There’s never any guarantee’s, but we should be fine. There hasnt been any trouble in a while, and June is usually when it stirs up a bit, not May.
… reassuring words from a man who grew up in Belfast at a very very difficult time and who now takes tourists on tours of the area in his black taxi. The words casually leave his mouth as we drive down what is historically one of the most violent and troublesome streets in Belfast – The Falls Road.
I love a tour. Yeah its a touristy thing to do, but whilst walking around a new city on my tod is fun, I usually have few ideas about the history of the area or what to look out for. Thats why I like the odd guided tour, i learn things, plus they also give me something to write about on this here site.
The Black Taxi tour my friends and I took whilst visiting Belfast on our Roadtrip around Ireland is definietly in the top 3 city tours i’ve ever taken! £10 for an hour and a half for a group consisting of 4 people, bargain (I believe it costs £15 each if there’s less than 4 in your group)! Some of the stories we were told on the tour were pretty gruesome and shocking, although slightly one sided. That said, it was interesting to hear stories of what happened from someone other than the BBC who obviously took the side of the Bristish Army. The tour revolved around the Falls Road, Shankill Road and Bombay Street areas. We visited countless murals, drove past the Divis flats where the British army operated from on the roof. We stood either side of the peaceline wall and went inside the memorial to the innocent on Bombay Street.
View Belfast in a larger map
Map Key:
Red Line - Falls Road Red Marker – Old Sinn Féin Headquaters
Blue Line - Shankill Road Blue Marker – Divis Flats
Green Line - Bombay Street
Purple Line - Peace wall, Cuper Way
Useful Links
If you’d like to know more about the black taxi tours of Belfast feel free to take a look at the external links below, otherwise have a scan through some of my photos or my video.
6 part series detailing a Belfast Black Taxi tour
Large gallery of Belfast murals and what they represent
Belfast Black Taxi Tour photos
Our Taxi on the Falls Road
Divis Flats on the Falls Road – Home to British Army base on the roof
Falls Road murals
Falls Road murals
Old Sinn Féin Headquaters. Bobby Sands – was an Irish volunteer of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and member of the British Parliament who died on hunger strike while imprisoned in HM Prison Maze
Outside the Old Sinn Féin Headquaters
Directly opposite Old Sinn Féin Headquaters
The church where secret peace talks took place
Memorial to the inocent, Bombay Street
Memorial to the inocent, Bombay Street
Bombay Street
Memorial to the inocent and peaceline wall (nationalist side)
Peace Line wall from the opposite side
Titanic mural
This mural commemorates the importance of the army/other defence groups throughout the history of the Shankill.
UVF – Ulster Volunteer Force, blamed for the killing of Lt Jackie Coulter (below)
1960 Battle of the Boyne. Won by King William and ultimately helped ensure the continuation of Protestant supremacy in Ireland
Lt Jackie Coulter mural on Shankill estate – UDA (Ulster Defence Association) member
