Ardoyne () is a working class and mainly
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and
Irish republican
Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate.
The developm ...
district in north Belfast,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
. It gained notoriety due to the large number of incidents during
The Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...
.
Foundation
The village of Ardoyne was founded in 1815 when businessman Michael Andrews moved his
Damask
Damask (; ar, دمشق) is a reversible patterned fabric of silk, wool, linen, cotton, or synthetic fibers, with a pattern formed by weaving. Damasks are woven with one warp yarn and one weft yarn, usually with the pattern in warp-faced satin ...
factory from Little York Street. In addition to the factory he built a large house for himself and thirty houses for employees to live in. More mills were built around the growing village and by 1850 there were three additional mills in the area, providing jobs and houses for a growing population. The house in which Andrews lived in is no longer there. It is now the site of the Crumlin Star Social Club, located in Balholme Drive at the top of Ardoyne.
The Troubles
Crumlin Road
Ardoyne is bordered on the west by the
Crumlin Road
The Crumlin Road is a main road in north-west Belfast, Northern Ireland. The road runs from north of Belfast City Centre for about four miles to the outskirts of the city. It also forms part of the longer A52 road which leads out of Belfast to t ...
, an area which has for the most part a majority Protestant population and forms an
interface area. For many years, on
the Twelfth
The Twelfth (also called Orangemen's Day) is an Ulster Protestant celebration held on 12 July. It began in the late 18th century in Ulster. It celebrates the Glorious Revolution (1688) and victory of Protestant King William of Orange ove ...
and during the rest of the marching season
parades held by the
Orange Order
The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots people, Ulster Sco ...
have led to conflict between the two communities. Controversy has been sparked by the differing attitudes of the two communities to the marches, with the Orange Order and their supporters arguing that they are following traditional parade routes, whilst their nationalist critics argue that the marches are triumphalist, provocative and not wanted in their area.
For the most part the
Parades Commission has given permission for the Twelfth marches to go past the flashpoint Ardoyne shops, close to the Crumlin Road roundabout which also leads on to the
Woodvale Road
Woodvale Road is a cricket ground in Eglinton, Northern Ireland. The home team of the ground is Eglinton Cricket Club who were founded in 1936. It has a capacity of 2,000.
The ground has staged two first-class matches and three List A match ...
. One particular cause of conflict was that, in the past, marchers had carried flags associated with the
Ulster Volunteer Force
The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British Army soldier from Northern Ireland. The group undertook an armed campaign ...
and the
Ulster Defence Association
The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and undertook an armed campaign of almost 24 years as one of t ...
(paramilitary Loyalist organisations), and played
loyalist
Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British C ...
songs. In 2010, however, the Shankill Star flute band was banned from carrying a controversial banner depicting UVF member
Brian Robinson.
Since there are only two exits from the estate, residents on the opposite side of the Crumlin Road (Mountainview) are barricaded into their street by the police and Army for several hours throughout the day: in the morning when the march goes by; and in the evening when it returns. Local residents believe this to be a breach of their human rights. The
Police Ombudsman concurs with this assessment but is of the opinion that the barriers are necessary for security reasons.
Unionists have highlighted the part republican organisations have played in protests including prominent convicted IRA men such as
Sean Kelly who was arrested after violent protests during a parade.
Despite the local community group, the Ardoyne Parades Dialogue Group, and representatives of the march, the North and West Belfast Parades Forum, reaching an accommodation which imposed conditions on the march, golf balls and stones were thrown by protesters being kept back by stewards. Riots that broke out following the 2010 marches were blamed by
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gr ...
's
Gerry Kelly on
Real IRA members orchestrating tension in the area.
Holy Cross dispute
The Holy Cross Girls' School, a Catholic primary school which serves the Ardoyne area but is located in the neighbouring loyalist Upper Ardoyne/Glenbryn area was the sign of tension of 2001 to 2003. Loyalists made claims about harassment by republicans and regarding the use of the school run as a cover for IRA intelligence gathering missions, leading to crowds of protesters blocking the access of pupils to the school.
[Holy Cross school, Belfast: two years on](_blank)
Beatrix Campbell
Mary Lorimer Beatrix Campbell, OBE (''née'' Barnes; born 3 February 1947) is an English writer and activist who has written for a number of publications since the early 1970s. Her books include ''Wigan Pier Revisited'' (1984), ''Goliath: Brit ...
, The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
, 1 December 2003, retrieved 4 August 2009 The protests, which included violence directed by loyalist protesters at parents and children alike, were widely covered by the world's media and during the autumn of 2001 sparked a series of sectarian clashes in not only Ardoyne but also the interface between the loyalist
Tiger's Bay area and the republican
Newington and
New Lodge districts.
