Suitcase & Sandshoes: Belfast

Again, another stunning sunny day! We are being spoilt by the weather. We again took a tour on the big red bus. We have done a lot of these tours, in all sorts of cities around the world, and let me tell you, this is one of the best we have done. What a beautiful and amazing place Belfast is! Then it was to the Titanic Exhibition. Fantastic!

On a role, we went up to the old Crumlin Road Gaol. Now closed, this was a surreal place. It held, not only murderers, thieves and thugs, it also held the suffragettes as well as children and locals involved from 'both sides' during the 'troubles'. During its time, about thirty prisoners were hung within the prison and are now buried there within the walls in unmarked graves. The place is chilling.

Cath and I then walked down from the prison, and through Shankill Road, the 'Protestant' side of the area where the Troubles had occurred. If the prison gave us chills, this area added to them. Clearly, the Troubles are not over...Murals of memorials to the Ulster Volunteer Army members, shrines to Protestant victims of murders and violence and bombings that took place in that very street, the entire area literally covered in Union Jacks, Northern Ireland and Ulster Flags. Bizarre and very unnerving walking through such an area of obvious hatred.

Wednesday, 2nd July

Only in Ireland could they describe the wonton massacre of fellow citizens, over three thousand people have died, as 'The Troubles'? So understated! I have always struggled to get my head around what happened in Ireland, and after what we saw yesterday, why it seems to remain. So today, we booked a 'Black Taxi' ride to the areas of Belfast where the troubles took place, and to try to get some idea how it stands today.

Orange side of the wall - gates are locked every night and all weekend!

John, a Scotsman now living here for thirty years, was our guide. And he did not hold back! We went to both the Catholic areas around Falls Road and the Protestant areas around Shankill Road. Both communities are public housing and very sad looking.

This is the green side of the wall that cage is a BBQ area.

The things we saw were mind blowing. Although no deaths have been linked to the Troubles in thirty years, huge dividing fences remain. These separate the two communities and are kilometeres long and over fifty feet high (they had to be extended higher three times to stop Molotov cocktails etc being thrown over the top). Linking these fences are reinforced steel gates at the roadways. These are still closed and locked every night, on weekends, or during either area's celebrations.

Seemingly, only the orange side still have celebrations. This is held on July 12th each year, and celebrates King William III (a Dutchman who defeated King James of England to claim the throne in the mid 1500s). Now, King William was a Protestant, King James a Catholic. The defeat ensured Protestant rule of Ireland. They have fought each other ever since. Anyway, across the Shankill area enormous bonfires made up of rows and rows of wooden pallets that have been painted red, white and blue are lit. Union Jack and Ulster Army flags are everywhere. Very intimidating. We were advised to tell anyone thinking of travelling to Belfast to avoid the place between July 8 and 16th!

Whilst in the Falls area, front yards are covered in Catholic religious statues and symbols. Photos and memorials are everywhere depicting IRA activists as heroes and those killed over the years as martyrs. Backyards of these houses are actually fully enclosed by cages to try to shield them from items being thrown over. Both sides are crazy. It is repulsive and to think all appear happy to not only raise their kids in such circumstances, they seem to encourage this way of thinking.