Is East Belfast safe?
East Belfast is a predominantly unionist, working-class district that suffers from the same social problems as similar areas in other cities in Britain and Ireland. The Newtownards Road is generally safe and well lit at night. One potential flashpoint is the interface with the nationalist Short Strand neighbourhood.
Is East Belfast Catholic or Protestant?
For many years, the Catholic population expanded to the southwest, but in recent years it has started expanding around the Shankill and into north Belfast. The east of the city is predominantly Protestant, typically 90% or more.
What were the two sides of the conflict known as the Troubles in Northern Ireland?
“The Troubles” refers to the three-decade conflict between nationalists (mainly self-identified as Irish or Roman Catholic) and unionists (mainly self-identified as British or Protestant). The word “troubles” has been used as a synonym for violent conflict for centuries.
What is East Belfast known for?
East Belfast has a rich industrial heritage. Alongside linen production, ropemaking and weaving, shipbuilding is one of the key industries associated with its history. Shipbuilding began in 1791 and the Harland & Wolff shipyard, founded by Edward J Harland and Gustave Wolff, started work in 1862.
Is Shankill Catholic?
As a defined road, the Shankill dates to the 16th century when it formed part of the main road to Antrim. This area, though, was dominated by an Irish Catholic population, while the Shankill remained Protestant and Unionist.
Is Northern Ireland mostly Catholic or Protestant?
Like Great Britain (but unlike most of the Republic of Ireland), Northern Ireland has a plurality of Protestants (48% of the resident population are either Protestant, or brought up Protestant, while 45% of the resident population are either Catholic, or brought up Catholic, according to the 2011 census) and its people …
Why is there trouble in Belfast?
Unionist leaders have linked the violence to simmering loyalist tensions over the Irish Sea border imposed as a result of the UK-EU Brexit deal. The new trading border is the result of the Northern Ireland Protocol, introduced to avoid the need for a hard border on the island of Ireland.
Is Belfast bigger than Dublin?
Belfast is a lot smaller than Dublin, with a population of around 300,000 against Dublin city’s almost 600,000. A walk from Belfast’s trendy Cathedral Quarter into its hustling city centre takes only 15 minutes.
What food is Belfast famous for?
Irish Cuisine in Belfast
- Ulster Fry. Start your day with a taste of Ireland!
- Boxty. A boxty is a traditional Irish potato pancake made with grated and mashed potato, flour, buttermilk and baking soda.
- Belfast Bap.
- Irish Coffee.
- Oysters.
What was life like in Belfast during the troubles?
Children play in the streets of Belfast, a divided city in the aftermath of intense sectarian rioting in 1969. 2. A distressed resident says “they’re going out and fighting now for a lot of things that I think are a lot of nonsense”.
When did the troubles start in Northern Ireland?
It is Belfast in the summer of 1969. There is unrest, unease, rioting, but the hostilities we now call the Troubles have not begun. The Troubles are something which took place a long time ago, between 1916 and 1922.
Why was the IRA a problem in Belfast?
“You felt that the big problem was the IRA, and you felt you were doing your bit to try to defeat them, albeit not very successfully. But you weren’t like a policeman at Andersonstown, you were like a paramilitary policeman. Rather than upholding the law of the land, you were very much a military police service.
How much of Northern Ireland’s Troubles are caused by religious hatred?
Our narrator poses a provocative question: “how much of Northern Ireland’s troubles today are caused by religious hatred, and how much by the squalor and deprivation which so many of Ulster’s citizens, both Catholic and Protestant, live in?” 4.