Schmap Belfast Historical Background

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Belfast - Historical Background
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Belfast Home
Schmap Belfast guide and map

Belfast is a Janus-faced city, shaped by both Irish Catholic and Scots/English Protestant heritages and situated on the cultural and political interface between Ireland and Britain. Its history is punctuated with civil unrest, great poverty, revolutionary fervour, several industrial world records and, in spite of everything, an enduring spirit of optimism and renewal.

Béal Feirsde (“the mouth of the crossing”) was first mentioned in 666AD as the site of a battle between Ireland's ancient peoples. It remained true to its name – a simple crossing point over an insignificant river – until the Norman invasion of Ulster in 1177. After laying the foundations of Carrickfergus Castle, the Norman leader John de Courcy built a smaller Norman fort at the mouth of the River Lagan in 1178. And so Belfast was born as a permanent settlement.

From 1600 to 1800

Out of all the chiefs of Ireland the fierce Celtic warriors of Ulster proved the hardest to subdue. It is an irony underpinning Ulster's history that it was targeted for plantation by James I in order to curb its rebellious spirit. By 1611 the policy of appropriating Catholic lands and “planting” lowland Scots and English settlers was well underway. Over the next century 200,000 Scots Presbyterians poured into the Province and Ulster's distinctive, predominantly Protestant culture was formed.

In 1690 the Protestant King William of Orange defeated the English Catholic monarch James II at the Battle of the Boyne and took over the English throne. When King William entered Belfast, enormous bonfires were burned in his honour - a tradition that remains to this day in the form of the 12th July celebrations.

Industrial Belfast

Ireland's parliament in Dublin was dissolved under the Act of Union in 1801. With ties between Belfast and mainland Britain now stronger than ever, the stage was set for the city's meteoric industrialisation. As cotton manufacture took off in British cities, Belfast initially followed suit; but when it was discovered that soaked flax could also be spun by power looms in 1828, cotton manufacture was exchanged for the production of linen. Linen had been the main cottage industry in Ulster throughout the 18th century. Over 70,000 worked in linen mills at the end of the 19th century - mostly women and children in pitiful conditions.

In 1853 Belfast's second industry was born when construction began on the Harland & Wolff shipyard. In 1870 a contract for the White Star Line was secured, and Belfast began producing the sleekest, biggest, fastest and most technically advanced ocean liners in the world. The most famous of these ships was the “unsinkable” Titanic, which sank on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York in 1912.

The Early Twentieth Century

Over 5,500 Ulstermen were dead or wounded in the Battle of the Somme (1916), a wound which still runs deep in Ulster consciousness. The Easter Rebellion in Dublin of the same year led to a landslide victory in the 1918 General Election for Sinn Féin and by 1920 it was clear that Ireland would have to be given substantial independence from Britain. Ulster remained problematic and a solution was brokered in 1921 when Northern Ireland was created as a separate state under Britain while the South became the Irish Free State and later the Republic of Ireland. Belfast was declared the regional capital of the new six-county country, which it remains to the present day.

Troubles

From the foundation of Northern Ireland until the 1960s, the Unionist-dominated Northern Ireland Parliament at Stormont systematically ignored the rights of the nationalist minority. Inspired by the Civil Rights movement in America, the first generation of university-educated Catholics initiated their own Civil Rights movement in the late 1960s. The situation was catapulted into uncontrollable unrest when Civil Rights protestors were shot by the British Army in Derry on "Bloody Sunday". Stormont was dissolved in 1972 and once again rule was from Westminster. British troops were stationed in the Province and Catholics and Protestants formed themselves into hostile paramilitaries. The “Troubles” became Europe's longest running conflict. Belfast witnessed many explosions and assassinations. The city centre was entirely cordoned off while war-torn images made the city infamous around the world.

