Violence has left an indelible mark on Belfast, but with the troubles now over BRENDON BISHOP looks back at what started the bitter feud between republicans and loyalists.
Trying to summarise the Troubles of Northern Ireland is no small feat. A culmination of decades of political and military action and reaction involving groups of people bound together by religious, political and historical beliefs and sparking urban attacks throughout the UK and Ireland, their history leaves a messy web to untangle. Though Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland and the centre of the conflict, is desperately trying to redefine its identity, it remains the place to go to get to the heart of the matter.
During the 1960s the civil rights movement of Northern Ireland began stirring in the city of Derry/Londonderry. The Nationalists (mainly Catholics who supported a non-British Ireland) felt that they were being marginalised by a mostly Loyalist (loyal to Britain) government in Northern Ireland. They organised a civil rights march for October 5, 1968. On hearing this the Loyalists announced they were holding an ‘annual parade’ on the same day. When the Nationalist demonstration was underway the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) blocked the route of the march and baton-charged the crowd. Subsequent news coverage sparked riots across the city – a knock-on effect considered to be the start of the Troubles.
Rioting between the Nationalists and Loyalists began to escalate over time to such an extent that the British paratroopers were put onto the streets of Derry/ Londonderry. In 1972, during a civil rights protest, they fired live rounds into a crowd of Nationalist protesters killing 13 unarmed civilians, many of them minors. This tragedy became known as Bloody Sunday and kickstarted a more enforced militant campaign by the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
Rioting between the Nationalists and Loyalists began to escalate over time to such an extent that the British paratroopers were put onto the streets of Derry/ Londonderry. In 1972, during a civil rights protest, they fired live rounds into a crowd of Nationalist protesters killing 13 unarmed civilians, many of them minors. This tragedy became known as Bloody Sunday and kickstarted a more enforced militant campaign by the Irish Republican Army (IRA)
The IRA split into the Official branch, who felt the Catholic/ Nationalist cause should be fought by peaceful, political means, and the Provisional IRA (dubbed ‘provos’), who armed themselves and began the ‘Long War’, a campaign of violence aiming to eradicate British presence and rule in Northern Ireland.
In the meantime, vicious sectarian rioting had spread to Belfast too, resulting in the deaths of many civilians and about 1500 locals being forced from their homes. As a result the IRA stepped up their military strategy and by 1972 the Provisional IRA had killed more than 100 British soldiers, wounded 500 more and carried out roughly 1300 explosions, their modus operandi.
The Loyalist/Protestant paramilitaries responded to the mushrooming violence with a campaign of sectarian assassinations of Nationalists. The British government, seeing that the Northern Ireland administration was incapable of quelling the violence, introduced direct rule from London, but the violence continued unabated.
After a long period of political manoeuvring spearheaded by Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein (the provisional IRA’s political wing), the Loyalist and Nationalist paramilitaries declared a ceasefire in 1994 and the peace process began. The Belfast Agreement passed in 1998 restored self-government to Northern Ireland on a power-sharing basis between all political parties.
Today, paramilitary violence is greatly reduced, but signs of clashes between paramilitary supporters are still evident in areas of Belfast and vivid, angry murals cloak many a suburban wall. We take a drive to the Peace wall, a 10m-high metal wall built to separate the Protestant area from the nearby Catholic Falls Road area, where we find Sinn Fein’s modest headquarters. The week before our arrival a car was burnt out and crashed into the peace wall in an attempt to destroy the imposing divide. But according to the locals, things are finally looking up for the city.
Later that night over a pint of Guinness, Dave, a local, tells me that he left Belfast for London 10 years ago to escape the fighting and psychological effects of the Troubles. It’s been six months since I returned to Belfast and I can’t believe I stayed away for 10 years,” he says. “Life in Belfast could not be better right now”. •
Tip
To see the murals and the urban battlegrounds of Belfast, a black cab tour is recommended and costs about £8. If you want to see the murals by foot then you should visit the walls around the Shankill and Falls Road neighbourhoods. These areas cover both Protestant and Catholic sides of the Troubles in Belfast
• Brendon Bishop travelled to Ireland with Paddywagon (0800-7834 191; www.paddywagontours.com). Their six-day All Ireland tours start at £189.”
