Of the new now: Reimagining the Peace Wall in Belfast

Peace walls are a series of border barriers in Belfast which were built as temporary structures to separate Irish and British neighbourhoods. The initial purpose of these were to minimise inter-communal violence between Catholics (most of whom are nationalists who self-identify as Irish) and Protestants (most of whom are unionists who self-identify as British). In 2013 the Northern Ireland Executive committed to the removal of all peace lines by mutual consent by 2023. Falls and the Shankill border is a line where two mostly residential areas meet at the formal municipal border. Historically it is located on the river Farset which naturally created a division between two neighbourhoods. Visually it is marked by a Peace Line, a 13.5 meter high wall which was built as a temporary structure in 1969, but still stands tall. The two sides of the border of Falls and the Shankill - two sides of the wall, two different identities, two religions, two sides of the monument. Falls houses are predominantly working class Catholic, republican and self-identifies as Irish. The Shankill houses are also working class but Protestant, mostly unionist and self-identifies as British. Falls holds parades and summer marches, Irish flags hanging on corners of houses, streets signs written in Irish. The Shankill has July 12th bonfires and July parades to celebrate the victory of protestant armies several hundred years ago, it has British flags raising high. In this context, the central issues addressed in this research are the ethno - nationalist segregation and the expression of identity in a territory in Belfast through creation of clear and visible borders. Countering the existing state of the border as a monument of control and division, I reimagine it as “a space of possibilities”. Derelict lands that mark the border, consequences of conflict and reckless urban development serve as places where both sides can meet. Through this intervention the aim is to translate “No man’s land” into a “thirdspace” or a “space of otherness”.publicationstatus: publishedstatus: publishe