Belfast, the capital city of Northern Ireland. Depending on your age, historical knowledge and cultural background the city might throw up any number of associations. The Titanic. The Troubles. IRA and loyalist paramilitary clashes. Nationalists and Unionists. The political quagmire involving Irish Independence. British troops on the streets. Newspaper headlines of more sectarian violence……and, on a far more positive note, George Best and Game of Thrones.

Growing up as a child in the 80’s Northern Ireland was never far from the mainstream media headlines. IRA attacks, hunger strikes involving political prisoners and the continuing toll of the Troubles kept the media machine well fed with an abundance of news to report.   

I still remember the political shockwave caused by the 1984 assassination attempt on then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher during the Conservative party Conference. The bomb that the IRA had planted in the Grand Hotel, Brighton exploded killing 5 people, all connected with the Conservative party in various roles, but Thatcher was miraculously unharmed.

Ironically, given the contempt that Thatcher was held in by the working class of mainland Britain, this was probably one of the few, if only times, that a significant number of the general public would have supported the IRA.

As such it’s probably no surprise then that my impressions of Belfast (and Northern Ireland in general), were mostly coloured by the negative images of the 80’s as reported via the mainstream media. Given that childhood tableau of violence and bloodshed I never anticipated visiting the capital any time soon.

Fast forward to late December 2018 and a close friend from work decided that they wanted to visit Belfast and, knowing just how much I needed a break from the computer, asked if I wanted to join them there (as they'd be heading out a day earlier).

I figured why not? 2 days away from England spent challenging my perceptions of a capital shaped by the news reports of the 80’s would make for an interesting change. I was looking forward to taking a tour of the city, learning more about the history and seeing how contemporary Belfast was shaping up a little over 20 years since the Good Friday Agreement.

I flew out from Heathrow and, within an hour of departure or thereabouts, arrived at George Best International in the early evening hours. Seeing the city beginning to emerge as the plane began its descent through the clouds was almost magical. It struck me as somewhat ironic, and more than a little odd, how even though I was away from the mainland and separated by the Irish Sea, that I was still in the UK.

My first impressions of Belfast?

Depressed. Subdued. Somewhat lacking in vitality.

This probably isn’t surprising given the decades long history of the Troubles. The impact of sectarian violence, political struggles and the suffering that brought would be enough to leave a lasting imprint on the city’s atmosphere even many, many years after their conclusion.

I’d like to think this response wasn’t due to the effects of the cold Winter weather combined with my memories and impressions of the capital based from childhood imprinting courtesy of the media.

I’m sorry to say but there were plenty of social signals feeding my initial impressions. The large number of vacant business units and shop fronts. Streets that felt mostly empty. The not insignificant homeless population in and around the city centre (which eerily echoed similar sights from my recent visit to London). The extensive amounts of graffiti and tagging; far more concentrated in some areas of the centre than in others.

The typically damp, cold weather didn’t help matters any but that’s a Northern European climate for you. After a lifetime spent in the UK that was to be expected, particularly at that time of the year.

All in all the city felt, to me at least, in a less than optimal spirit. That’s not to say I wasn’t excited to be there nor that I didn’t enjoy my visit (far from it) but it was my honest impression of how the place felt. I suspect the energetic impression of decades of political violence and the aftermath of struggling to move away from that legacy lays very heavily on the city’s atmosphere.

Conjecture and initial impressions aside, and in contrast to what you might expect given the preceding paragraphs, my 2 days in Belfast were very enjoyable indeed. I actually regretted not being able to stay longer, see more of the city and subsequently learn more about its history. Unfortunately the timing of my visit over New Year meant that certain locations weren’t available for public visits. Venturing within the Stormont parliament buildings, and nearby House and Castle (not that I know whether that’s possible), was unfortunately off the itinerary. This would have been an interesting visit given the location’s importance in the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.

With the limited time I had available I figured that taking the hop on, hop off city bus tour on the morning of the following day would be the best way to take in as much of the capital as I could. This would afford me the opportunity to see the significant historical, cultural and political sights of Belfast, even if only briefly, and subsequently leave the remaining hours of the day open for some on-foot exploration.

Stormont

To the east of Belfast lies Stormont, a 300 acre estate which houses the parliament buildings, Stormont castle and Stormont house (formerly the official residence of the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland).

Since 1998 (and the acceptance of the Good Friday Peace agreement - which was brokered at Stormont) this is now home to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Unfortunately I could only admire the architectural beauty and grandeur of the parliament buildings from the vantage point of the tour bus as members of the public were not allowed to venture inside the buildings over the New Year period.

The Belfast peace wall

The Peace Wall is a series of barriers, the first of which were erected in 1969 by the British army as the “Troubles” broke out, designed to separate Catholic (mostly nationalist and pro-Irish) and Protestant (mostly unionist and pro-British) neighbourhoods and enforce a sense of peace and protection from political violence (how well this has functioned is a subject of much debate - something that I can’t even begin to comment on as I am not versed in the politics of Northern Ireland and its history ).

These stretch for several miles and are now mostly seen as tourist attractions due to their colourful murals, graffiti and thousands of messages that have been written along their sections from visitors all over the world.

According to the tour guide some very famous personalities including Bill Clinton and the Dalai Lama have contributed their respective messages to this part of Belfast’s landscape.

Murals

No visit to Northern Ireland would be complete without witnessing the vast array of murals across the city, many of which are unsurprisingly political in nature.

