"Peace" wall

Day 33 - Belfast (Northern Ireland) to Swords (Ireland)

We'd booked a 10am walking tour today so we made our way to the City Hall where our guide greeted us. He started with an explanation of the history of Belfast and some background to the Republican vs Unionist conflict and where Belfast is today. 

As the tour progressed the guide pointed out sites of interest and also provided further insights into the political situation. Our guide emphasised repeatedly that the Belfast of today is very different to the Belfast of the past, but we also learnt that there were still parts of the city where a "peace wall" had been erected and where gates at each end of the wall were locked at night. He did stress however that those areas were completely safe to visit ... during the day anyway. 

We finished the tour by the docks at the "Salmon of Knowledge", a fish sculpture that commemorated the return of salmon to the River Lagan after more than 100 years of heavy pollution. 

We headed back through the city and revisited some of the key sights we'd passed, including the grand interior of the City Hall. We had lunch at the Crown Liquor Saloon, a 19th century pub that had been decorated inside and out by Italian workers moonlighting from their day jobs building the cathedral. 

We sat in one of the booths, closed the doors and enjoyed our Irish coffees (well, once the loud Americans in the neighbouring booth departed). 

We took the advice of our guide and drove to West Belfast to visit the closest peace wall, between the areas centred around Falls Road (Republican) and Unionist (Shankill Road). We could see that Shankill Road was strung with UK flags, and as we approached the Falls Road area there were many politically themed murals, many relating to the local conflict and those who had lost their lives, but also referencing other historical and current conflicts around the world, such as Cuba and Palestine. 

We walked to see the wall, also painted with murals, and the double gates that were closed each night, then walked back into the Unionist area where we'd parked our car. There the theme of the murals changed to support for English rule and the English army (Union Jacks, memorials to British soldiers who'd died).  

We left Belfast and drove back into Ireland to our hotel only 10km from Dublin Airport so we could return the car and catch our morning flight to France.