The Falls Road (Bóthar na bhFál in Irish, meaning "road of the hedgerows") is the main road through West Belfast in Northern Ireland; from Divis Street and Castle Place in Belfast City Centre to Andersonstown in the suburbs. Its name is synonymous with the Catholic and republican communities in the city. It is easily known as one of the more famous streets in Northern Ireland, drawing many tourists all year round. The neighbouring Shankill Road is predominantly Protestant, separated from the Falls Road by peace lines. As implied by the usage of the term in this article, the road is usually referred to as The Falls Road, rather than as Falls Road. West Belfast is a Parliamentary Constituency in the House of Commons and also an Assembly constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly. ... Northern Ireland (Irish: ) is a part of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... Belfast City Centre is the main commercial and business district in Belfast, the capital city of Northern Ireland. ... Andersonstown is a large suburb in west Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. ... Fianna Fáil - The Republican Party (Pronounced fee-na fall.) (English: Soldiers of Destiny) is the largest political party in the Republic of Ireland. ... Shankill is an area in Belfast, Northern Ireland. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... Peace line in west Belfast. ...

History

As its name implies, the Falls Road was originally a country lane leading from the city centre but the population of the area expanded rapidly in the nineteenth century with the construction of several large linen mills. All of these have now closed. The housing in the area developed in the nineteenth century and was organised in narrow steets of small terraced back-to-back housing. By the 1960s the buildings in the area had decayed considerably and the Belfast Corporation introduced a major development plan which involved wholescale demolition of much of the area and its replacement with a series of flat complexes. The high point of this redevelopment was Divis Tower. Torn linen cloth, recovered from the Dead Sea Linen is a material made from the fibers of the flax plant. ... This article is about the city in Northern Ireland. ... Divis Tower is a 61 metre (200. ...

Politics

Bobby Sands mural on the Falls Road

As a predominantly working class community, the Falls Road has historically had a strong socialist tradition. James Connolly, the Irish socialist resided in the Upper Falls for a period in the early 20th century and was involved in organizing the workers in the linen mills. Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Robert Gerard Sands (Irish: [1][2]), commonly known as Bobby Sands, (9 March 1954 – 5 May 1981), was a Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteer who died on hunger strike whilst in HM Prison Maze (also known as Long Kesh) for the possession of firearms. ... Socialism is a social and economic system (or the political philosophy advocating such a system) in which the economic means of production are owned and controlled collectively by the people. ... James Connolly (Irish: ; June 5, 1868 – May 12, 1916) was an Irish socialist leader. ...

In 1964 Billy McMillen stood as a Republican candidate for the Belfast West constituency in the Westminster election. His office was in Divis Street and displayed the Irish tricolour alongside the Starry Plough of James Connolly's Irish Citizen Army in the office window. This public display of the flag of th Republic of Ireland was prohibited by the Northern Ireland government at that time. Protestant preacher Ian Paisley insisted the police order the removal of the flag, or he would instigate rioting. The police were reluctant to do so, due to the fear of unrest from the nationalist community, but complied with Mr Paisley's insistence for fear of a larger backlash from the loyalist community. This is sometimes considered the start of The Troubles. Billy McMillen was an Irish Republican activist and an officer within the Official Irish Republican Army. ... For pre-Arthur Griffith use of the political name, see Sinn Féin (19th century). ... Creation 1922 MP Gerry Adams Party Sinn Féin Type House of Commons Districts Belfast, Lisburn EP constituency Northern Ireland Belfast West is a Parliamentary Constituency in the House of Commons and also an Assembly constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly. ... Westminster is a district within the City of Westminster in London. ... The national flag of the Ireland (Irish: An Bhratach Náisiúnta), also known as the tricolour,[1] is a vertical tricolour of green (at the hoist), white, and orange. ... The original Starry Plough banner. ... The Irish Citizen Army`s Starry Plough banner. ... Ian Richard Kyle Paisley (born 6 April 1926), styled The Revd and Rt Hon. ... For other uses, see Troubles (disambiguation) and Trouble. ...

In the 1960s there were attempts by the Northern Ireland Stormont government to introduce more cordial relations with the government of the Republic of Ireland. This led to substantial disquiet among loyalist politicians. In addition, residents of the Falls Road and other Catholic areas of Northern Ireland began to campaign for civil rights including an end to political discrimination. The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ...

In response to the Northern Ireland riots of August 1969, when several streets around the Falls were burned out by loyalists, the British government introduced British troops onto the Falls Road. The troops were initially welcomed by the residents of the Falls Road as a source of protection. The community of the Falls had come under assault by Protestant gangs. However, this attitude on the part of residents quickly turned to anger as they were drawn into conflct with the British Army. In 1970, the road was the scene of what became known as the Falls Curfew. In response to a gun and grenade attack by the Provisional IRA, the British army, using 3000 troops, sealed off the streets around the road, home to about 10,000 people, and flooded the area with soldiers in an attempt to recover IRA weapons. After an all day gun battle (predominantly with the Official IRA), ninety rifles were recovered and four civilians were killed by the soldiers. This event is widely regarded as the end of the British army's "honeymoon" period with nationalists in Northern Ireland. For the following thirty years the British Army and maintained a substantial presence on the Falls Road, with a base on top of the Divis Tower. This was removed in August 2005 as part of the British government's Normalisation programme following the IRA's statement that it was ending its armed activities. In the intervening period, the Falls Road area some much of the worst violence of the Troubles. From August 13-17 1969, Northern Ireland was rocked by intensive sectarian rioting. ... The Falls Curfew, also known as the Lower Falls Curfew or sometimes as the Rape of the Lower Falls, was a British Army operation on the Falls Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland between 3 July and 5 July 1970. ... The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) is a paramilitary group which aimed, through the use of violence, to achieve three goals: (i) British withdrawal from Ireland, (ii) the political unification of Ireland through the merger of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland , and (iii) the creation of an all... The term Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA refers to one of the two organisations - the other being the Provisional Irish Republican Army - that emerged from the split in the then Irish Republican Army in 1969-70. ... The United Kingdom is a unitary state and a democratic constitutional monarchy. ... The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Irish: Óglaigh na hÉireann) (IRA; also referred to as the PIRA, the Provos, or by some of its supporters as the Army or the RA.[2]) is an Irish Republican, left wing[3] paramilitary organisation that, until the Belfast Agreement, sought to end Northern... For other uses, see Troubles (disambiguation) and Trouble. ...

