Date: Tue, 10 Dec 1996 17:54:54 GMT Server: NCSA/1.4.2 Content-type: text/html Last-modified: Wed, 02 Oct 1996 16:09:40 GMT Content-length: 3394
This is a fragment of the first and largest "peace line" in Belfast.
This 20-foot-tall corrugated metal wall (complete with Army
observation towers) divides the Protestant neighborhood of the
Shankill Road from the Catholic neighborhood of the Falls Road. The
photo was taken from the Protestant side of the line. The spires in
the distance belong to St. Peter's Cathedral in the Catholic Falls
Road area.
Apparently, the people feel safer with these walls separating one group from another. This wall is the most conspicuous in Belfast; there are many smaller peace lines separating smaller Protestant and Catholic enclaves.
One of the most pointed murals in the area. It speaks for itself.
This mural was painted the day of the IRA ceasefire. It's not clear
in this image, but the top brick says, "Peace."
And
here he is, Ulster Protestantism's major historical icon and my
undergraduate college namesake, King William III. His defeat of
Catholic King James II over three centuries ago still carries enormous
symbolic weight in the North. You can find his picture all over
buildings in Protestant neighborhoods.