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The Falls Road (PlaceNames NI: Falls
/ref>) is the main road through West
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 ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, running from Divis Street in Belfast City Centre to Andersonstown in the suburbs. The name has been synonymous for at least a century and a half with the Catholic community in the city. The road is usually referred to as ''the'' Falls Road, rather than as Falls Road. It is known in
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
as the ''Bóthar na bhFál'' and as the ''Faas Raa'' in Ulster-Scots.


Location

The Falls Road forms the first three miles of the A501 which starts in Belfast city centre and runs southwest through the city forking just after the Falls Park into the B102 which continues for a short distance to Andersonstown. The A501 continues as the Glen Road. The area is composed largely of residential housing, with more public sector housing in the lower sections of the road. There are many small shops lining the road as well as schools, churches, hospitals and leisure facilities. Employment in the area was originally dominated by the large linen mills but these have mostly closed. Today, local employment is in the service sector, health and education with additional employment in other parts of the city. The Falls Road district can be roughly divided into three sections. The Lower Falls which includes Divis Street starts near the city centre and continues to the junction with the Grosvenor Road. The middle Falls district centres on Beechmount. The Upper Falls starts about the Donegall Road and continues into Andersonstown. The short stretch of the road from the city centre to the start of Divis Street at Millfield is known as Castle Street after the former
Belfast Castle Belfast Castle ( Irish: ''Caisleán Bhéal Feirste''Ireland Highlights: Belfast Castle. https://www.irelandhighlights.com/info/belfast-castle/ ) is a mansion located in Cave Hill Country Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in a prominent position ...
which was built nearby by the
Normans The Normans (Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. The ...
in the 12th century. Castle Street begins at the junction with
Royal Avenue Royal Avenue is a street in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In the Cathedral Quarter in the heart of Belfast city centre, as well as being identified with the more recent Smithfield and Union Quarter, it has been the city's principal shopping thor ...
and Donegall Place, the main shopping district of Belfast. Two large buildings flank either side of the entrance to the street. On one side is the Bank Buildings and on the other is the former home of the Anderson & McAuley department store. Near the start of Castle Street is Chapel Lane on which St. Mary's Church is situated. This is the oldest
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 ...
church in Belfast and dates from 1784. Nearby on Bank Street is located the historic
Kelly's Cellars Kellys Cellars is a pub in Belfast, Northern Ireland, situated at 30 Bank Street in the city centre. Built on March 14, 1720, it is one of the oldest pubs of Belfast. It sits in what used to be an alley way off Royal Avenue, but a few buildin ...
bar which dates from 1720. Opposite was located ''St. Mary's Hall'', a popular social venue which was constructed in 1875 but demolished in 1990. Bank Street begins at Royal Avenue. The ornate building at its entrance was the former home of the Provincial Bank of Ireland which was erected in 1869. When it closed in 1989, the building was occupied until 2021 by a
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store. It was then refurbished as a social facility by
Belfast City Council Belfast City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhéal Feirste) is the local authority with responsibility for part of the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of (), the l ...
.


History

The Falls Road derives its name from the
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
'' túath na bhFál'', an Irish
petty kingdom A petty kingdom is a kingdom described as minor or "petty" (from the French 'petit' meaning small) by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it (e.g. the numerous kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England unified into th ...
whose name means "territory of the enclosures". These enclosures resulted from the
Plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster ( gle, Plandáil Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Plantin o Ulstèr'') was the organised colonisation (''plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of the sett ...
which occurred from the seventeenth century. This territory was roughly the same as that of the
ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
of the Shankill, which spanned a large portion of modern-day Belfast. The Falls Road itself was originally a country lane leading from the city centre but the population of the area expanded rapidly in the 19th century with the construction of several large
linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...
mills. All of these have now closed or have been repurposed. This original area, which was centred on the junction of modern-day Millfield and College Avenue on what is now Divis Street, was known as Falls and lent its name to the road. which had previously been called ''The Pound''. The housing in the area developed in the 19th century and was organised in narrow streets of small terraced housing. The Westlink linking the M1 and M2 motorways now cuts through this area.


Lower Falls

This section of the road stretches from the junction of Castle Street and Millfield to the Grosvenor Road/
Springfield Road The Springfield Road ( ga, Bóthar Chluanaí) is a residential area and road traffic thoroughfare adjacent to the Falls Road in west Belfast. The local population is predominantly Irish nationalist and republican. Parts of the road form an in ...
intersection. The lower part of the road is named Divis Street after the
Divis Divis (; ) is a hill and area of sprawling moorland north-west of Belfast in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. With a height of 1,568 ft (478 m), it is the highest of the Belfast Hills. It is joined with the neighbouring Black Mountain, a ...
mountain which overlooks much of West Belfast. The Falls Road proper begins at the junction with Northumberland Street and Albert Street. The area to the south of Divis Street/Lower Falls Road was considered the heart of the district and was initially composed of rows of small terraced houses which were constructed in the mid to late nineteenth century to house mill workers and their families. The area is detailed in the 1931 Ordnance Survey map of the area. Shortly after Millfield, the road crosses over the Westlink (A12) which links three motorways - the M1 to the southwest of the city, the M2 to the north and the M3 to the east. Running alongside the Westlink is Townsend Street which originally marked the end of Belfast.


