Shore Road, Belfast
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The Shore Road is a major arterial route and area of housing and commerce that runs through north
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
and
Newtownabbey Newtownabbey ( ) is a large settlement north of Belfast city centre in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is separated from the rest of the city by Cavehill and Fortwilliam golf course, but it still forms part of the Belfast metropolitan area ...
in
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. It forms part of the A2 road, a traffic route which links Belfast to the
County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...
coast.


History

The Shore Road is one of Belfast's oldest roads and is mentioned in the first census of the city – taken in 1757 – as being home to a colony of "
Papists The words Popery (adjective Popish) and Papism (adjective Papist, also used to refer to an individual) are mainly historical pejorative words in the English language for Roman Catholicism, once frequently used by Protestants and Eastern Orthodox ...
". At the time the Shore Road name was applied to a larger area, including what is today known as York Street. The York Street-York Road and lower Shore Road experienced growth during the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
as a number of factories were located in the area. One of the main factories on York Street was Gallaher's Tobacco factory. It is no longer in operation and the building has been demolished. One of these few industrial buildings still standing is the Jennymount Mill, off the York Road. The building, renamed the Lanyon Building after its architect
Charles Lanyon Sir Charles Lanyon Deputy Lieutenant, DL, Justice of the Peace, JP (6 January 1813 – 31 May 1889) was an English Architecture, architect of the 19th century. His work is most closely associated with Belfast, Northern Ireland. Biography Lanyo ...
, was reopened as an Office block in 2002. According to Irish journalist Susan McKay, the area was the scene of fierce sectarian rioting throughout the nineteenth century until it was eventually established as a bulwark of working-class Protestantism.Susan McKay, ''Northern Protestants: An Unsettled People'', Blackstaff Press, 2005, p. 62 The areas further up the Shore Road towards Newtownabbey are for the most part more recent than these areas, with some housing developments such as Shore Crescent and the Rathcoole estate dating to the 1960s and later. Many residents of the overcrowded area at the bottom of the road were moved up to these new estates. Much of the housing throughout the length of the road has been redeveloped.


Areas of the Shore Road


York Street

York Street is a road that links Belfast City Centre with the Shore Road.
Royal Avenue Royal Avenue is a street in the heart of Belfast city centre, Northern Ireland. It runs for about 500 metres from the junction with Castle Place and Donegall Place to the junction with Donegall Street. It lies between the Cathedral Quarter, Bel ...
, one of the main streets in the city centre, ends when it crosses Donegall Street and this marks the start of York Street. Traditionally the street marked the boundary of the dockside Sailortown area. York Street used to be a densely populated residential area, but most of it was demolished to make way for the M2 and the subsequent Westlink. The
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and Tiger's Bay areas are to the north of York Street. York Street is the home of the
University of Ulster Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...
's Belfast campus, the home the university's art and design school and a part of the city's Cathedral Quarter, which takes its name from nearby St Anne's Cathedral. Beside the university is Cathedral Eye Clinic, a leading centre for
ophthalmology Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...
. Other current features of York Street include the Cityside Shopping Centre, which has branches of
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,
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and other large chain stores, St Paul's
Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
and Yorkgate railway station. Previously the street had been dominated by the Co-operative buildings, built between 1911 and 1932, and housing a variety of shops, the Co-operative's regional headquarters and their restaurant and ballroom, the Orpheus. It also housed the now demolished Gallaher's tobacco factory which, when opened in 1896, was the largest cigarette factory in the world.


York Road

York Street continues to Limestone Road, where it becomes the York Road. This area is home to a
police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
station, one of the two covering the North Belfast policing district. York Road also includes a number of places of worship both on the road and off the side streets. These include a
The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...
mission, the Alexandra Presbyterian Church, Jennymount Methodist Church and the York Road Baptist Community. Alexandra Park is a public park located in the area around the York Road. Whilst this area is mainly
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 Cr ...
in composition it is adjacent to the republican Newington area. As a result, Alexandra Park has, uniquely for a public park, a peace line running through it, effectively separating the use of the park for each community. In late 2011 a gate was added to this fence making access possible for a limited time.


