The Peace Walls in Belfast, Northern Ireland, separate Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods. the latter would limit outbursts and other acts of violence between the 2 communities. These walls come in several sections, some of them up to 5km long. There are 99 of them today, but the Northern Irish government plans to destroy them within the next 10 years.
The first Peace Walls saw the light of day in July 1969, during the Troubles (an episode in Northern Ireland’s history which resulted in over 3,000 deaths due to inter-community clashes between Catholics and Protestants).
These walls were erected by the police, who wanted to replace their barricades with more effective defensive structures.
Originally, these walls were built from pieces of sheet metal, stones and barbed wire, but their effectiveness led the government to fortify them into truly solid walls made of concrete, bricks, iron or steel. The latter were up to 7.5 meters high, to prevent any crossing, and were topped with fences for added deterrence.
At the time, these walls had controlled passageways, where the population could come and go freely during the day, under the assiduous surveillance of military forces. However, all passage was forbidden during the night.
Today, these walls are in the process of being demolished. Highly symbolic of the Northern Irish conflict, these walls have gradually been decorated with artistic frescoes: street art has helped to embellish these concrete walls, the better to forget Belfast’s painful past.
Nevertheless, these walls remain cold and considerably uglify Belfast’s neighborhoods. That’s why the government decided in 2013 to demolish these walls by 2023…
Meanwhile, the Peace Walls have become a tourist attraction, with many local cabs offering tours of the walls. They may be ugly, but they’re part of Belfast’s history!
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