SquaresRenew 10: conflicting stories
I said at the beginning of this series that I didn’t want to get into the politics of Northern Ireland, but sometimes it is hard to avoid. We went on a walking tour called Conflicting Stories in which we were taken up the (mainly Catholic and Republican) Falls Road and back down the (mainly Protestant and Unionist) Shankhill Road by guides from each community. The idea was to learn from their personal experiences what it was like to live through (and participate in) the Troubles. We also viewed the very different murals and memorials on each side of the divide.
I would like to say we found examples of moving forward, but they were few. Our Republican guide, an ex-political prisoner, came closest and seemed to have some hope for the future, but the Unionist came across as angry, bitter, and constantly looking to the past. (Of course, this might well have been the other way round with two different men, and most of the other people we spoke to had a much more nuanced view.)
This was definitely the day when my confidence in Northern Ireland’s renewal took the biggest battering, though there was one hopeful place that stood out that I shall include tomorrow. In the meantime, as a palate cleanser, here is a much more inclusive message that we found just before the tour’s meeting point. How the world could move forward if everyone took this to heart!
Part of Becky’s SquaresRenew Challenge, using images from our April 2024 trip to Northern Ireland to illustrate one or more of the following (with apologies for doing so in a mainly negative sense today):
- Move forward
- Reconstruct
- Renew
- Burgeoning
The Glasgow Gallivanter 
many wars were started due to religious convictions or, at least, they used it as an excuse. I like tht last photo with all the sayings
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Yes, it’s not really religion when it boils down to it. An excuse for othering.
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Somehow, I struggle to take any pride in the human race. Certain individuals, okay.
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Yes, it’s very hard sometimes. Most times!
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It is very hard for people who used to have the upper hand to come to terms with the fact that others are human too when it has been their guiding principle that the others were somehow less than human.
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I think you have hit the nail on the head. Any loss of “privilege” feels like discrimination.
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You’d think religion would unite people, but all I see is division all around the world. Your last photo sums it up well. ,
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You would think so, but everyone clings to their own variety. I don’t think it’s much to do with whichever God they follow at all in many cases! And certainly not with the gospels in which i was well versed as a child.
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I guess in some ways it is a sign of moving forward that they are not restricting what the guides say and how they say it, but so sad he wasn’t able to show more positive signs by the end. Perhaps he was just having an extra hard week.
I am glad though you have shared it, and your final square which you saw at the start is one we all need to remember
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Yes, I wanted the last square to be a counterbalance. The walk was an unusual set up, in that we had booked with one company and expected a seamless tour – probably very naive. In reality, the two parts were sub-contracted to different companies, one Republican, one Loyalist, and the emphasis very much was that they were expressing their own opinions. Reading the reviews I think what we got was pretty much what everyone else did!
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intriguing approach, but guess reflects the juggling that is continually happening to try and maintain peace
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