July 12 rioting
During the Holy Cross dispute period rioting also took place in Ardoyne on 12 July after an Orange Order parade.
Ardoyne's murals
Like most working class areas in Belfast, and others in the rest of
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
, Ardoyne's walls feature a number of
murals
A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
Word mural in art
The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...
related to politics and culture, although republican topics have been de-emphasised since 2009. Most of these murals were done by Michael Doherty, an Ardoyne resident.
A mural on Ardoyne Avenue depicted victims of
the famine
The Famine was an American death metal band formed in Arlington, Texas in 2007. They were signed to Solid State Records.
History
Formation and three-song EP
The band initially formed with three of the original members of Embodyment in ...
with the legend "An Gorta Mor (The Great Hunger) – They buried us without shroud nor coffin" although this has since been removed.
Another depicting a mass rock is still extant on the same street, although a further mural on Ardoyne Avenue showing
Cuchulainn and a hound with the legend "Ard-Eoin Fleadh Cheoil" has also been removed.
A mural demanding the truth about the killings of
Pat Finucane and
Rosemary Nelson
Rosemary Nelson (''née'' Magee; 4 September 1958 – 15 March 1999) was an Irish solicitor who was killed with a bomb planted in her car by an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in 1999.
A bomb exploded under Nelson's car at her home in Lurga ...
is also gone.
A mural on the street recalling the Holy Cross dispute and comparing it to the
Little Rock Nine
The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering ...
is recorded by CAIN as still in existence,
although it too has been removed. A mural commemorating the
Flight of the Earls
The Flight of the Earls ( ir, Imeacht na nIarlaí)In Irish, the neutral term ''Imeacht'' is usually used i.e. the ''Departure of the Earls''. The term 'Flight' is translated 'Teitheadh na nIarlaí' and is sometimes seen. took place in Se ...
was one of four painted in the area in 2009 to cover up those of a republican nature.
A number of other murals have also been painted on nearby Berwick Road. A Sinn Féin youth emblem with demands to disband the RUC and free republican prisoners has been removed, along with a portrait of
James Connolly.
A representation of the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
remains in existence.
It is close to a mural commemorating the 1916
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with t ...
.
Culture in Ardoyne
Sport
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
is a widely played and followed sport in the area. Ardoyne is close to the home ground of
Irish Football League club
Cliftonville, and as such the club enjoys a wide following in the area. Ardoyne itself is home to
Crumlin Star F.C., an
intermediate club that currently plays in
Northern Amateur Football League Premier Division.
However, despite originating in Ardoyne and having their headquarters in the area they do not have a home ground locally and for the 2013–14 season play their matches at the Cliff in
Larne
Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight roll-on roll-off port. Larne is administered by Mid a ...
.
Crumlin Star's social club is also a
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foo ...
supporters club, with the
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
club enjoying strong popularity in the area and amongst the nationalist community in general.
The
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...
is also represented in the area through local club Ardoyne Kickhams, who are affiliated to the
Antrim GAA
Antrim may refer to:
Boats
*Antrim 20, an American sailboat design
People
* Donald Antrim (born 1958), American writer
* "Henry Antrim", an alias used by Henry McCarty, better known as Billy the Kid, a 19th-century outlaw
* Harry Antrim (18 ...
.
Music
The area is home to the annual "Ard Eoin Fleadh Cheoil" (Ardoyne Music Festival). The festival attracts some of the most famous
Irish musical acts, including the
Wolfe Tones. The Ardoyne Fleadh committee is chaired by
Eddie Copeland. In recent years the Ardoyne Fleadh came under fire from Unionists in Belfast after a 'hate speech' was made by a member of headlining bands 'The Druids'. A video from the event shows a member of the band telling the audience that British soldiers in Ireland "should get together with their Orange comrades" and go back to England.
Ardoyne in popular culture
Ardoyne is the setting in which
Anna Burns' novels ''No Bones'' and ''Milkman'' take place. In these novels, she describes a girl growing up in Ardoyne during the Troubles.
[Anna Burns: ''Milkman'',2018]
The observational documentary ''Young Plato'' is set in a primary school in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
’s Ardoyne. The film charts the dream of pioneering Headmaster Kevin McArevey of the
Holy Cross Boys School to show how critical thinking and
pastoral care
Pastoral care is an ancient model of emotional, social and spiritual support that can be found in all cultures and traditions.
The term is considered inclusive of distinctly non-religious forms of support, as well as support for people from re ...
can empower and encourage 4 – 11 year old children to see beyond the boundaries and limitations of their own lives.
See also
*
The Night We Burned Ardoyne
References
{{Reflist, 30em
Geography of Belfast
Electoral wards of Belfast