Peace

An I.R.A ceasefire was followed by a Loyalist ceasefire in 1994-5. Representatives from the British and Irish governments, as well as the heads of most local parties, brought about the "Good Friday" or "Belfast" Agreement of 1998. For a city once immortalised by the lines: Let's bury the future and live in the past/May the Lord in his mercy be kind to Belfast, Belfast is finally displaying a capacity to move beyond the confines of its own turbulent history.

Belfast Today

The coalition between moderate Unionism and moderate Nationalism is, inevitably for two groups of politicians with opposite aspirations, showing signs of strain. Despite declared ceasefires, so-called “punishment beatings” continue unabated, perpetrated by mafia-like gang members on both sides of the paramilitary divide. For the Loyalist paramilitaries, the political ceasefires have led to an intensification of internecine warfare, as rival groups fight for supremacy of staunchly Protestant areas of the city, such as the Shankill Road. Every July Northern Ireland braces itself for the Drumcree protest, which has consistently spilled over into Province-wide rioting and mayhem, with cars and buses hijacked and burned, and all major roads blocked. If you've planned your visit to Northern Ireland for July, you may wish to reschedule. Life tends to return to normal after the 12th July, although rioting can begin as early as the first week of the month.

There is a continued threat from Dissident Republicans also, groups such as the Continuity I.R.A. and the Real I.R.A. – the latter group being responsible for the carnage of the Omagh bombing in 1998. It is worth bearing in mind that the peace process is not welcomed by groups of disaffected individuals on either side of the divide here, and that their capacity to wreck havoc and destructions remains serious.

Nevertheless, the prosperous signs of peace surround you in today's Belfast. Formerly comprising a slight trickle of the brave, the foolish or the ideologically committed, tourism in Northern Ireland has expanded since the ceasefires into a major source of revenue and civic pride. New bars and restaurants are opening in Belfast on a weekly basis. There are many prestigious festivals. The Cathedral Quarter – Belfast's answer to Dublin's Temple Bar – is booming, introducing us and our visitors to the exotica of Japanese noodle bars and upmarket drinking establishments, such as the John Hewitt. Our coffee is also immeasurably better.

To witness this new-city-within-the-city, check out the Waterfront area – once an industrially depressed backwater (literally), beside a murky river Lagan, transformed by peacetime investment into the city's most glamorous skyline. At night lights from the Waterfront Hall and the ginormous Odyssey Arena – Ireland's largest entertainment complex – sparkle across the blue, flood-lit lagoon. Belfast is still poised between a brighter future and a nightmarish past, but the city seems too changed by peace to slide back, whatever the effects of political wavering and sporadic paramilitary activity may be. If you're interested in seeing cities in transformation, now would be a good time to visit.

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Ba Soba

Asian Noodle Bar

38 Hill Street
Belfast BT1 2LB
United Kingdom
+44 28 9058 6868

This Japanese-style noodle bar is a first for Belfast and a great venue for a night out with your friends. Sleek décor and stylish unisex toilets demand your admiration while long benches urge sociability with fellow diners. The menu is drawn from all over South East Asia: curries from Malaysia, Burma and Thailand complement this restaurant's staple orientation - the Japanese noodle experience. Soba (buckwheat), Udon (rice, thick), and Ramen (wheat, thin), are the three species of noodle served, in a variety of delicious meats, vegetables and sauces, while Udon and egg noodles can also be served as sides. (The rice is sticky deliberately - it's not the chef's fault!) Ba Soba is fully licensed and serves a variety of raw juices, Asian beers and teas.

Review © 2007, Wcities

Carrickfergus Castle

Impressive Norman Structure Marine Highway
Carrickfergus
Belfast BT38 7BG
United Kingdom
+44 28 9335 1273
http://www.ehsni.gov.uk/places... Carrickfergus Castle was built by John de Courcy after the Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century. The walls are a metre thick with several impressive defence features: arrow slits, twin portcullises and a "murder hole" for raining boiling tar down on stranded enemies below. The centre of the castle is the Keep, in which exhibitions divulge intimate details of medieval life, such as the contents of those huge feast and dress. A room is laid out as a banqueting hall, where you can come and party as a private group. On the top floor there's an enormous chessboard and a chest of medieval clothes you can even try on while you play. A cafe and gift shop complete the tour.