Housing

The housing in the area developed in the 19th century and was organised in narrow streets of small terraced housing. Many of the streets were named after local mill owners. Alexander Street West was named after John Alexander who was a local mill owner. He also named Milford Street after Milford, Co. Carlow where he had a house. Ardmoulin Street was named after Ardmoulin House, the residence of John Alexander. Craig Street was called after the Craig family who owned the New Northern Mill at the corner of Northumberland Street. By the 1960s the buildings in the area had decayed considerably and the
Belfast Corporation Belfast City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhéal Feirste) is the local authority with responsibility for part of the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of (), the l ...
introduced a major development plan which involved wholescale demolition of much of the area. Many of the old street names were retained in the new housing development. In the Divis Street area, the housing was replaced with the Divis Flats complex which consisted of twelve blocks of flats built on top of the historic district formerly known as the ''Pound Loney''. The high point of this redevelopment was Divis Tower. Because of its rapid deterioration, the whole complex, except for Divis Tower, was demolished thirty years later and replaced with blocks of terraced housing. Past Albert Street, more mills were built on the northern side and more streets of small terraced houses on the southern side. The old streets were named after characters and events in the
Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
(1853–1856) which was occurring at that time. These include Raglan Street (named after Lord Raglan, commander of British forces in the Crimean War), Garnet Street (after Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley), Alma Street (after the
Battle of Alma The Battle of the Alma (short for Battle of the Alma River) was a battle in the Crimean War between an allied expeditionary force (made up of French, British, and Ottoman forces) and Russian forces defending the Crimean Peninsula on 20Septemb ...
), Balaklava Street (after the
Battle of Balaklava The Battle of Balaclava, fought on 25 October 1854 during the Crimean War, was part of the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–55), an Allied attempt to capture the port and fortress of Sevastopol, Russia's principal naval base on the Black Sea. The en ...
), Inkerman Street (after the
Battle of Inkerman The Battle of Inkerman was fought during the Crimean War on 5 November 1854 between the allied armies of Britain and France against the Imperial Russian Army. The battle broke the will of the Russian Army to defeat the allies in the field, and ...
), Sevastopol Street (after the Siege of Sevastopol), Plevna Street (after the
Siege of Plevna The siege of Pleven, was a major battle of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, fought by the joint army of Russia and Romania against the Ottoman Empire. After the Russian army crossed the Danube at Svishtov, it began advancing towards ...
), and Varna Street (after the
Siege of Varna The siege of Varna (July–September 29, 1828) was a battle during the Russo-Turkish War, 1828–1829. History Varna was held by the Ottoman army. An approach to Varna by Russian forces was first attempted on June 28, but the Russian ava ...
). There were also streets named after Balkan places such as Bosnia Street, Balkan Street, Roumania Street and Servia Street, as well as Omar Street (possibly after
Omar Pasha Omer Pasha, also known as Omer Pasha Latas ( tr, Ömer Lütfi Paşa, sr, Омер-паша Латас, Omer-paša Latas; 24 September 1806 – 18 April 1871) was an Ottoman field marshal and governor. Born in Austrian territory to Serbian Or ...
). Other streets were named after contemporary political and royal figures such as Peel Street (after
Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Excheque ...
) and Albert Street (named after Prince Albert). These street names are recalled in the collection of poetry ''The Irish for No'' by
Ciaran Carson Ciaran Gerard Carson (9 October 1948 – 6 October 2019) was a Northern Ireland-born poet and novelist. Biography Ciaran Carson was born in Belfast into an Irish-speaking family. His father, William, was a postman and his mother, Mary, w ...
. In one of the poems entitled "The Exiles’ Club", Carson imagines a group of Belfast exiles: :''After years they have reconstructed the whole of the Falls Road, and now'' :''Are working on the back streets: Lemon, Peel and Omar, Balaclava, Alma.'' All of these houses have now been demolished and replaced with modern terraced houses. At the foot of Divis Street is located the Morning Star House. This is a hostel which provides temporary accommodation for homeless people. It is run by the
Legion of Mary The Legion of Mary ( la, Legio Mariae, postnominal abbreviation L.O.M.) is an international association of members of the Catholic Church who serve it on a voluntary basis. It was founded in Dublin, as a Marian movement by the layman and civ ...
and was originally located at the corner of Percy Street.


Schools

At the foot of Divis Street is located the Millfield campus of
Belfast Metropolitan College Belfast Metropolitan College, also known as ''Belfast Met'', is a further and higher education institution in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The college offers both vocational education and academic qualifications. With over 37,000 enrolments a ...
, the largest further and higher education college in Northern Ireland. Nearby was located the original St. Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School. In the
1960s File:1960s montage.png, Clockwise from top left: U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War; the Beatles led the British Invasion of the U.S. music market; a half-a-million people participate in the 1969 Woodstock Festival; Neil Armstrong and Buzz ...
, this school transferred to a greenfield site on the
Glen Road Upper Falls was one of the nine district electoral areas (DEA) which existed in Belfast, Northern Ireland from 1985 to 2014. Located in the west of the city, the district elected five members to Belfast City Council and contained the wards of A ...
in the upper Falls. The original school building is now the home of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust. Opposite is ''St. Mary's Primary School''. Nearby is the location of the ''Árd Scoil'' which was historically the centre for Irish language and culture in the area. Just past it was located the Hastings Street RUC station. There are currently two other primary schools in the Lower Falls district. These are ''St. Peter's'' on Ross Road and ''St. Joseph's'' on Slate Street. In addition, there is the Irish language Gaelscoil an Lonnáin at the top end of Leeson Street. Several older schools closed in the late twentieth century due to declining student numbers. These include St Finian's and ''St Gall's'' primary schools which were run by the
De La Salle Christian Brothers french: Frères des Écoles Chrétiennes , image = Signum Fidei.jpg , image_size = 175px , caption = , abbreviation = FSC , nickname = Lasallians , named_after = , formation ...
. ''St Comgall's Public Elementary School'', in Divis Street, opened in 1932 but closed in 1988. It has been transformed into a community hub for a range of community and business activities. ''St. Brendan's Primary School'' on nearby Milford Street closed in the 1960s but for two years housed some pupils from St. Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School which at that time had exceeded its capacity in its Barrack Street premises. The ''Dunlewey Centre'' is located near Gaelscoil an Lonnáin. The building was originally the home of the
Bon Secours Sisters The Congregation of the Sisters of Bon Secours is an international Roman Catholic women's religious congregation for nursing (''gardes malades''), whose declared mission is to care for those who are sick and dying. It was founded by Josephine Po ...
and also housed ''St. Vincent’s Primary School for Girls''. It is a now the home of a community education centre. Dunlewey Street on which it is located is named after the residence of a local mill owner, William Ross, who owned a house in
Dunlewey ''Dún Lúiche'', known in English as Dunlewey or Dunlewy, is a small ''Gaeltacht'' village in the Gweedore area of County Donegal, Ireland. It sits in the Poisoned Glen, at the foot of Errigal and on the shore of Dunlewey Lough. The Crona ...
, County Donegal. The nearby Ross Street is also named after William Ross.