Tiger's Bay

Tiger's Bay is the name given to a unionist enclave centred on upper North Queen Street. Although it is not on the Shore Road, the two areas run parallel and are linked by a number of smaller streets. Its origins go back to the nineteenth century when it was constructed with very basic housing intended for the unskilled labourers who made up the bulk of the workforce at
Harland & Wolff Harland & Wolff Holdings plc is a British shipbuilding and Metal fabrication, fabrication company headquartered in London with sites in Belfast, Arnish yard, Arnish, Appledore, Torridge, Appledore and Methil. It specialises in ship repair, ship ...
shipyard. Like York Street and York Road, Tiger's Bay suffered extensive damage during 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 atta ...
. Tiger's Bay is notorious both for the strength of the UDA in the area and for historic tensions between residents and those of the adjoining nationalist
New Lodge New Lodge may refer to: *New Lodge, Winkfield near Windsor, Berkshire, England *New Lodge, South Yorkshire, England *New Lodge, Belfast, an area of North Belfast, Northern Ireland *New Lodge, Billericay, association football ground in Billericay, E ...
and Newington districts. Attempts to normalise relations between the communities have been made, although moves to take down peace lines in the area have been resisted by local residents, who argue that they are a necessary safety precaution due to potential violence returning to the area. Nonetheless, projects have been undertaken in Tiger's Bay to replace paramilitary murals and sectarian graffiti with more community-based projects.


Grove and Fortwilliam

The Shore Road proper begins just after the junction with Skegoneill Avenue. The end of the York Road and the area at the base of the Shore Road is often known as Grove, due to the names of some local streets. The Grove title is reflected a number of local amenities such as the now derelict Grove Leisure Centre, Grove Housing Association, the Grove Tavern etc. As has long been the case, the Grove area remains a largely industrial area, mainly now focusing on animal feed industries. The area, parts of which have been significantly redeveloped in recent years, is home to the Grove Wellbeing Centre, a building that combines health services, a leisure centre and a library under one building. Like much of the Shore Road, the Grove area is mainly inhabited by working class Protestants. As the Shore Road progresses the Fortwilliam area begins, taking its name from a number of local streets. The Fortwilliam area includes a large branch of
Asda Asda Stores Limited (), trading as Asda and often styled as ASDA, is a British supermarket and petrol station chain. Its headquarters is in Leeds, England. The company was incorporated as Associated Dairies and Farm Stores in 1949. It expanded ...
and a smaller branch of
Lidl Lidl ( ) is a trademark, used by two Germany, German international discount supermarket, discount retailer chain store, chains that operates over 12,600 stores. The ''LD Stiftung'' operates the stores in Germany and the ''Lidl Stiftung & Co. K ...
. Churches in the area include Seaview Presbyterian Church and Fortwilliam Gospel Hall. Near the edge of Fortwilliam is Mount Vernon estate, a large area of loyalist-dominated social housing. Belfast Corporation began building the estate in 1949, but it is dominated by two large tenement blocks, Ross House and Mount Vernon House, both of which were erected in 1966. The estate took its name from the original Mount Vernon House, a stately home, long since demolished, built for the Belfast merchant Hill Hamilton and named for
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
's
Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...
plantation. The area has long been notorious for its powerful UVF unit.


