Newtownards Road Tour

I've been to East Belfast and described the murals in the Protestant Newtownards Road and the Catholic Short Strand. This time I got an insider's tour of the area with a local from the Upper Newtownards Road. Everywhere along within the Protestant East Belfast community you see the colors red, white and blue from the Union Jack painted on almost ever wall, telephone boxes, light poles, and even the curbs as seen above. Pride for the United Kingdom runs high along this road and it seems to gain in intensity along the border with the Short Strand.

Many of the murals in the area relate to the UVF/UDA paramilitary background in the area that "defended" the protestant community from attack by the IRA. However, there are also a number of murals relating to the tragedies of the past and the industrial history in the area. From most places in the neighborhood the H & W cranes loom large over the social housing communities where generations of working class Belfast families live. Because this area is so heavily working class, unemployment is relatively high and many shops even along the main streets have closed their doors and fallen into disrepair.

However, a community regeneration initiative called the East Belfast Partnership has begun construction of two new construction projects at the core of the community and have improved the sidewalks and public realm along a portion of the street to encourage shopping and economic activity.