Shankill Road
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The Shankill Road (from Irish Seanchill, meaning "old church"[3]) is one of the main roads leading through West Belfast, in Northern Ireland. It runs through the working-class, predominantly loyalist, area known as the Shankill.
The road stretches westwards for about 1.5 mi (2.4 km) from central Belfast and is lined, to an extent, by shops. The residents live in the many streets which branch off the main road. The area along the Shankill Road forms part of the Court district electoral area.
In
History
The first Shankill residents lived at the bottom of what is now known as Glencairn: a small settlement of ancient people inhabited a
A settlement around the point at which the Shankill Road becomes the Woodvale Road, at the junction with Cambrai Street, was known as Shankill from the
As a paved road the Shankill dates back to around the sixteenth century as at the time it was part of the main road to Antrim, a role now filled by the A6.[10] The lower sections of the Shankill Road were in former times the edge of Belfast with both Boundary Street on the lower Shankill and Townsend Street in the middle Shankill taking their names from the fact that at the time they were built they marked the approximate end of Belfast.[11]
The area expanded greatly in the mid to late 19th century with the growth of the
The area was also a regular scene of rioting in the nineteenth century, often of a sectarian nature after
The West Belfast Division of the original
The Troubles
During
Similarly, the Ulster Defence Association, established in September 1971, began on the Shankill when vigilante groups such John McKeague's Shankill Defence Association and the Woodvale Defence Association merged into a larger structure.[21] Under the leadership of Charles Harding Smith and Andy Tyrie, the Shankill Road became the centre of UDA activity, with the movement establishing its headquarters on the road. Leading members such as James Craig, Davy Payne and Tommy Lyttle made their homes in the area. The Shankill was covered by the West Belfast Battalion of the UDA, which was divided into three companies: A (Glencairn and Highfield), B (middle Shankill), and C (lower Shankill).[22] During the 1990s, C Company under Johnny Adair became one of the most active units in the UDA, with gunmen such as Stephen McKeag responsible for several murders.[23] C Company would later feud with both the UVF and the rest of the UDA until 2003 when they were forced out.[24] Following the exile of Adair and his supporters, as well as the murder of Alan McCullough, the lower Shankill UDA was once again brought into line with the rest of the movement under former Adair supporter Mo Courtney.[25]
The Greater Shankill and its residents were also subjected to a number of bombings and shootings by Irish republican paramilitaries. During 1971 two pub bombings took place on the Shankill, one in May at the Mountainview Tavern, at which several people were injured, and a second at the Four Step Inn in September, which resulted in two deaths.
The Shankill Road bombing occurred on 23 October 1993. A bomb exploded in Frizzell's Fish Shop, below the UDA's Shankill headquarters. The bomb exploded prematurely as it was being planted. Nine people were killed in addition to one of the bombers, Thomas Begley. None of the loyalist paramilitaries targeted were hurt, as they had postponed a planned meeting. Begley's accomplice, Sean Kelly, survived and was imprisoned.
Eight months after the Fish shop bombing, volunteers from the Republican paramilitary group the Irish National Liberation Army shot & killed three UVF volunteers and injured a civilian outside the headquarters of Progressive Unionist Party, killing a UVF commander Trevor King. See: 1994 Shankill Road killings
Areas of the Shankill Road
Lower Shankill
The Shankill Road begins at Peter's Hill, a road that flows from North Street in
Several streets link the Shankill Road to the neighbouring
The Lower Shankill is home to many loyalist pubs, the most notable being the "Royal Bar", associated with the UVF, and the "Diamond Jubilee" – a UDA haunt which became notorious as the main meeting place of "C Company" during the early 1990s. The "Long Bar" and the "Windsor Bar", both frequented by the UVF in the 1970s, have since vanished. According to investigative journalist Martin Dillon, the latter was used a centre of operations for a UVF platoon led by Anthony "Chuck" Berry.[36]
Middle and upper Shankill
Although there is no precise dividing line between the Lower, Middle and Upper Shankill locally it is usually said that the lower Shankill ends at Agnes Street.