Culture

Frederick Douglass mural on the 'Solidarity Wall'

The area has a rich and vibrant culture. Over the past thirty years there has been a susbtantial revival of traditional culture in terms of Irish language, dancing and music. These are all displayed in the Féile an Phobail, which is an annual festival that aims to rival the Belfast Festival at Queen's. The road is also home to the Cultúrlann, an Irish cultural centre. In recent times the area has become a tourist destination, with people wanting to see the site of some of the incidents that occurred during The Troubles and the many Republican murals that are now to be seen in the area. A popular destination is the Sinn Féin shop and office with its mural of hunger striker Bobby Sands, which is often used by Sinn Féin politicians as a backdrop when giving television interviews. Another popular destination is the 'solidarity wall', which features murals mainly dedicated to peoples/revolutionaries inspired by or with connections to Irish Republicanism (the Blanketmen, Palestinians, ETA, Frederick Douglass and so on) and is located close to the newly refurbished Falls Road Leisure Centre and the Divis area. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 2433 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Frederick Douglass User talk:Cordless Larry Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 2433 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Frederick Douglass User talk:Cordless Larry Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the... Frederick Douglass, ca. ... Féile an Phobail is an annual festival of Irish and International culture that takes place in and around the Falls Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland. ... The logo of the Belfast Festival at Queens 2005 The Belfast Festival at Queens is a yearly arts festival held in Belfast, Northern Ireland. ... For other uses, see Troubles (disambiguation) and Trouble. ... A mural is a painting on a wall, ceiling, or other large permanent surface. ... For pre-Arthur Griffith use of the political name, see Sinn Féin (19th century). ... A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt or to achieve a goal such as a policy change. ... Robert Gerard Sands (Irish: [1][2]), commonly known as Bobby Sands, (9 March 1954 – 5 May 1981), was a Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteer who died on hunger strike whilst in HM Prison Maze (also known as Long Kesh) for the possession of firearms. ... The blanket protest was part of a dispute involving Provisional IRA and Irish National Liberation Army prisoners held in the Maze prison (Long Kesh) in Northern Ireland. ... The Palestinian flag, adopted in 1948, is a widely recognized modern symbol of the Palestinian people. ... For other uses, see ETA (disambiguation). ... Frederick Douglass, ca. ...

Educational institutions and hospitals

Several large educational institutions are also located in the area. These include St. Dominic's High School, St Rose's High School, St Mary's University College, Irish language secondary school Coláiste Feirste and St. Louise's Comprehensive College, one of the largest comprehensives in Europe. There were also several primary schools including St Finian's Primary School and St. Catherine's Primary School but these latter closed due to falling student numbers while St. Catherines merged with St. John's Girls and St. Gall's Boys to form St. Clares in September 2005 . St Marys CBGS Belfast was originally located in Barrack Street off Divis Street in the lower Falls area but transferred to a greenfield site on the Glen Road in the upper Falls area in the 1960s. St Dominics Grammar School for Girls was founded in 1870 by the Dominican Order at their Convent on the Falls Road in West Belfast. ... St Marys University College is a university college of Queens University, Belfast and was established in 1985, but can directly trace its existence to 1900 and the foundation of St Marys Training College. ... Coláiste Feirste is the largest second level Irish medium school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. ... St. ... St. ... Glen Road is an electoral ward of West Belfast. ...

There are also several large hospitals in the area including the Royal Victoria Hospital, the Royal Maternity and the Children's Hospital. The Royal Victoria Hospital (commonly known as The Royal or the RVH) is a hospital in Belfast, Northern Ireland. ...

Notable buildings

Although the area is largely residential there are several substantial buildings. These include several Catholic churches such as St. Peter's Cathedral in the Divis Street/Lower Falls area, St. Paul's Church in the mid-Falls area and St. John's Church in the Upper Falls. Nearby is located Clonard monastery, the home of the Redemptorist religious order. Two large cemeteries are located at the top of the Falls Road - Belfast City Cemetery and Milltown Cemetery. The most famous of the original Mill Buildings is Conway Mill, originally a flax spinning mill, it now houses a community enterprise of small businesses, art studios, retail space and education floor. The Dunlewey Centre (Belfast Metropolitan College) is a Community Education Centre in the heart of the lower Falls. St. ... This article is about the 19th century monastery in Belfast. ... The Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Latin: Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris) is a Roman Catholic order founded in 1732 by Saint Alphonsus Liguori. ... Belfast City Cemetery is a cemetery in Belfast, Northern Ireland. ... Milltown Cemetery is a graveyard in Belfast, Ireland. ...

References

External Links

• Fáilte Feirste Thiar
• Féile an Phobail
• Cultúrlann
• Raidió Fáilte 107.1 FM