Churches

Historically, the Falls Road district has had a strong Roman Catholic tradition. This is reflected in the number of Catholic churches in the area. These include St Peter's Cathedral in the Lower Falls area just off Albert Street. This was originally a parish church built for the expanding Catholic population in the area in the 1860s. It was designed by Fr Jeremiah Ryan McAulay, who had trained as an architect before he became a priest, and built on a site donated by a local baker, Bernard Hughes. It became the cathedral church for the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Down and Connor The Diocese of Down and Connor, ( ga, Deoise an Dúin agus Chonaire) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Northern Ireland. It is one of eight suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of the ...
and the episcopal seat of the Bishop of Down and Connor in 1986. It is home to St Peter's Schola Cantorum (Choir).
Clonard monastery Clonard Monastery is a Catholic church located off the Falls Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and home to a community of the Redemptorists religious order. History In late 19th century Belfast, the Catholic population grew to such an extent ...
, the home of the
Redemptorist The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brother ...
religious order, is located nearby. Father Alec Reid who played an important role in the
Northern Ireland peace process The Northern Ireland peace process includes the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and subsequent political develop ...
was based here. There were also several Protestant churches in the area. These have either been demolished or converted into other uses as their congregations dwindled with the building of the
peace lines The peace lines or peace walls are a series of separation barriers in Northern Ireland that separate predominantly republican and nationalist Catholic neighbourhoods from predominantly loyalist and unionist Protestant neighbourhoods ...
. These churches included the
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
church in Divis Street (1850-1966) which was designed by
Charles Lanyon Sir Charles Lanyon DL, JP (6 January 1813 – 31 May 1889) was an English architect of the 19th century. His work is most closely associated with Belfast, Northern Ireland. Biography Lanyon was born in Eastbourne, Sussex (now East Sussex) in ...
and was the original home of the Falls Road
Orange Lodge 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 heritage. It also ...
. Nearby was the Hungarian Flour Mill owned by Bernard Hughes. It burned down in a fire in 1966. There was also a
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...
church in Albert Street (1852-1972) where one of the ministers was the Rev. Henry Montgomery who helped establish the
Shankill Road The Shankill Road () 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 from central Belfast an ...
Mission in 1896. ''St. Luke’s Church'' (1863-2006) on Northumberland Street, was the Church of Ireland church for the Lower Falls. It amalgamated with ''St. Stephen’s Church'' on Millfield. ''St Philip's Church of Ireland Church (Drew Memorial)'' (1870-1994) on the Grosvenor Road merged with ''St. Simon's Church'' on the
Donegall Road The Donegall Road is a residential area and road traffic thoroughfare that runs from Shaftesbury Square on what was once called the " Golden Mile" to the Falls Road in west Belfast. The road is bisected by the Westlink – M1 motorway. The la ...
.


Leisure and entertainment facilities

The Falls Leisure Centre is located in the lower Falls district. It currently offers a range of leisure facilities including a swimming pool, sauna and steam rooms, a gym, and a badminton court. It was originally the location of the Falls Public Baths where local residents could avail of washing and swimming facilities. On 16 April 1941, it was the site of a temporary morgue following the
Belfast Blitz The Belfast Blitz consisted of four German air raids on strategic targets in the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland, in April and May 1941 during World War II, causing high casualties. The first was on the night of 78 April 1941, a small attac ...
. This is described in the novel '' The Emperor of Ice-Cream'' by the novelist Brian Moore. The Lower Falls area previously had many linen mills. These have either been demolished or converted for other purposes. One of these is Conway Mill, in Conway Street (named after the Conway family, a noted generous family of the Clonard area). Originally a flax spinning mill, it now houses a community enterprise of small businesses, art studios, retail space and education floor. It also houses the Irish Republican History Museum. One of three Carnegie libraries built in Belfast is situated in the lower Falls Road. It opened on 1 January 1908 and is the last Carnegie library in Belfast still functioning as a library. Opposite was located the ''Clonard Picture House'' which closed in 1966. The ''Diamond Picture House'' at the corner of Cupar Street closed in 1959. The Arcadian cinema on Albert Street opened in 1912 but closed in 1960. At the junction with Grosvenor Road is located Dunville Park which was first opened in 1893. It was funded by Robert G Dunville, the owner of the nearby
Dunville & Co Dunville & Co. was a tea and spirits merchant company, based in Belfast, County Antrim. The company initially gained success as an Irish whiskey blender, but later produced and marketed its own whiskey, having constructed its own distillery. The co ...
whiskey distillery. who also funded the large fountain at the centre of the park which was designed by the English sculptor
Arthur Ernest Pearce Arthur Ernest Pearce (1859-1934) was a British sculptor and ceramic artist. He was born in Clapham, London in 1859. His father was an architect. He studied at the Kensington School of Art in London and then at Doulton's ceramics factory in Londo ...
. Robert Dunville not only gave his name to the park and the adjacent street but named another street after his daughter Sorella. The park has recently been refurbished and includes football pitches. A strong working class community, the Lower Falls has a history of storytelling, music and song which was often enjoyed in the many public houses in the area. These included such establishments as the Old House, McGeowns, the West End Bar, the Laurel Leaf, the Centre Half and Haughey's.
Gerry Conlon Gerard Patrick "Gerry" Conlon (1 March 1954 – 21 June 2014) was an Irish man known for being one of the Guildford Four who spent 15 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of being a Provisional IRA bomber. Biography Gerard Conlon wa ...
, who grew up in Peel Street, recalled in his autobiography ''Proved Innocent'' how he could see several pubs just a few yards from his front door: ''I’d watch the men off to the pubs. There were three pubs, Paddy Gilmartin’s which was called the Laurel Leaf, Peter Murray’s he West End Bardirectly opposite, or further down on the right-hand side was Charlie Gormley’s, across from Finnegan’s the butcher shop.'' The Centre Half Bar which was located at the corner of Panton Street and the Falls Road was named by the licensee
Mickey Hamill Michael Hamill (19 January 1889 – 23 July 1943) was an Irish association football wing half who played professionally in Ireland, Scotland, England and the United States. A native of West Belfast, he learned to play Gaelic football before turn ...
who played for both Belfast Celtic and Glasgow Celtic as well as Manchester United and Manchester City. He captained the Ireland team to their first Home International championship win in 1914. Most of these bars were demolished as part of the redevelopment of the area which occurred in the 1970s and 1980s. Near the foot of Divis Street is located the offices of Raidió Fáilte, an Irish language community radio station. It is housed in a purpose-built facility.