Review © 2007, Wcities

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John Hewitt

Traditional Irish Pub 51 Donegall Street
Belfast BT1 2FH
United Kingdom
+44 28 9023 3768
http://www.thejohnhewitt.com/ Recently opened in the Cathedral Quarter, the John Hewitt Bar is the latest pull for the discerning Belfast punter and is hugely popular. Try out their wonderful gourmet lunches, their evenings of live traditional music, their acclaimed jazz sessions, or just come to pull on a pint and admire the fine examples of paintings by renowned Irish artists that complement the tasteful décor. Named after the Belfast poet and socialist, John Hewitt, this bar is owned by the centre for the unemployed next door. Interesting conversation is guaranteed.

Review © 2007, Wcities

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Odyssey

Huge Entertainment Complex 2 Queen's Quay
Belfast
Belfast BT3 9QQ
United Kingdom
+44 28 9045 1055
http://www.theodyssey.co.uk/ The Odyssey is one of the largest entertainment complexes in the world. Bill Clinton recently addressed thousands here and the venue was specially chosen to highlight the wealth of investment Northern Ireland is currently enjoying as a result of the ceasefires. There are four components to the enormous building. An indoor arena with a seating capacity of 10,000 plays host to concerts and also contains an ice hockey rink. The science centre, W5, is an interactive exploration of our physical universe - a great place to bring the kids. An Imax screen theatre offers a - literally - all-encompassing cinematic experience. Finally the Pavillion area covering 12,000 square metres contains hundreds of shops, cafes and restaurants. Not to be missed.

Review © 2007, Wcities

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Somme Heritage Centre

Ulster's Most Remembered Battle 233 Bangor Road
Belfast, Co. Down BT23 7PH
United Kingdom
+44 28 9182 3202
http://www.irishsoldier.org/ The Battle of the Somme in 1916 was the worst military disaster the British Empire had ever suffered. Waves of soldiers were ordered "over the top" by their commanding officers only to be shot to pieces by German rifle fire. Losses for Ulster regiments were particularly high: nearly 6,000 Ulstermen were killed or wounded in this protracted battle, and the Somme is a wound that runs deep in Ulster consciousness. Visit the Somme Heritage Museum where trench life and the conditions of battle have been eerily recreated. Audio-visual displays encompass the story of Ireland's contribution to the First World War, as well as the unfolding of this horrendous battle in painstaking detail.

Review © 2007, Wcities

Stormont Castle

Symbolic Landmark Upper Newtownards Road
Belfast BT4 3SD
United Kingdom
+44 28 9052 0100 This neo-classical palatial structure built between 1928 and 1932 was designed to house the Parliament for Northern Ireland after the partition of Ireland into North and South in 1922. Set in its own extensive grounds, the main building stands at the end of a majestic avenue, one mile long. This is a building weighted with the full gravitas of government, and with the heavy history of the region and peoples to whom it is responsible. Dissolution of Stormont as the seat of Northern Ireland's Parliament has always marked periods of political unrest. The Northern Ireland Assembly is currently up and running, however, and people here and all over the world are anxious that it continues to be so.

Review © 2007, Wcities

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Waterfront Hall

Jewel of Laganside Redevelopment 2 Lanyon Place
Belfast BT1 3WH
United Kingdom
+44 28 9033 4400
http://www.waterfront.co.uk This dazzling building on the banks of the Lagan is the original signature building of the Laganside redevelopment and one of the architectural stars of the city. The superb auditorium, which has a capacity of 2,235, has witnessed concerts from all walks of life: from Jesus Christ Superstar to Robbie Williams (superstar), from opera, ballet and classical music through to pantomime and stand-up comedy. This thoroughly modern complex features handsome bars and restaurants with fine views of the surrounding area, as well as the NTL Studio, a smaller auditorium with a capacity of 400.

Review © 2007, Wcities

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