Your Belfast Murals Tour begins in the Shankill Road area of Belfast which is (Protestant/British), where your Black Taxi Cab driver will explain a detailed history of the area. We begin in 1690, when William of orange arrived in Ireland to defeat King James the 2nd at the famous Battle Of The Boyne. There will then be an explanation about the recent troubles, which started in 1969 and ended when the peace agreement was signed in 1998. You will go for a short walk around the area, where your black taxi driver will explain the loyalist murals Belfast has in the area and what they represent. You will have the opportunity to take your own photographs of the Belfast murals.

The peace walls were designed to separate the Catholic (Nationalist) and Protestant (Unionist) populations in Belfast. The first ‘peace lines’ were erected, following the outbreak of violence in 1969 in Northern Ireland. They were built as temporary structures, meant to last only six months. Due to their effective nature, they were built higher, longer, and made permanent and are still here today. The peace walls are adorned with art and messages of hope from tourists.

You will visit Clonard Martyrs Memorial garden in Bombay Street in the black taxi tour. Bombay Street in Belfast is where some say the modern troubles began when Catholics were burnt out of their homes. This is also where the Provisional IRA was formed. Each section of this garden will be explained in detail and the reasons it exists. The next stop on the tour will be Sinn Fein press office, which is the site of one of the most iconic Falls Road murals of the Bobby Sands mural. You will hear about the history of Bobby Sands and the Irish hunger strike in the Maze Prison in 1981.

The final stop will be the International Wall, where you will see a variety of different murals in Belfast. The murals have a general theme of ‘highlighting oppression’ – from the race riots in America in 1969 to current events in Palestine.