Murals

On some walls along the main road have been painted large
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 Spanis ...
. These are representations of local and national political issues and figures. One of the most famous is the large mural of
Bobby Sands Robert Gerard Sands ( ga, Roibeárd Gearóid Ó Seachnasaigh; 9 March 1954 – 5 May 1981) was a member (and leader in the Maze prison) of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) who died on hunger strike while imprisoned at HM Prison Maze ...
on the side wall of
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 Gri ...
's offices at the corner of Sevastopol Street. Further down the road on the corner of Northumberland Street is a series of murals which has come to be called the ''International or Solidarity Wall''. This is a series of images of international figures who have been involved in various liberation struggles. These murals have become a popular attraction for visiting tourists. The murals are frequently updated to reflect local support for certain individuals and groups (e.g. NHS staff).


Middle Falls

This section of the road centres on the Beechmount district and stretches from the intersection with the Grosvenor Road/Springfield Road to the Whiterock Road. The district takes its name from Beechmount House which was located at the top of a nearby hill surrounded by beech trees. It was the former home of Eliza and Isabella Riddel. It is now the site of an Irish Language school. The Whiterock Road leads to the Ballymurphy and to
Turf Lodge The Springfield Road ( ga, Bóthar Chluanaí) is a residential area and road traffic thoroughfare adjacent to the Falls Road in west Belfast. The local population is predominantly Irish nationalist and republican. Parts of the road form an i ...
districts. It also leads to the Black Mountain which forms part of the range of hills overlooking Belfast. Across the Falls Road from the Whiterock Road is the Donegall Road. This road leads down to the junction with Broadway and Westlink – M1 motorway and then on down to
Shaftesbury Square Shaftesbury Square is in Belfast, Northern Ireland at the southern end of Great Victoria Street and Dublin road, with the adjoining streets of Lisburn Road and the Donegall Road converging at this junction. It is in the area commonly known as ...
in the city centre. At the junction with Westlink is located the large public sculpture formally called
RISE Rise or RISE may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * '' Rise: The Vieneo Province'', an internet-based virtual world * Rise FM, a fictional radio station in the video game ''Grand Theft Auto 3'' * Rise Kujikawa, a vide ...
but informally known as ''the balls on the Falls''. Through the area flowed the Clowney Water or River (Irish ''Abhainn na Cluana'' - River of the meadow) which is a tributary of the larger
Blackstaff River The Blackstaff River is a watercourse in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It rises on the eastern slope of the Black Mountain before flowing down into the Bog Meadows and passing under the city of Belfast, where it enters the River Lagan. Much ...
. Both have largely been covered over and piped in.


Hospitals

There are several large hospitals in the area including the Royal Victoria Hospital, the Royal Jubilee Maternity Service, the
Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children The Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children is a specialised government children's hospital and medical centre in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is managed by the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and is the only hospital in Northern Ireland d ...
(Children's Hospital), and the Royal Dental Hospital. These four linked hospitals make up Northern Ireland's biggest hospitals complex. The Royal Victoria Hospital treats over 80,000 people as inpatients and 350,000 people as outpatients every year. The complex is a major training site for medical, dental, nursing and other health students from Queen's University Belfast. The original hospital opened in 1797 and moved to its present site in 1903. The hospital was designed by Henman and Cooper of Birmingham in 1899, completed in 1906. It was claimed to be the first air-conditioned public building in the world. Opposite the Children's Hospital is Mulholland Terrace, a row of terraced houses which were built in the nineteenth century by David Mulholland. He also owned several bars in the area.


