Belfast, Northern Ireland

After touring Scotland for six weeks, we drove onto a car ferry bound for Belfast, in Northern Ireland, where we spent two days. On one of those days, after a bit of debate, we chose to visit some of the city’s infamous murals, which have become symbols of the country’s political and religious divisions over the past century (particularly during ‘the Troubles’ era, which began in the late 1970’s). We debated, because the murals can range from extremely moving, to quite disturbing for some of the more militant ones. They made for a very sobering walk through two very different Belfast neighborhoods.

The neighborhoods that we chose to visit are divided by a peace line. The peace line is a 25 foot tall steel barrier that separates a predominantly Irish republican, or nationalist Catholic neighborhood from a predominantly British loyalist, or unionist Protestant neighborhood. The purpose of the structure is meant to minimize inter-communal violence between the two neighborhoods.

Starting on the Protestant side of the peace wall, we walked for about a mile down Shankill Road, which was adorned with countless British flags and dozens of murals devoted to royalist and paramilitary themes. After crossing to the other side of the wall, the themes of the murals changed dramatically. On the Catholic side, the murals pay tribute to Irish republican leaders from the time of the Troubles, or they depict solidarity with other revolutionary groups from around the world.

Here’s a gallery of photos from our walk through a couple of Northern Ireland’s most divided neighborhoods.

Starting our walk down Shankill Road, on the Protestant side of the peace line

Union jacks and homages to the royal family were everywhere

A mural honoring the late Queen Elizabeth ll

This mural commemorates the Ulster Volunteer Force, a Protestant paramilitary group created in 1965 to combat Irish republican paramilitary groups

A plaque memorializing the victims of bombing and gun attacks carried out by the Irish Republican Army

A memorial to three members of the Ulster Volunteer Force who died in conflicts with the Irish Republican Army during the time of the Troubles

Murals honoring members of S Company and C Company, who fought for the Ulster Volunteer Force during the Troubles

The peace line has a number of gates that control the flow of traffic between neighborhoods

Many of the gates are still in operation today, closing at night, but open during the day

Walking along a section of the peace line

Graffiti covers the entire length of the kilometers long wall, and messages of peace and hope are written in every blank space available

Murals and graffiti along the Peace Wall in Belfast, Northern Ireland

A large mural dedicated to ten Irish republican political prisoners who starved to death during a hunger strike in 1981

Bobby Sands was the leader of the 1981 hunger strike, and his death resulted in a serge of IRA activity and an escalation in the Troubles. He was an elected member of British Parliament during his incarceration and death.

The Phoenix is the symbol of the Republican Network for Unity, a small Irish political party formed in 2007

Murals of international solidarity with revolutionary groups from around the world are numerous on the Catholic republican side of the peace line

Nelson Mandela is featured prominently in a number of murals on the Catholic side of the peace wall

Muhammad Ali, Angela Davis, Steven Biko, Martin Luther King, Bob Marley and Nelson Mandela all have their say on the Solidarity Wall in Belfast, Northern Ireland

On a lighter note, there are many other murals in Belfast that don’t have a political or religious message to them. This particular artist did a few amazingly beautiful murals on buildings in the Protestant, British loyalist neighborhood

'Shankill Stronger Together'