Peace lines

This article is about peace lines in Northern Ireland. For the Syngman Rhee Line, also known as the 'peace line', see Syngman Rhee Line.

An 18-foot-high (5.5 m) barrier along Springmartin Road in Belfast, with a fortified police station at one end

The barrier along Cupar Way in Belfast, seen from the Protestant side

The barrier at Bombay Street/Cupar Way in Belfast, seen from the Catholic side. The small back gardens of houses are protected by cages as missiles are sometimes thrown from the other side

Gates in a peace line in West Belfast

The peace lines or peace walls are a series of separation barriers in Northern Ireland that separate Catholic and Protestant neighbourhoods. They have been built at urban interface areas in Belfast, Derry, Portadown and elsewhere. The stated purpose of the barriers is to minimize inter-communal violence between Catholics (who are mainly nationalists that self-identify as Irish) and Protestants (who are mainly unionists that self-identify as British).

The barriers range in length from a few hundred yards to over three miles (5 km). They may be made of iron, brick, and/or steel and are up to 25 feet (7.6 m) high. Some have gates in them (sometimes staffed by police) that allow passage during daylight but are closed at night.

The first barriers were built in 1969, following the outbreak of the 1969 Northern Ireland riots and "The Troubles". They were built as temporary structures meant to last only six months, but due to their effective nature they have become more permanent, wider and longer. Originally few in number, they have multiplied over the years, from 18 in the early 1990s to 40 today; in total they stretch over 13 miles (21 km). Most are located in Belfast.

In recent years they have become locations for tourism. Black taxis now take groups of tourists around Belfast's Peace Lines, trouble spots and famous murals.

The most prominent barriers in the past few years separate: the nationalist Falls Road and unionist Shankill Road areas of West Belfast; the Catholic Short Strand from the Protestant Cluan Place areas of East Belfast; and the Protestant Fountain estate and Catholic Bishop Street area of London/Derry.

In 2008 a public discussion began about how and when the barriers could be removed. Many of the residents who live in the communities beside the peace lines have expressed their anger at any suggestion that they will be taken down.^{[citation needed]} On 1st September 2011 Belfast City Council agreed to develop a strategy regarding the removal of peace walls. At the end of 2011 several local community initiatives resulted in several interface structures being opened for a trial period. In January 2012, the International Fund for Ireland launched a Peace Walls funding programme to support local communities who want to work towards beginning to remove the peace walls.

See also

• Interface area
• Segregation in Northern Ireland

Further reading

• Paul Brown (4 February 2002). "Peace but no love as Northern Ireland divide grows ever wider". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Northern_Ireland/Story/0,2763,627494,00.html. Retrieved 2010-02-06. 
• Margrethe C. Lauber. "Belfast's Peacelines: An Analysis of Urban Borders, Design and Social Space in a Divided City". mspacenyc.com. http://www.mspacenyc.com/belfast.home.html. Retrieved 2010-02-06. 
• Tony Macaulay (July 2008). "A discussion paper proposing a five phase process for the removal of ‘peace walls’ in Northern Ireland". Macaulay Associates. http://www.macaulayassociates.co.uk/pdfs/peace_wall.pdf. Retrieved 2010-02-06. 
• Shawn Pogatchnik (3 May 2008). "Despite peace, Belfast walls are growing in size and number". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2008-05-03-1826820552_x.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-06. 

External links

• Peace Lines
• Ethnic Interface in North Belfast
• Forty years of peace lines (BBC News web page detailing the various peace lines across Northern Ireland as of mid-2009)