Schools

There are also a number of educational institutions in the immediate area. At the senior level, there is
St Dominic's Grammar School for Girls St Dominic's Grammar School for Girls (Irish: Scoil Ghramadaí Naomh Doiminic do Chailíní), formerly St Dominic's High School, is a Catholic grammar school for girls aged 11–18 (Years 8–14), in Belfast, Northern Ireland. History St. Domi ...
. Beside it was located St. Catherine's Primary School which was also run by the
Dominican nuns The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...
but closed in 2005. At the rear was located
St Rose's High School , motto_translation = Truth , type = Comprehensive school , local_authority = , enrolment = , religious_affiliation = Catholicism , denomination = Dominican order , patron = Rose of Lima , country = Northern Ireland , location = 65 B ...
in the Beechmount district which in 2019 was amalgamated with the Christian Brothers School, Glen Road and Corpus Christi College to form All Saints College / Coláiste na Naomh Uile. There were several boys secondary schools in the area which have gone through a process of merging over the past forty years. ''St. Thomas’s Boys Secondary School'' on the Whiterock Road opened in 1957. ''St. Peter’s Boys Secondary School'' on Brittons Parade opened in the 1960s. In 1988, both of these schools amalgamated with Gort na Móna Secondary School to become ''Corpus Christi College'' which in turn merged (see above). St. Thomas's had a strong literary heritage. For a period, its headteacher was the writer
Michael McLaverty Michael McLaverty (5 July 1904 – 22 March 1992) was an Irish writer of novels and short stories.Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.
taught here for a while in the 1960s. He references the area in one of his poems: : ''Is there life before death? That's chalked up'' : ''In Ballymurphy. Competence with pain,'' : ''Coherent miseries, a bite and a sup,'' : ''We hug our little destiny again.'' Brendan Hamill, another writer, who attended the school in the 1960s recalled later: ''While on teaching practice, Seamus Heaney came to St Thomas’ about October that year (1962). I remember him, his voice grave and resonant, his big, brown shoes, reading from Carrickfergus by Louis MacNeice. He was an enormously decent man with extraordinary antennae.'' Joe Graham, the writer and historian, was also a student at the school when McLaverty was the headteacher. For several years, after the school closed, this building was used by Belfast Metropolitan College for further education courses. After the new Springvale campus of the college was opened the building was demolished.
Coláiste Feirste Coláiste Feirste is the only secondary-level Irish-medium school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Previously known as ''Méanscoil Feirste'', the (Irish language school) is located in the west of the city in a new facility on Belfast's Falls R ...
is an Irish language school situated in the Beechmount district. ''St. Paul's Primary School'' is also located in the Beechmount area. There are two Irish language primary schools. These are ''Gaelscoil na bhFal'' and ''Bunscoil an tSléibhe Dhuibh''. At the higher education level, there is St Mary's University College which is part of
Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...
. This was established in 1909 as St Mary's Training College to train women as teachers. It amalgamated with St Joseph's Training College (for male trainee teachers) in 1985. Besides teacher training it now offers a range of degree courses. The college has a substantial programme of community engagement playing host to many local events including many organised by
Féile an Phobail Féile an Phobail (''The Community's Festival''), also known as the West Belfast Festival is a community arts organisation known for its ''August Féile'' (Festival). The organisation is prominent for its promotion of Irish and international cu ...
.


Churches

''St Paul's Church'' is located opposite the hospitals on the corner of Cavendish Street. It was built as a
chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ease is deliberately bu ...
to St Peter's Cathedral and celebrated its first Mass in July 1887. St.Paul's was raised from "a district of St Peters" to the status of a parish in 1905.


Recreation and culture

Near Beechmount is located Willowfield Park which has a number of playing fields. It is located on the site of the ''Willowbank Huts'' which in the late nineteenth century housed a small British Army barracks. When the huts were vacated they were used by various groups including
Fianna Éireann Na Fianna Éireann (The Fianna of Ireland), known as the Fianna, is an Irish nationalist youth organisation founded by Constance Markievicz in 1909, with later help from Bulmer Hobson. Fianna members were involved in setting up the Irish Volu ...
.
Corrigan Park Corrigan Park is a Gaelic games ground on the Whiterock Road in west Belfast that served as the main venue for GAA in Belfast until the opening of Casement Park in 1953. It is named in honour of Sean Corrigan, mentor of the Brian Óg club who we ...
which is a facility for Gaelic games is located on the Whiterock Road. A nearby smaller facility for various sporting activities is McCrory Park. It was named after Cardinal Joseph MacRory who was
Bishop of Down and Connor The Bishop of Down and Connor is an episcopal title which takes its name from the town of Downpatrick (located in County Down) and the village of Connor (located in County Antrim) in Northern Ireland. The title is still used by the Catholic Chur ...
and then
Primate of All Ireland The Primacy of Ireland was historically disputed between the Archbishop of Armagh and the Archbishop of Dublin until finally settled by Pope Innocent VI. ''Primate'' is a title of honour denoting ceremonial precedence in the Church, and in the ...
in the early part of the twentieth century. During the 1970s it was occupied by the British Army who called it Fort Pegasus. The Whiterock Leisure Centre is located off the upper Whiterock Road. It has a community garden and allotment site. Developments include a playground and multi-use games area. Historically, there has been a continuing interest in the Irish language and culture in the area. In 1936 the ''Cluain Árd'' centre was established in the Beechmount area and became a centre for Irish language enthusiasts. In the 1960s, there was a resurgence of interest in the Irish language reflected in the development of the
Shaw's Road Shaw's Road is a road in west Belfast, Northern Ireland, connecting the Andersonstown Road with the Glen Road. Shaw's Road Gaeltacht Located on the road, is a small Gaeltacht ( Irish-speaking area) known colloquially as "The Irish Houses", and ...
Gaeltacht in Andersonstown. Since then, interest has grown, with the approval by Belfast City Council of a Gaeltacht Quarter around the Falls Road in 2002. The
Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich (An Chultúrlann) is an Irish language cultural centre in The Gaeltacht Quarter and is located on the Falls Road, Belfast. Opened in 1991, the centre underwent renovation in 2010 and was opened the following year by ...
, known colloquially as ''the Cultúrlann'', is an Irish language and arts centre based in the middle Falls area which opened in 1991. It was originally the home of Broadway Presbyterian church. The centre also houses the Irish language bookshop
An Ceathrú Póilí An Ceathrú Póilí ( en, The Fourth Policeman; founded 1983) is an independent bookstore based in Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich on the Falls Road in Belfast's Gaeltacht Quarter. The shop primarily sells Irish language books and Irish tradition ...
. The Féile an Phobail, an annual festival of Irish culture, which was established in 1988 provides a showcase for Irish culture. Nearby, at the corner with Broadway, is the new ''Áras na bhFál'', the home of Iontaobhas na Gaelscolaíochta - the Trust Fund for Irish-Medium Education. The ''Áras Uí Chonghaile/James Connolly Visitor Centre'' is located near the top of the Donegall Road. This centre is dedicated to the life and work of James Connolly who lived nearby for a period in the early years of the twentieth century. There are some large bars in the middle Falls area. These include the Beehive and the Rock Bar. The ''Broadway Cinema'' which was situated near Beechmount was the largest of Belfast's suburban cinemas when it opened in 1936. It closed in 1972 after a bombing. On the Donegall Road, is the former site of
Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is also ...
. This was originally a football stadium and the home of Belfast Celtic F.C. It was also the first greyhound racing track to open in Ireland. The stadium closed in 1983 and is now the site of a
shopping centre A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...
.


