Easy hikes and walks around Divis

Sad past…

Clonard Martyrs Memorial Garden In memory of: IRA members, ex-prisoners, political activists and civilians from the Clonard area. Information on those commemorated Date of incident: January Description: Medium sized memorial garden divided into three interconnected sections; surrounded by walls, railings and three metal gates. The central section contains a large Celtic cross on a plinth, a large plaque attached to a wall and four flags. The side sections contain plaques and memorial benches.(Source: https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/victims/memorials/static/monuments/546.html)

Perhaps the most significant development of the strike occurred when Sands entered the election campaign for a seat in the Parliament for Northern Ireland's County of Fermanagh and South Tyrone. On 10 April, after 41 days of hunger strike and to the great shock of the IRA leadership, Sands won the seat by more than 30,000 votes. His election sent shockwaves throughout Ireland and within the British government. After all, Britain's criminalisation policy was based on its claims that the IRA had little public support and was a gang of renegade criminals. Despite Sands' new political status as an MP and mounting public pressure, the British government under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher refused to take even a step towards reconciliation. Sands' condition continued to deteriorate and he remained confined to the prison infirmary. Eventually, on 3 May, Sands fell into a coma. His family was called to visit and on Tuesday, May 5, 1981, Sands died after 66 days on hunger strike. Sands' death sparked enormous reactions around the world. Hundreds of thousands demonstrated in support of the prisoners' demands, the US government issued a statement of "deep regret", Irish unions went on strike, newspapers around the world condemned Thatcher's "glory" in allowing a parliamentary colleague to die, and riots broke out in the streets of Northern Ireland. His funeral procession was attended by more than 100,000 people. After Sands, nine more prisoners died before the hunger strike was finally ended on October 3, 1981. Shortly afterwards, all prisoners were granted reforms that largely met their demands.(Source: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bobby-Sands)

Robert Gerard Sands (Irish: Roibeárd Gearóid Ó Seachnasaigh; [2] 9 March 1954 – 5 May 1981) was a member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) who died on hunger strike while imprisoned in HM Prison Maze in Northern Ireland. Sands was involved in planning the 1976 bombing of the Balmoral Furniture Company in Dunmurry, which was followed by a gun battle with the Royal Ulster Constabulary. Sands was arrested during an escape attempt and sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment for possession of weapons. He was the leader of the 1981 hunger strike in which Irish republican prisoners protested against the abolition of Special Category Status. During Sands' strike he was elected to the British Parliament as a candidate of the Anti-H-Block movement. [3] [4] His death and that of nine other hunger strikers was followed by a wave of IRA recruitment and activity. International media coverage drew attention to the hunger strikers and the republican movement in general, drawing both praise and criticism. (Source: Wikipedia)

In January 2012, the International Fund for Ireland launched a funding programme called Peace Walls to support local communities who want to campaign for the removal of the peace walls. [14] In May 2013, the Northern Ireland Executive committed to removing all peace lines by mutual agreement by 2023. But they are still standing. As a tourist, I like them as a memorial and a relic of the past.

The stated purpose of the Peace Lines is to minimise violence between communities, between Catholics (most of whom are nationalists who call themselves Irish) and Protestants (most of whom are unionists who call themselves British). The Peace Lines range in length from a few hundred metres to over five kilometres. They may be made of iron, brick, steel or a combination of these three materials, and are up to eight metres high. Some have gates (sometimes manned by police) that allow passage during the day but are closed at night. In recent years they have become tourist attractions. Black taxis now take groups of tourists to Belfast's Peace Lines, trouble spots and famous murals. The most conspicuous peace lines of recent years separate the nationalist areas of Falls Road and Shankill Road in west Belfast, the nationalist Short Strand from the unionist areas of Cluan Place in east Belfast, the unionist Corcrain Road and the nationalist Obins Drive in Portadown, and the unionist Fountain Estate and the nationalist Bishop Street in Derry. (Source: Wikipedia)

The Peace Lines or Peace Walls are a series of dividing barriers in Northern Ireland that separate predominantly Irish republican or nationalist Catholic neighbourhoods from predominantly British loyalist or unionist Protestant neighbourhoods. They were built on urban border areas in Belfast and elsewhere. Most of the peace walls are in Belfast, but they also exist in other regions of Northern Ireland, where there are more than 32 kilometres (20 miles) of walls in total. (Source: Wikipedia)

By 1975, the conflict in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles had already lasted for more than six years. On 10 February 1975, the Provisional IRA and the British government agreed to a ceasefire and resumed negotiations. The IRA agreed to stop carrying out attacks on the British security forces, and the security forces largely ceased their raids and searches. [1] However, there were opponents of the ceasefire on both sides. In the early hours of 31 July 1975, the popular Miami Showband were driving back to Dublin after a performance in Banbridge. In Buskhill (outside Newry), they were stopped at a checkpoint by Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) gunmen wearing British Army uniforms. Some of the gunmen were soldiers from the Ulster Defence Regiment. The gunmen ordered the group to line up facing a trench. While one gunman took the names and addresses of the band members, two others hid a bomb under the driver's seat of their minivan. However, the bomb detonated prematurely and the two men were blown to pieces. The surviving gunmen then opened fire on the five band members, killing three and wounding two. [4] According to journalists Peter Taylor and Alan Murray, the attack on the Bayardo was retaliation for the massacre. (Source: Wikipedia)