The following screen capture is taken from a video during the Belfast city tour as we drove down Northumberland Street, West Belfast. I wish I could have got better photographs but this just wasn’t going to happen on a moving bus unfortunately.

Northumberland Street is situated between the Falls Road (Republication community) and Shankill Road (predominantly loyalist) communities of Belfast so I can only imagine how politically volatile this area must have been during the “Troubles”.

This is, to some degree, still reflected in the republican-centric murals that are depicted here (or at least were when I visited in late December 2018) featuring republican heroes such as Charlie Hughes, Bobby Sands and the hunger strikers as well as international figures including Fidel Castro, Nelson Mandela and Leila Khaled.

Shankill Road

Traditionally seen as a Loyalist stronghold this area of Belfast was filled with pro-unionist murals  depicting Union Jack flags along with dedications to various brigades and loyalist groups, presumably, associated with that community.

I really should have stopped to get better photographs instead of screen captures from the moving video…but, as time was very limited, this will be an unfortunate theme throughout some of the areas visited during the bus tour :(

Falls Road

In sharp contrast to Shankill the Falls Road, a Catholic/Nationalist stronghold, featured many pro-Irish murals and dedications to nationalists as well as many IRA members who had fallen in their struggles for Northern Irish independence.

I’ll be brutally honest here - as much as I wanted to get off the tour bus and take photographs of said murals I was very, very uncomfortable even driving through that part of West Belfast (which is surprisingly close to the city centre - maybe 10 minutes walk away at most).

Given the history of the Troubles (and not knowing what the response might be from the Nationalist/Catholic community of that area of the city to an Englishman walking through there) I didn’t feel particularly safe during that part of the tour.

Memories of the Troubles were still fresh in my mind (even a little over 20 years after the adoption of the Good Friday Peace agreement) and I didn’t know what local residents may feel regarding the presence of an Englishman in their community taking photographs of the murals and memorials located there.

That may sound ridiculous to some readers but the area didn't look particularly welcoming nor friendly so I felt it wise to simply stay on the bus.

I was informed by the tour guide that there are still simmering tensions, outbreaks of violence and a growing drug problem (that the IRA is allegedly profiting from) that plagues the Falls Road community (similar social problems apparently play out in other regions of the city too).

The area certainly looks and feels depressed even with the presence of many colourful murals (whose mostly pro-Irish, heavily political nature probably contribute to the underlying mood of that community and help feed the atmosphere that I sensed whilst traveling through).

As it was I was amazed that of all the regions in Belfast, given its turbulent history with the Troubles, that a tour bus of all things could freely drive through the Falls Road area. It's difficult to shake off the impression that this would have been unthinkable 20 years ago, or possibly even more recently, particularly with English visitors aboard.

Maybe that's pure nonsense on my part but it's an impression that lingers all the same.

Crumlin Gaol

This former prison was one location where I did hop off the guided bus tour and spend a couple of hours exploring the site and its history. I find it somewhat ironic that of all the tourist attractions it would be a prison that would be open on New Year’s Eve!

Situated in Northern Belfast Crumlin Gaol was a Victorian era prison, designed by English architect Sir Charles Lanyon, that opened in 1845 and closed in 1996.

I participated in the guided tour of the Gaol and learnt about the history of the prison; its more notable occupants (including political prisoners and suffragettes), walking through the different wings of the jail as well as standing before the hangman’s rope and trapdoor where those prisoner’s condemned to die were hung until dead.

I have to confess it was a little unsettling holding the hangman’s noose knowing that had been used in the past to send previous occupants to their maker.

As a quick aside I was probably just as unsettled by the internal algorithm of my Mac’s photo app determining the following image as Best of the Year 2018…..thanks Apple! :D

The exhibits within Crumlin Gaol, displaying different aspects of prison life - from the administrative level down to that of the prisoner - were very interesting to see. I couldn’t imagine being locked up in such a confined cell for a prolonged period - particularly when other occupants would likely have been sharing the same space too. Life in such an environment must have been so corrosive to one's spirit.

Getting there

View the following itinerary for the stops where customers can board the city tour.

Fee

I seem to recall this was somewhere in the region of £12 for a one-day ticket but DO check the following tour operators to see what prices are charged for a hop-on, hop-off city tour:

• Belfast City Sightseeing
• City Tours Belfast

There's also a private black cab taxi tour which looks quite interesting (and if I were visiting Belfast again I would definitely consider taking this tour option).

In summary

Despite the depressed atmosphere of the city (understandable given its turbulent history and continuing political/community tensions - albeit barely simmering under the surface) Belfast was an interesting and enjoyable 2 day break from mainland Britain.

Every Northern Irish native that I met was polite, good natured and friendly (which is always well received given the not-so pleasant history between our two nations) and I regretted not having additional time available for more in-depth sightseeing. There was more to see and a lot more to learn about the history of the city and two days was far from enough to accomplish that.

Would I come here again? If I were still living in Europe - definitely.

Even as fragile as the Peace Agreement may be in parts it’s heartening to see the city, and Northern Ireland as a whole, able to move forward, even if only ever so slightly in some respects, from the previous decades of violence, suffering and bloodshed.

I only hope that the good people of Northern Ireland are able to rise from their turbulent past and enjoy a peace and prosperity that they have long been denied.

My best wishes to each and every one of you and may God bless you all.