Upper Falls

This section stretches from the Whiterock Road to the Andersonstown Road. As its name implies, the Andersonstown Road leads to the Andersonstown district and the on out of the city. At the junction with the Glen Road was located the Andersonstown RUC station which was the most attacked police station in Northern Ireland. It was closed and demolished in 2005. The Glen Road runs for almost three miles passing the junction with Monagh By Pass/Kennedy Way, then Shaw's Road and Suffolk Road until it changes name to Colinglen Road. For much of the route in forms the northern boundary of Andersonstown and then Lenadoon.


Schools

St. Louise's Comprehensive College which was one of the largest girls schools in Europe with over 2,000 pupils is located in this area. In 2019, it was decided to admit boys and to reduce the overall student numbers to 1500. Nearby is located ''St. Kevin's Primary School'' which was established in 1933. There is also the St. Maria Goretti Nursery School on the Whiterock Road.


Churches

The ''St. John’s RC Church'' is located near the foot of the Whiterock Road. It was originally established in 1928 as the population of the area increased. ''St. Matthias's Church'' is located on the Glen Road not far from Milltown Cemetery. On the site, the original Church of Ireland church was erected in 1892. It formally closed in 1969 but was taken over by the catholic parish of ''St Teresa of Ávila'', the main church of which is located further up the Glen Road. The building reopened as a catholic church under the same name in 1970. A new catholic church opened on the site in 2004 and the old tin church, which is listed, is in a state of disrepair.


Recreation

In the Upper Falls area is located the Falls Park which was established in 1873. The park has many mature trees, flower beds, horticultural displays and grassland areas. The park contains playing fields for Gaelic games and
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...
. It has a
3G pitch Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commer ...
, a bowling green and other facilities. Developments include an outdoor gym, a dedicated youth area suitable for a range of uses and a refurbished play park with modern play equipment. In 1924, an outdoor swimming pool, known locally as ''The Cooler'', was added to the park. The pool closed in 1979 for public health reasons. The Féile an Phobail has its closing concert here each year. Opposite the Falls Park, on Milltown Row, are located the facilities of St. Gall's GAC. Further up the Falls Road is located ''The Felons'', a large social club and restaurant. It is located on the site of a former Methodist meeting house.


Cemeteries

In the late 19th century, with the rapid increase in the city population, there was an increasing need for cemeteries. At that time, the Upper Falls was a rural area and the city council and the Catholic Church decided to buy large spaces in the area to create cemeteries. The
Belfast City Cemetery Belfast City Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Chathair Bhéal Feirste) is a large cemetery in west Belfast, Northern Ireland. It lies within the townland of Ballymurphy, between Falls Road and Springfield Road, near Milltown Cemetery. It is maintained b ...
which is located at the bottom of the Whiterock Road, is a municipal cemetery maintained by the Belfast City Council and is one of the largest burial sites in the city. It opened in 1869. At the junction with the Glen Road, is located
Milltown Cemetery Milltown Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Bhaile an Mhuilinn) is a large cemetery in west Belfast, Northern Ireland. It lies within the townland of Ballymurphy, between Falls Road and the M1 motorway. History Milltown Cemetery opened in 1869 as part ...
, maintained by the Catholic Church, which opened in the same year. At the bottom of Milltown Cemetery is the Bog Meadows which leads onto the M1 motorway. This large wild-life preserve is home to a wide variety of wild flowers, birds and butterflies. Some cattle also graze on the site. It is owned and managed by the Friends of the Bog Meadows and the
Ulster Wildlife Trust Ulster Wildlife is a wildlife trust and a registered charity covering Northern Ireland. It was formed in 1978. Ulster Wildlife is one of 46 trusts working primarily by county or region to make the UK a better place for people and wildlife. The Wil ...
.


Transport

Originally there was a tram service providing public transport on the Falls Road. This was introduced in the late 19th century and replaced by
trolleybuses A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...
in 1938. There were three routes along the road: 11 for Falls Road-Whiterock Road, 12 for Falls Road-Andersonstown Road and 13 for Falls Road-Glen Road. The 77 route from the Gasworks to the Waterworks ran via Albert Street/Northumberland Street and cut across the Falls Road and the Shankill Road. The trolleybuses were replaced by diesel buses in the 1960s. With the outbreak of the troubles, the bus service was withdrawn. The gap in public transport was replaced by black taxis. Since the troubles ended, the public bus service has been re-introduced and expanded.
Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
, a division of Translink now operates the bus service. The Falls Road is designated one of the quality bus corridors (QBCs) within the city with a variety of different routes. In 2018, the
Glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of gliding ...
bus service was introduced. It provides a service from
Poleglass Poleglass () is an area of west Belfast in Northern Ireland. It is the name of a townland, a modern electoral ward, and a housing estate. The townland is situated in the civil parish of Derriaghy and the historic Barony of Belfast Upper. It is ...
via the Falls Road-City Centre and Newtownards Road to Dundonald. It was the first cross-city bus service.