The West Belfast
The area includes Lanark Way, one of the few direct links to the neighbouring nationalist areas, which leads directly to the
A number of pubs frequented by UVF members were located in the area. These included the "Berlin Arms" at the Shankill and Berlin Street junction, and the "Bayardo", which was situated on the corner of Shankill and Aberdeen Street. The pub was close to "The Eagle" where the UVF "Brigade Staff" had their headquarters in rooms above a chip shop bearing the same name at the Shankill and Spiers Place junction. The "Brown Bear" pub which loyalist Lenny Murphy used as his headquarters to direct his notorious murder gang – the Shankill Butchers – was located on the corner of the Upper Shankill and Mountjoy Street.[46] The pub, which went out of business, has since been demolished. Another drinking den in the area used by Murphy and his gang was the "Lawnbrook Social Club" in Centurion Street. The "Rex Bar" on the middle Shankill is one of the oldest pubs on the Shankill Road and frequented by members of the UVF. This bar was attacked by members of the UDA's C Company in 2000 to launch a loyalist feud between the two groups.[47]
Greater Shankill
The term, "Greater Shankill", is used by a number of groups active in the area, most notably the Greater Shankill Partnership,[48] to refer to both the Shankill Road and the unionist/loyalist areas that surround it. The main areas identified within this area are Woodvale, Glencairn, and Highfield. The Greater Shankill as a whole has a population of around 22,000.[citation needed]
Woodvale
The Woodvale area begins after Lanark Way, when the road changes from Shankill Road to Woodvale Road. As well as extensive housing the Woodvale area contains the Woodvale Presbyterian Church, which building on the corner of the Woodvale and Ballygomartin Roads dates back to 1899.[49] The area takes its name from Woodvale Park, a public gardens and sports area that was opened in 1888.[50]
Also found locally is St. Matthew's
Glencairn
Glencairn is an area based around the Ballygomartin Road, which runs off the Woodvale Road, as well the Forthriver Road. It is bordered by the Crumlin Road. As well as a large housing estate the area also includes Glencairn Park, a large woodland area at the bottom of Divis Mountain. Previously the estate of the Cunningham family the area was open to the public in 1962.[52] The park features Fernhill House, the ancestral family home, which was not only used by Edward Carson to drill his Ulster Volunteers but was also the setting for the announcement of the Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC) ceasefire on 13 October 1994.[53] It subsequently became a museum but closed down in late 2010-early 2011. A further area of housing, known as the Lyndhurst area after a number of local streets, lies to the west of Glencairn Park (with the Glencairn estate to the east of the woodland area). The Ballygomartin Road extends as far as the Upper Whiterock Road although after Springmartin the area is mainly countryside.
The estate was the scene of the killings of two prominent loyalists. In 1982
Highfield
Highfield is a housing estate situated around the West Circular and Springmartin Roads, both of which run off the Ballygomartin Road. Highfield comes close to the nationalist Springfield Road and there is limited access between the two areas through West Circular and Springmartin. Due to its location parts of the area are sometimes known as the Springmartin estate.[56] Highfield is seen as an enclave and has been the scene of sectarian tension.[57] As a consequence the Springmartin Road is home to an 18-foot-high (5.5 m) peace line that runs for the length of the road from the junction with the Springfield Road until near that with the Ballygomartin Road.[58] In May 1972 the area was the scene of a two-day gun battle between republican and loyalist paramilitaries and the British Army. The peace line ensured that such open conflict was not repeated later in the Troubles.
Politics
The Shankill has been traditionally unionist and loyalist, albeit with some strength also held by the labour movement. Belfast Shankill, covering the north-west part of the Shankill Road, was established as a constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland in 1929 and existed until the body was abolished in 1973. During that time the seat was held by three men, Tommy Henderson (1929–1953), Henry Holmes (1953–1960) and Desmond Boal (1960–1973). Of these only Holmes belonged to the mainstream Ulster Unionist Party for the entirety of his career with Boal a sometime member who also designated as both independent Unionist and Democratic Unionist Party and Henderson always an independent who for a time was part of the Independent Unionist Association. Henderson was a native of Dundee Street on the Shankill.[59]
A
The Shankill is currently part of the
On Belfast City Council the Greater Shankill area is covered by the Court electoral area. At the 2019 election the six councillors elected were Frank McCoubrey, Brian Kingston and Nicola Verner of the Democratic Unionist Party, Claire Canavan and Tina Black of Sinn Fein and the Progressive Unionist Party's Billy Hutchinson.[61]
Robert McCartney, who led his own UK Unionist Party and represented North Down at Westminster, is also originally from the Shankill.[62]
Education
Secondary schools serving the Shankill area include the
Primary schools in the greater Shankill area included Forth River Primary School on the Ballygomartin Road. Established in 1841, the original building was cramped and inspection reports over the years commented on the high standard of teaching despite the inadequacy of the building.[
Sport
Wayne McCullough, a gold medalist at the Commonwealth Games and a world champion in the Bantamweight division and an Olympic silver medalist at the 1992 Summer Olympics representing Ireland is a native of the Shankill. He is one of a number of boxers from the area to be featured on a mural on Gardiner Street celebrating the area's strong heritage in boxing.[67] The image has since been moved to Hopewell Crescent. McCullough trained in the Albert Foundry boxing club, located in the Highfield estate where he grew up.[68] Other locals to make an impact in the sport have included Jimmy Warnock, a boxer from the 1930s who beat world champion Benny Lynch twice, and his brother Billy.
The Ballygomartin Road is also home to a
Transport
Although the Shankill Road initially grew as part of the main road to Antrim, it is no longer part of any wider network linking Belfast to neighbouring towns, with its peripheral roads all either terminating in the mountains or linking to the Springfield Road. Belfast was served by a network of trams in the first half of the 20th century and the Shankill was the last part of the city to see this service removed in the 1950s.[76] Public transport is now provided by the Metro arm of Translink with the Shankill forming the eleventh of the company's twelve corridors. Buses link Belfast City Centre to the estates at the top of the Shankill as well as the Ballysillan area of the Crumlin Road.[77]
Employment
- Mackie International was once at the heart of Belfast industry, employing thousands of men and women.
