MURALS & PEACE WALLS

The western districts of Belfast were very hard hit by the Troubles and the stigma is still there to testify to it. There are many murals in honor of the fighting units (IRA for the Republicans, UVF/UDA for the Unionists) and the great political figures are glorified. There are many of them in the neighborhoods of Falls Road (Catholic) and Shankill Road (Protestant), which are separated by a huge peace line wall along Cupar Way, to limit relations between communities. Crossing points are set up all along and the doors can be closed if necessary by the authorities. This type of interface is very present in the outskirts of Belfast, but it is still here that the example is the most striking.

Another particularly impressive wall is in East Belfast, separating the Catholic neighborhood of Short Strand from the vast Protestant areas of that part of the city. The tiny Unionist cul-de-sac of Cluan Place is quite sadly and literally walled off to prevent its inhabitants from coming into contact with the Republicans.

The best way to discover this political heritage, sometimes violent, sometimes turned towards peace and the future, is to take one of the famous black cabs for a guided tour. But if you decide to go on foot, the easiest way is to start from the city center and go first on Falls Road, the Republican artery. The Divis Tower marks the entrance to the neighborhood. This breeding ground for Republican resistance was particularly closely watched by British troops, so much so that the top of Divis Tower was topped by a military observation post in the 1970s. At the height of the conflict, it was only accessible by helicopter...

Further on, the murals between Percy Street and Northumberland Street are of great quality. Continuing, we pass the Garden of Remembrance in homage to the IRA volunteers and, at the corner of Sevastopol Street, we can see the paintings of the hunger strikers on the Falls Road library, as well as a huge portrait of the iconic Bobby Sands on the Sinn Féin party building. Turning onto Clonard Street, one reaches the Clonard Monastry, then another memorial honoring the dead of the Troubles, on Bombay Street.

For a complete change of atmosphere, you will have to go to the protestant district of Shankill Road. Here, no more Irish flags, but Union Jacks and banners of armed groups such as the UVF. While going up Shankill Road, one will see many frescos in homage to the paramilitary unionist factions. They commemorate their battles, but also their deaths. At the corner of Crimea Road, a facade covered with portraits of the Queen is almost refreshing, compared to the many images of soldiers and armed men present on the other facades. At the intersection of Argyle Street, a monument commemorates the victims of an IRA attack. While going down Northumberland Street towards Falls Road, we pass again doors and the wall, while seeing many murals of both camps. One joins then easily the city center. Northern Ireland is today presented as an open-air creative space. Since the 1960s and the birth of this mode of expression, nearly 2,000 murals have been recorded in Belfast and Derry.