Politics

A predominantly working-class community, the Falls Road has historically had a strong socialist tradition, and, prior to the 1970s, had been less
Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...
than other areas of Northern Ireland. James Connolly resided in the Upper Falls for a period in the early 20th century and was involved in organising the workers but the area was generally seen as a bedrock of the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) at the time.
Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of governm ...
standing for Sinn Féin lost heavily standing in the Falls constituency in the 1918 UK General Election to the IPP's
Joe Devlin Joseph or Joe Devlin may refer to: * Joseph Devlin (1871–1934), Irish journalist and nationalist politician * Joe Devlin (American football) (born 1954), American football offensive tackle * Joe Devlin (footballer) (born 1927), retired Scottish ...
. Connolly's secretary
Winifred Carney Maria Winifred Carney (4 December 1887 – 21 November 1943), also known as Winnie Carney, was an Irish suffragist, trade unionist, and Irish independence activist. Early life Born into a lower-middle class Catholic family at Fisher' ...
also lived on the Falls with her husband, George McBride, a Protestant and World War I veteran. She is buried in Milltown Cemetery. The past century has seen an ongoing contest between various versions of labour/socialist and nationalist/ Irish republican for electoral leadership in the area. In the 1929 election to the new
Parliament of Northern Ireland The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended because of its inability to restore ord ...
, the Belfast, Falls constituency was won by the
Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
Richard Byrne after a bitter contest with William McMullen, a supporter of Connolly. Michael Farrell, ''Northern Ireland: The Orange State'' In the 1945 election, Harry Diamond won the seat standing for the Socialist Republican Party. He held the seat until 1969 when he was defeated by
Paddy Devlin Patrick Joseph "Paddy" Devlin (8 March 1925 – 15 August 1999) was an Irish socialist, labour and civil rights activist and writer. He was a founding member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), a former Stormont MP, and a member ...
standing for the
Northern Ireland Labour Party The Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP) was a political party in Northern Ireland which operated from 1924 until 1987. Origins The roots of the NILP can be traced back to the formation of the Belfast Labour Party in 1892. William Walker stoo ...
. Devlin, who had once been a member, alongside Diamond, of the Belfast branch of the
Irish Labour Party The Labour Party ( ga, Páirtí an Lucht Oibre, literally "Party of the Working People") is a centre-left and social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. Founded on 28 May 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, ...
, became a founding member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party in 1970 and remained a member until
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
was prorogued in 1972.Connal Parr (2012): Managing His Aspirations: The Labour and Republican Politics of Paddy Devlin, Irish Political Studies, 27:1, 111-138 In 1964,
Billy McMillen William "Billy" McMillen (19 May 1927 – 28 April 1975), aka Liam McMillen, was an Irish republican activist and an officer of the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was killed in 1975, in a feud with th ...
stood as a Republican Clubs candidate for the Belfast West constituency in the
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bucki ...
election. His office was in Divis Street and the
Irish tricolour The national flag of Ireland ( ga, bratach na hÉireann), frequently referred to in Ireland as 'the tricolour' () and elsewhere as the Irish tricolour is a vertical tricolour of green (at the hoist), white and orange. The proportions of th ...
alongside the Starry Plough of Connolly's Irish Citizen Army was displayed in the window. The Flags and Emblems Act gave the RUC the power to remove any flag or emblem from public or private property which was considered to be likely to cause a breach of the peace. This was generally interpreted as any Irish flag since the
Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
was specifically excluded from the Act. Ian Paisley insisted the RUC remove the
Irish tricolour The national flag of Ireland ( ga, bratach na hÉireann), frequently referred to in Ireland as 'the tricolour' () and elsewhere as the Irish tricolour is a vertical tricolour of green (at the hoist), white and orange. The proportions of th ...
or he would organise a march and remove it himself. The police feared a backlash from Loyalists, and removed it, causing unrest and rioting by local residents. The Falls district is now one of seven wards within the Black Mountain district electoral area, which elects seven councillors to Belfast City Council. In 2014, five Sinn Féin, one
SDLP The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Irelan ...
and one
People Before Profit People Before Profit ( ga, Pobal Roimh Bhrabús, PBP) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left Trotskyist political party formed in October 2005. It is active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Histo ...
councillors were elected. The Falls Road forms the centre of the Belfast West parliamentary constituency. The Westminster seat has been held by various nationalist politicians since the 1960s.
Paul Maskey Paul John Maskey (born 10 June 1967) is an Irish republican politician in Northern Ireland who is a member of Sinn Féin. He served as a Sinn Féin member (MLA) of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Belfast West from 2007 to 2012. He has served ...
of Sinn Féin was elected MP in 2011, but in line with Sinn Féin's abstentionist policy he has not actually taken the seat at
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bucki ...
. In the 2017
Northern Ireland Assembly sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie , legislature = Seventh Assembly , coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg , coa_res = 250px , house_type = Unicameral , house1 = , leader1_type = ...
elections, a total of four Sinn Féin and the same People Before Profit representative (
Gerry Carroll Gerry Carroll (born 27 April 1987) is a People Before Profit politician from Belfast, Northern Ireland, who has represented the Belfast West constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly since May 2016. From 2014 until 2016 he also represented ...
) were elected in the
Assembly constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
.