Shankill graveyard
The Shankill Graveyard is one of the oldest cemeteries in the Greater Belfast Area. It was used for active burials for more than 1,000 years,[78] but is no longer an active burial site. George McAuley who died in 1685 has one of oldest legible headstones in the cemetery.[78]
Notable residents
Name | Area | Association with the greater Shankill |
---|---|---|
Norman Whiteside | Footballer | Born |
Wayne McCullough | Boxing | Born |
George O'Boyle | Football | Born |
Davy Larmour | Boxer | Born |
George McCartney | Footballer | Born |
Phil Gray | Footballer | Born |
Kirk Hunter | Footballer | Born |
Marco McCullough | Boxer | Born |
Jimmy Warnock | Boxer | Born |
Tommy Waite | Boxer | Born |
Jimmy Warnock | Boxer | Born |
Terry Bradley | Artist | Born |
Billy Ferguson | Footballer | Born |
Billy Hull | Activist | Born |
May Blood, Baroness Blood | Activist | Born |
John MacQuade | Politician | Born |
Jack Higgins | Author | Lived |
Isaac Nelson | Clergy | Nelson Memorial Church, Shankill Road |
Amy Carmichael | Missionary | Established a mission on Belfast's Shankill Road[79] |
Hugh Smyth | Politician | Born |
Billy Hutchinson | Politician | Born |
James Mackie & Sons[80]
|
Business | Business |
Tommy Henderson | Politician | Born |
William Conor | Artist | Greater Shankill Area |
Desmond Boal | Politician | Lived |
Robert McCartney (Northern Irish politician) | Politician | Born |
Bernard McQuirt - Victoria Cross | Soldier | Lived |
Thomas Paul Burgess | Author | Born |
References
Notes
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- ^ ISBN 978-1845960520. Archivedfrom the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
In North Belfast, bilingual signs announce both 'Silverstream Park and 'Sillerburn Pairk', and if the Ulster-Scots Culture Group in the area has its way, the Shankill Road - a name of Irish origin - will soon acknowledge the Lowland Scots roots of some of its people with signs reading 'Auld Kirk Raa'.
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- ^ "Shankill 455AD". Greater Shankill Partnership. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
- ^ Hamilton (1979), p. 1.
- ISBN 9781903688724. Archivedfrom the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
- ^ Lowry, Mary (1913). "The Story of Belfast and its Surroundings". Library Ireland. Archived from the original on 30 July 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
- ^ Hamilton (1979), p. 2.
- ^ Graham, Joe. "Belfast History". Rushlight. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
- ^ Hamilton (1979), p. 28.
- ^ McKittrick, David (23 August 2000). "Shankill Road was always tough, and it's getting tougher". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 18 December 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
- ^ "The Belfast Riots of 1886". BBC. 10 September 2009. Archived from the original on 10 September 2009. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
- ^ Hamilton (1979), p. 9.
- ^ Hamilton (1979), p. 14.
- ^ Hamilton (1979), p. 19.
- ^ a b "A Chronology of Key Events in Irish History 1800 to 1967". CAIN: Conflict Archive on the INternet. Ulster University. Archived from the original on 3 March 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
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- ^ McDonald & Cusack (2004), p. 119.
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- ^ Taylor (1999), p. 153.
- ^ McDonald & Cusack (2004), pp. 325–327.
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- ^ Hamitlon, p. 1
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- ^ "Glenwood Primary School". School Jotter. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
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- ^ "Linfield Superstore News". Linfieldfc.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
- ^ "Norman Whiteside Sports Facility". Woodvalefc.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011.
- ^ "Distillery: New management set out to let the good times roll". Banbridge Leader. 25 May 2016. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
- ^ "List-A Matches played on Ballygomartin Road". Cricket Archive. 1 July 2005. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
- ^ "Woodvale Cricket Club". Woodvale Cricket Club. Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
- ^ Hamilton (1979), p. 7.
- ^ "Translink Metro 11" (PDF). Translink.co.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 November 2011.
- ^ a b "Shankill Graveyard". Belfast City Council. Archived from the original on 15 August 2013.
- ^ "Appeal in memory of missionary from Millisle". The News Letter. Archived from the original on 7 December 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
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Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-41592-231-9.
- Hamilton, Paul (1979). Up The Shankill. Blackstaff Press. ISBN 0-85640-178-1.
- McDonald, Henry & Cusack, Jim (2004). UDA – Inside the Heart of Loyalist Terror. Penguin Ireland. ISBN 978-1-84488-020-1.
- ISBN 0-7475-4519-7.
External links
- "Greater Shankill Partnership". GreaterShankillPartnership.org.
- "Old Shankill Road". YouTube. 1973.
- "Shankill Extra". ShankillExtra.com.
- "Shankill Tourism". ShankillTourism.com. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
- Shankill Area Social History (SASH)