ALL HAIL BELFAST

Packed with culture, shopping and history, Belfast is shrugging off its troubled past. And there’s no better way to experience it than with your very own black cab tour guide. James Bartlett reports

Belfast is changing, and that’s an understatement. From troops on the streets and barricades a mere decade ago, to being voted secondfavourite city break destination by readers of UK newspapers The Guardian and Observer last year, it’s as if a completely new city has appeared on the European map.

As I jump in a black cab, with the Belfast Wheel spinning high above, for a second I confuse the city with London. But then Richard Clark, my driver, says: “What about ye?” And I know I’m in the Northern Irish capital.

Richard works for one of the oldest cab firms offering tours of the city, Belfast Black Taxis, and has been doing his job for the past 25 years. His tours take in everything from the shipyards where RMS Titanic was built, to infamous districts and new cultural areas.

The tours are the ideal way to explore a city that still has the dubious honour of being home to the last segregating wall in Europe. Despite this ominous structure, the historic Good Friday Agreement – signed 10 years ago last month – has seen peace reign, with shopping centres, entertainment districts and boutique hotels all popping up to meet the demands of tourism.

As we drive past the City Hall, Richard points out the dome of the new Victoria Square shopping centre, explaining that the last decade has seen unprecedented progress in the city. “We had nearly 7 million tourists through Belfast last year, and sometimes we have convoys of 15–20 black taxis doing the tours. Last year, 27 cruise ships docked here, but there used to be none. When I went to see, my neck got sore looking up at all of them!”

Born and bred on the Protestant/Loyalist Shankill Road, Richard explains that before the Good Friday Agreement many Catholics and Protestants would rarely encounter each otherin this area, and would certainly not cross the wall. It has all changed today, but being a cabbie was at times a dangerous job.

“In the worst days, a gang known as The Shankill Butchers used to drive around Catholic areas in a black taxi, grabbing people off the streets,” he says. “I’ve had a few close calls over the years, but now we can drive around any neighbourhood without any trouble.”

Driving onto the Shankill, Richard stops and shows me some of the numerous gable wall murals. Many are now being painted over with more neutral social symbols, but those that remain are becoming historical relics.

Richard tells me about the two rival paramilitary groups here, the UVF and UFF, and remembers an illegal drinking club, or “shebeen”, used for kneecappings. That specific area was levelled some years ago though, and now there’s a clear view of the Crumlin Road jail.

“I sat here many a time watching Protestant prisoners rioting on the roof. I’ve seen riots and gun battles all around this area. I’ve seen things I don’t wanna see again,” says Richard.

The prison closed some years ago, and there are plans today to turn it into a hotel – another sign of the city’s evolution. Richard’s tales are sometimes dark, but it’s fascinating – perhaps even necessary – to see and understand the differences. Gone are the soldiers and roadblocks and in their place is major investment and a tremendous positive energy.

As we drive on, Richard points out a tall, red-roofed tower – the Divis Flats – the top two floors of which the British Army used to watch over the city. “They helicoptered soldiers in, as the IRA used to booby-trap the stairs and elevators. One night when I was a kid I was outside my mother’s house, and the air filled with lights – they were tracer bullets,” he says.

We reach the dividing wall separating the Catholic Falls Road from the Protestant Shankill Road. The huge gates that provide the only direct route through the barrier still close every night at 8pm, reopening only at 5am the next morning, but there are no restrictions on who can cross.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 9th, 2008 at 5:11 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.