The Troubles

In the late 1960s, many Catholics from across Northern Ireland began to campaign, many with
Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association ) was an organisation that campaigned for civil rights in Northern Ireland during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Formed in Belfast on 9 April 1967,
(NICRA), against discrimination in housing and jobs, under the banner of a civil rights campaign, in conscious imitation of the philosophy of, and tactics used by, the
American Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the United ...
. Northern Ireland was part of the UK but the voting criteria were different to England, Scotland and Wales where a person could vote as soon as they became 18 years old. In Northern Ireland an 18 year old could only vote if they were the named owner or named renter of a house. Most of the Catholic houses had three generations living in the same dwelling (because of housing discrimination) so only the mother and father could vote. Furthermore, business owners (depending on the size of the company) were entitled to three to six votes unlike anywhere else in the United Kingdom. Many Unionists saw NICRA as an Irish republican
Trojan horse The Trojan Horse was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending before the war is concluded, ...
, designed to destabilize Northern Ireland, and force unionists into a united Ireland. Several streets around the Falls Road were burnt out by armed 'B' Specials (Police Reserve) and loyalists in August 1969, with tne murder of six Catholics on the first night marking the start of 'The Troubles.Michael McCann. ''Burnt Out. How the Troubles began''; (Cork, 2019, Mercier); In response to the worsening situation, the British Government deployed the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...
on the Falls Road to protect the Catholics from further attacks. The troops were initially welcomed by all the Falls residents to protect them, but heavy-handed tactics by the mostly British-born members of the Army who did not know, care or understand the situation would estrange most Catholics and nationalists. In early July 1970, the road was the scene of what became known as the
Falls Curfew The Falls Curfew, also called the Battle of the Falls (or Lower Falls), was a British Army operation during 3–5 July 1970 in the Falls district of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The operation began as a search for weapons in the staunchly Irish ...
. 3,000 British troops sealed off the streets around the Falls Road, home to about 10,000 people, setting off 1,600 canisters of CS gas. The British actions were opposed by the
Official IRA The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA (OIRA; ) was an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a " workers' republic" encompassing all of Ireland. It emerge ...
(OIRA), who engaged them in a vicious gun battle. Over the course of the weekend, four Catholic civilians were killed by the British Army. Ninety rifles were recovered. This is widely regarded as the end of the British Army's "honeymoon" period with nationalists in Belfast. During the Troubles there were repeated sectarian attacks by loyalists on residents of the Falls Road. These attacks increased during the 1969 Northern Ireland riots when whole streets in the Falls Road area were destroyed by loyalists from the Shankill Road area. Loyalists paramilitaries killed many local residents. Temporary barricades were constructed to provide residents with some security. These developed into peace walls which today separate the Falls Road from the neighbouring Shankill Road. Although the troubles have now ceased, the peace walls still exist in this so-called
Interface area Interface area is the name given in Northern Ireland to areas where segregated nationalist and unionist residential areas meet. They have been defined as "the intersection of segregated and polarised working class residential zones, in areas w ...
. For the following three decades, the British Army 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 ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...
's normalisation programme, following the
Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...
's statement that it was ending its armed activities. In the intervening period, the Falls Road area saw some of the worst violence of " the Troubles". The last British soldier to be killed on the road itself was Private Nicholas Peacock, killed by a booby trap bomb left outside the Rock Bar, opposite the top of the Donegall Road on 1 February 1989. In 1991 IRA hit squads based in the Upper Falls and Beechmount were involved in attacks against loyalist paramilitaries in the nearby Village area. In September 1991, they shot dead 19-year-old UVF member John Hanna at his home on the Donegall Road, and in November the same year, they shot dead William Kingsberry and his stepson, Samuel Mehaffey, members of the UDA and RHC respectively, in their home on Lecale Street.


Literary and musical references

There are many literary references to life on the Falls Road. These include: * Gerry Adams (1982). ''Falls Memories.'' Dingle:Brandon. *
Ciaran Carson Ciaran Gerard Carson (9 October 1948 – 6 October 2019) was a Northern Ireland-born poet and novelist. Biography Ciaran Carson was born in Belfast into an Irish-speaking family. His father, William, was a postman and his mother, Mary, w ...
(1997). ''Star Factory.'' London: Granta Books. * Liam Carson (2010). ''Call Mother a Lonely Field.'' Bridgend: Seren. * Eimer O'Callaghan (2014). ''Belfast Days. A 1972 Teenage Diary.'' Sallins: Merrion Press. * Patricia Craig (2007). ''Asking for Trouble.'' Belfast: Blackstaff. The American singer
Nanci Griffith Nanci Caroline Griffith (July 6, 1953 – August 13, 2021) was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She appeared many times on the PBS music program ''Austin City Limits'' starting in 1985 (season 10). In 1994 she won a Grammy Award fo ...
sings in her song "It’s a hard life wherever you go" which she wrote after visiting Belfast: : ''I am a backseat driver from America'' : ''They drive to the left on Falls Road'' : ''The man at the wheel's name is Seamus'' : ''We pass a child on the corner he knows'' : ''And Seamus says, "Now, what chance has that kid got?"'' : ''And I say from the back, "I don't know."'' : ''He says, "There's barbed wire at all of these exits'' : ''And there ain't no place in Belfast for that kid to go."''
Gary Kemp Gary James Kemp (born 16 October 1959) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and principal songwriter for the New Romantic band Spandau Ballet. Kemp wrote the lyrics and musi ...
, British songwriter and singer for British soft rock group
Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet () were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European Da ...
attributes his writing of the band's 1986 hit " Through the barricades" to emotion he experienced while on Falls Road.


See also

*
Gaeltacht Quarter, Belfast The Gaeltacht Quarter ( ga, An Cheathrú Ghaeltachta ) in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom is an area surrounding the Falls Road in the west of the city. A Gaeltacht is an area where the Irish language is spoken. The Quarter aims to pr ...
*
Lower Falls (District Electoral Area) Lower Falls was one of the nine district electoral areas which existed in Belfast, Northern Ireland from 1985 to 2014. Located in the west of the city, the district elected five members to Belfast City Council and contained the wards of Beechmo ...
*
Upper Falls (District Electoral Area) Upper Falls was one of the nine district electoral areas (DEA) which existed in Belfast, Northern Ireland from 1985 to 2014. Located in the west of the city, the district elected five members to Belfast City Council and contained the wards of A ...
*
Raidió Fáilte Raidió Fáilte (; meaning "Welcome Radio") is an Irish-language community radio station, broadcasting from Belfast, in Northern Ireland. It started broadcasting under its current licence on 15 September 2006 having operated as a pirate radio ...


References


External links


Visit West Belfast

Falls Road in Rushlight Magazine
{{Northern Ireland roads Streets in Belfast Roads in Northern Ireland