Murals of the Shankill Road

Another infamous neighborhood in West Belfast lies along the Shankill Road, which lies just north of the Falls Road. This Protestant neighborhood had strong loyalist ties throughout the struggle and became a stronghold for the Ulster Volunteer Forces (UVF) and other loyalist paramilitary groups. 

Map of murals along the Shankill.

UVF mural below a billboard for the Toy Story on Ice production coming to Belfast.

As you may have seen in other photos of mine, the "Red Hand of Ulster" can be found all over Northern Ireland. The symbol of a red hand chopped off at the wrist refers to the mythical story of claim to the northernmost historic county of Ireland known as of Ulster (which comprises 9 counties based on its original outline or 6 modern counties as many use Northern Ireland and Ulster interchangeably). The story goes that since there was no heir to the land a race by sea was taken up and the first one to touch shore would take control of it. When the Irish figure Labraid Lámh Dhearg fell behind near the end of the race, he cut off his hand and threw it ashore ahead of his competitor therefore touching land first and becoming the province's king. The symbolism of the Red Hand is used as the symbol of the Ulster rugby team, at the center of the cross in the flag of Northern Ireland, but is most commonly seen on the walls within loyalist communities as you can see below.

Remaining murals primarily refer to the armed struggle taken up during the Troubles and earlier during the Irish fight for independence. Scenes of masked men taking up arms is common place in the area.

Detail of the above mural showing that the UVF would not settle for anything less than maintaining Northern Ireland's connection to the United Kingdom even if it meant an armed struggle.

This final mural was not one related to the conflict in Ireland, but instead represented "Victory in Europe" Day after the end of World War II.