BELFAST BLACK TAXI TOUR15 min read

BELFAST BLACK TAXI TOUR

Belfast Black Taxi Tour. I don’t get around Belfast or Northern Ireland enough due to being away a lot but when I got a message from Virginia, an old friend I met in South America we knew exactly what we were going to show her.

COURAGE OF THEIR CONVICTIONS

Apart from the Titanic, Belfast is probably most well known for the conflict called “The Troubles”. I am far from an expert but let me try and make this as simple as possible. The troubles were a conflict between 2 religious groups in Northern Ireland, the protestants who wished Northern Ireland remain as part of the U.K. and Catholics who wanted a united Ireland. The worst of it began in the 1960’s and goes onto this very day but the main conflict ended as part of an agreement between the two parties called “The Good Friday Agreement.”

WHERE IS BELFAST?

Belfast Black Taxi Tour

100,000 INJURED

A complex and brutal 40 years resulted in 4000 people being killed and 100,000 people injured, most of who were innocent bystanders who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. After so much blood a ceasefire was put in place, called the Good Friday Agreement. Although tensions do still exist today, it is certainly not the place it was.

This post is about our experience during the tour and not so much a history lesson. The history of Northern Ireland and the troubles is something I take a keen interest in and enjoy learning about.

BELFAST BLACK TAXI TOUR

We decided to contact Norman of Taxi Tours Belfast very last minute who was able to help us with a driver & guide called Robert. Robert won’t mind me saying this but he has a fairly colourful past and many eye opening anecdotes for the trip.

The tour is arranged around you; pickup time & location, duration and what you want to see so do let him know your specifics. Our tour was 90minutes long but Robert was kind enough to happily go over the agreed time. I would suggest doing at least 2-3 hours, we were a little stuck for time.

Belfast Black Taxi Tour

DIFFERENT GUIDE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE

Anyway, our driver picks you up in whatever location you have agreed and after a quick meet and greet takes you over to West Belfast for the start of the tour. Now as there are quite a few guides who do these tours they all tell it in a different way. Some came from the Nationalist area (catholic), others the Loyalist (protestant) but nearly all were brought up in the thick of it. Most got so deep they regularly done stints in prison whether it be burglary, possession of explosives and quite often murder. Hearing it from them really opens your eyes to what young kids got up to back then.

SHANKILL ROAD

We arrived at the bottom of the Shankill Road, the main loyalist area in Belfast and stopped at the first gate which also indicates the start of the peace walls. These gates are closed every night around 7 and open the following morning around 6.

From here it’s into the Shankill Estate where the infamous head of the UFF (loyalist paramilitary) lived. Johnny Adair has since been exiled and someone else has taken his place, so not safe for photos. In the harder years, the cul-de-sac would have been closed at either side and patrolled by guards to ensure his safety, now there is little need but they still remain cautious.

Belfast Black Taxi Tour

MURALS

Murals have become a part of Belfast as much as anything. Usually adorned with masked men with AK-47s and the crests of their relative paramilitaries, it’s more a show of strength and to remind though who is in charge. Although still common, more recently they have been phased out and replaced with something less intimidating, such as images of Belfast or local musicals.

ONE MAN’S HERO IS ANOTHER MAN’S TERRORIST

The image below is of Stevie “Top Gun” McKeag. He was Johnny Adair’s (Mad Dog) right hand man and as Mad Dog didn’t do the killing, Stevie did. The man was responsible for the murder of 12 people but police now believe it to be double that, others think more. Why is he commended like this? He protected the local area and his neighbours and fought against the “enemy”, and in the end he gave the ultimate sacrifice thus becoming an icon and a hero.

However it is not the locals who decide who is going on the walls but like everything else the paramilitaries control this. So truth be told most might prefer something a little softer but it’s their way of giving out a subtle reminder. Even a message to the kids for someone to look up to and if they choose a similar path they could become almost as popular.

BILL CLINTON

From here it was off to have a closer look at one of the larger parts of the wall. Here people are fit to paint murals and where tourists usually sign their name. Bill Clinton and the Dalai Lama have signed the wall here. Through to the Falls Road, this next part of the peace wall is unique as it has two sets of gates either side of a “no mans land”, due to the additional tension that surrounds this area.

FALLS ROAD

We then moved onto Bombay Street where loyalist mobs burned down every house on the street killing anyone who got in the way. This was believed to have been in retaliation which is how nearly all attacks are justified. The adjacent peace wall which is also the boundary to some of the gardens were rebuilt a year later in 1970. This was known to be one of the major incidences that signalled the beginning of the worst of the troubles.

The International Peace Wall where murals of conflicts and issues around the world are advertised

BOBBY SANDS

Our last stop was to visit the mural of Bobby Sands, one of the most famous and influential members of the republican movement. He was one of the first to take part in the hunger strike and the first to die after a staggering 66days! 9 more died as a result and at each time a replacement was elected to take their place.

Belfast Black Taxi Tour

PARAMILITIARIES THEN AND NOW

Previously the war had a real meaning for everyone and the paramilitaries were setup to take the fight to the opposition as neither side felt they could depend on the police. People wanted to be part of this and were determined to kill and live for the movement.

Although as things moved on so have the organisations. It is often said joining these organisations is no longer about maintaining the status quo and wanting change but rather for personal gain whether it be status, ego, protection or money. Drugs are big business in any city but it is how some organisations are funded and people want some of it for themselves. Previously money from protection rackets, drugs or a robbery was put back into the movement, now a lot goes into the back pockets.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I would go as far to say this is the number 1 thing you should do when in Belfast, you will no doubt have your eyes opened to what went on during the troubles. Enjoy!

I have used Taxi Tours Belfast before and couldn’t fault them. If you have somewhere to be they are happy to collect and drop you off anywhere in the city.

SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
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