the house but it's actually a barrier as things do get thrown over the walls....


Another wall....



Signing the main peace wall...I'm in good company - the Dali Lama has signed it along with Bill Clinton and President Obama..and even Justin Bieber. (whoopee!)  


I wonder if it's still there?  I was there May 6th but in the UK they put the date first then the month. 


The peace wall that I signed - there are 21 miles of these walls around Belfast.

Then the black taxi headed over to the Shankill Road. 


Mural of the monarchy on the Shankill Road - this is the Protestant/Loyalist area. 





Two Protestant martyrs.  


This looked like an interesting mural of the Shankill Road but I wasn't allowed to get out of the vehicle to take a decent picture as my guide said the area was too dangerous. We were fine in the Falls road though. (insert eye-roll)

 
Now this mural was much more peaceful.  

It was an interesting tour but I got out of that vehicle feeling in a much sadder, confused and yes, angrier state of mind than I did getting into it. Not only because of the whole messy issues of the Troubles but I found the tour terribly one-sided on the Catholic/Republican side.  Apparently, you can request a Catholic or Protestant guide which sounds bizarre.  Guides are supposed to be neutral but obviously, mine wasn't as all I was told was of the terrible things the Protestants did including their marches which end in burning an effigy of the pope. He showed me the pictures he had taken. Um..ever heard of the IRA buddy?  However I was probably a bit more sensitive to the issue given my background. 

It was still interesting and if you are in Belfast I would recommend taking the tour but I just hope you can get a guide that is neutral. 


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