We took a ‘Conflict’ or ‘Troubles’ Black Taxi tour to West Belfast. Our guide Dermott took us through the Catholic and Protestant areas discussing the 1969- 1998 conflict through the wall murals, spread throughout the district.
William of Orange, Protestant King of Holland, defeated the Catholic England in 1688 and is the hero of Irish Protestants, deposing King James. Protestants do not celebrate St Patrick’s Day or Easter Monday Uprising of 1916 but they meet, celebrate and march on July 12 in the name of William of Orange.
In the 1960s with freedom movements on the rise, Irish nationalists demanded ‘freedom’ from British rule. The British army tried to quell the rebels, beginning the troubles by burning the houses in Bombay Street. There is a memorial garden in the rebuilt street with names of the victims. It borders the wall which was erected between the two communities. Wire structures cover windows to protect houses from rocks and projectiles still hurled over the wall.
IRA members are remembered in various murals and memorials
Bobby Sands, the IRA hunger striker, a symbol of the struggle. Sinn Fein headquarters with bulletproof doors and windows after many bombing attempts.
The gates between the Protestant and Catholic communities are still locked each evening and opened each day.
No man’s land - 10 metres between the two walls.
Protestants in West Belfast live along the Shankill Road. It is obvious which side you are on as the Protestant side has a proliferation of British flags. The murals reflect their heroes and sites where atrocities were suffered.
Near the gates there is a peace wall, acknowledging other nations’ freedom and civil liberty struggles.
Our guide, who has grown up with the strife and lost family members, said that life has improved remarkably. He thinks that the future lies in education and job opportunities, which is being realised already and has given young people more optimism. He said that in the ‘60s, when the unrest began, only homeowners only had the vote, which disenfranchised so many of the population, who had no power to change their situation, particularly Catholics. But now it is a more egalitarian system.
The sectarian obstinacy seems to be mainly limited to West Belfast now with the rest of the city not drawn in as intensely. There are partisan political murals and flag flying in West and parts of East Belfast, but otherwise there are no signs of conflict and it is a safe and pleasant environment, particularly for tourists.
Dermott dropped us at the bus station, where we were able to get an intercity express to Dublin within a few minutes. A two and half hour trip. A convenient €2 shuttle to and from the airport from our hotel. The public and intercity buses have been efficient and regular wherever we’ve travelled here.
Tonight we are staying in an airport hotel, ready for our early morning flight tomorrow to Canada, following in the footsteps of the Titanic- east coast of Ireland to Halifax...
M&M
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