A short while ago I wrote about the Irish ‘Troubles’ in a blog. Below are a few reminders of that tragic period. 😥

The history of cultural conflict hiding as religious disputes is found in the art that is present throughout the city of Belfast. This mural of Bobby Sands commemorates his martyrdom in a British prison. His hunger strike in the early 1980s ended in his death after 70 days. Nine others followed his example.

The Catholic population of Northern Ireland has felt like an oppressed people ruled by another. There murals speak to the causes thay associate with around the world … the Palestinian and Cuban people

Some of the art you find in Belfast attempts to portray the joy they feel in their sport and their culture, despite their troubles.

The harshest reminders of the ‘Troubles’ is found in the walls that still separate the Protestant and Catholic communities. These walls are high, very imposing, and run for some 20 plus miles. At night, gates are still closed at 9 PM to prevent crossing across communities

The base of the walls are often quite beautiful, belying their tragic purposes. It is as if bright colors and dazzling design can obscure the hate and division symbolized by these attempts to separate people from one another.

If you look closely, the art contains messages of hope and peace penned by many who come to this tragic place as a kind of shrine to insanity. The desperate desire for peace is not easily quenched.

The Europa Hotel, a place frequented by those seen as oppressors, was bombed some 30 times during the ‘Troubles.’

I found out on this journey that the Catholic population recently emerged as a majority in the north for the first time. There has been peace since 1998 but no real reconciliation. The Protestant community feels they are losing their privileged position and, feeling threatened, are not happy. As we toured outside Belfast, it is apparent that smaller communities are divided by these ancient religious animosities, and have been for some time. You can tell their affiliation by the flags you see flying … either the ‘bloody hand’ or the tricolor Irish banner.

There is a sense of unease in the land.