Black Cab Taxi Tour, Belfast

One of the best tours you can possibly do in Belfast, not that there are many. There are basically two, Giant's Causeway, a day trip up north.... and this. 

Harry was our driver / tour guide. Aged about 64 years. Grew up in West Belfast, the "troubled" area. He was 14 y/o when the cease-fire occurred in 1962 and 21 during the riots of 1969. I wont begin to try and explain the history of the catholic and protestant conflict (which in saying that over-simplifies it greatly as there is a complicated political aspect to it as well in more recent times) as it started over 400 years ago. See wikipedia instead.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Troubles

Black Cab Taxi Tours commenced in the late 90's when an Australian guy asked a cab driver to take him through West Belfast to show him the sites following the then recent (and second) ceasefire between the IRA and the Protestants / British. This sparked a business idea and around 14 taxi drivers of the time, living in West Belfast, commenced tours of the area. Harry is one of six remaining original Black Cab Taxi Tour drivers.

Surprisingly, the walled area of West Belfast is only metres from the city centre I was walking the day before. The massive walls separating the Catholics and Protestants still exist and are in use today. There are numerous gates that open and close in the morning and evening automatically, separating the areas. The houses around Bombay Street (which was burnt to the ground in 1969) still has caged backyards to prevent bombs being thrown directly into the houses. There is still a slightly eerie feel about the place. Only last week a bomb went off and last night in East Belfast there was apparently a little trouble motivated by religion. 

It is still very raw and flare-ups continue to arise. Harry was nonetheless very optimistic about the future. Progress made in the last few years has convinced him that the walls will eventually come down (some drivers say they never will). He is predicting in around 20 years (down from 35 years a few years ago), so perhaps not his life time.

A few snaps from the tour, including Sinn Fein (the Provisional IRA's political headquarters), the mural wall, murals on houses and masses of pallets waiting to be burned on the 12th of July to remember The Battle of Boyne in 1690 (the battle between the Catholic King James and the Protestant King William, which William obviously won).

One part of the wall only a few hundred metres from the city centre.

One of the political prisoners who refused to wear prison clothing. On the side of Sinn Fein, the IRA's political headquarters.

Plaque on the front of Sinn Fein 

  

Plaque on the front of Sinn Fein

The following are photos of the various murals on the famous mural wall (which change from time to time).

Bombay Street mural and memorial (note the huge fence in the background - about 60 feet high).

Bombay street, bordering the fence line.

Pallets being stacked in preparation for the 12th of July celebrations. There are many of these throughout the city - all will be burned. Think I've found thousands of Bramble's lost pallets (the blue ones)!

A well known picture of a UFF Member - similar to the Mona Lisa, the rifle seems to follow you as you walk past it.

After the tour had finished, on the way back, Harry was asking me where in Australia I lived. He asked whether I had heard of George Neegus? I said yes and that he lived in the same suburb. Anyway, two years ago a film crew from Australia came to Belfast and called Harry up and asked whether they could hire him out for three days. He agreed and turns out George was a top bloke. So next time I see George, I have been told to ask him whether he remembers Harry from Belfast.

1st July, 2012