Lowwood to Greencastle

The areas that follow Fortwilliam, known variously as Lowwood and Donegall Park Avenue, are almost entirely residential, although the area also contains Loughside Park, a public parkland and sports facility maintained by
Belfast City Council Belfast City Council () is the Local government in Northern Ireland, local authority with responsibility for part of Belfast, the largest city of Northern Ireland. The council serves an estimated population of (), the largest of any district c ...
. Shore Crescent is a loyalist housing estate located east of the Mount Vernon and Lowwood areas. It was one of a number of areas built in the late 1960s to rehouse the residents of the inner city Sailortown area which was being demolished at the time.Sailortown Local History
Retrieved 24 November 2011
The Greencastle suburb which follows it is largely a mixed Catholic and Protestant area and includes St Mary's Catholic Church as well as the Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle, which is affiliated with the
Elim Pentecostal Church The Elim Pentecostal Church is a UK-based Pentecostal Christian denomination. It was founded in Ireland in 1915 by George Jeffreys and is the second-largest Pentecostal denomination in the UK. History George Jeffreys (1889–1962), a Welshm ...
. Greencastle previously had a PSNI station although, despite objections being raised by local MP
Nigel Dodds Nigel Alexander Dodds, Baron Dodds of Duncairn, (born 20 August 1958), is a Northern Irish unionist politician and barrister serving as Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in the House of Lords since 2021. He previously served as de ...
, this has since been closed and the building demolished. The
Whitewell Road The Whitewell Road is an interface area in north Belfast and Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, and historically the site of occasional clashes between nationalists and loyalists. The Whitewell Road and the surrounding area is a residential co ...
links the Shore Road to the
Antrim Road The Antrim Road is a major arterial route and area of housing and commerce that runs from inner city north Belfast to Dunadry, passing through Newtownabbey and Templepatrick. It forms part of the A6 road (Northern Ireland), A6 road, a traffic rou ...
. This area is also mixed in terms of demographics, although the two communities are largely separated and since the mid-1990s, there has been a history of sectarian clashes in the area. The Whitewell is followed by Bawnmore, an almost entirely
nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
/ republican enclave and an area noted for PIRA activity during the Troubles. During the conflict Bawnmore was regularly targeted by loyalist paramilitaries and as such it was heavily fortified and cut off from the rest of the road. This has lessened since the onset of 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 ...
, albeit with some tension remaining.


Newtownabbey

Belfast ends and Newtownabbey begins on the Shore Road an area which used to be the village of Whitehouse. Rathcoole, a large loyalist estate, is located in this area as is the smaller Merville Garden Village. This area includes the Abbey Centre and a number of other adjacent retails parks, making it the main shopping area of Newtownabbey. Places of worship in the area include Whitehouse Presbyterian Church and St. John's Church of Ireland, whilst Glas-na-Bradan Glen, a riparian woodland area close to Rathcoole, is adjacent to the Shore Road. The Shore Road passes through
Whiteabbey Whiteabbey () is a townland (of 406 acres) in Newtownabbey, north of Belfast in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The original village of Whiteabbey stood at the foot of the Three Mile Water, on the shore of Belfast Lough. In 1958, it and six othe ...
, another of the historic villages that forms part of Newtownabbey. The Whiteabbey section of the road largely contains private housing. The road then passes through
Jordanstown Jordanstown () is a townland (of 964 acres) and electoral ward in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is within the urban area of Newtownabbey and the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area. It is also situated in the civil parish of Car ...
with the
University of Ulster Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...
campus close by. Around this area one side of the road is bordered by the sea. This is not the case in Belfast and lower Newtownabbey where the M2 and the Belfast–Larne railway line separate the Shore Road from
Belfast Lough Belfast Lough () is a large sea inlet on the east coast of Northern Ireland. At its head is the city and port of Belfast, which sits at the mouth of the River Lagan. The lough opens into the North Channel and connects Belfast to the Irish ...
. A number of parks and green spaces are maintained along these areas of the Shore Road, notably Hazelbank Park, Rushpark, Glen Park and Jordanstown Loughshore Park, the latter of which also contains a caravan park. Following Greenisland the road changes its name to the Belfast Road as it reaches
Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 28,141 at the 2021 census. It is County Antrim's oldest t ...
. The A2 continues as far as
Limavady Limavady (; ) is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. Lying east of Derry and southwest of Coleraine, Limavady had a population of 11,279 people at the 2021 Census. In the 40 years between 1 ...
under a number of names.


Politics

The Shore Road is divided between the
two 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and the only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many ...
North Belfast and the
two 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and the only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many ...
East Antrim constituencies both for
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and the
Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...
. North Belfast is now held by Sinn Féin MP John Finucane since the general election of December 2019 and Sammy Wilson the member for East Antrim. In the Assembly North Belfast is represented by Paula Bradley, William Humphrey and
Nelson McCausland Nelson McCausland (born 15 August 1951) is a Northern Irish columnist and former Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician who was Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (2009–2011) and subsequently Minister for Social Development (2011– ...
of the DUP,
Carál Ní Chuilín Carál Ní Chuilín (; born 18 December 1964), formerly known as Caroline Cullen, is an Irish Sinn Féin politician and former Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) volunteer serving as the Principal Deputy Speaker of the Northern Ireland A ...
and
Gerry Kelly Gerard Kelly (; born 5 April 1953) is an Irish republican politician and former Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) volunteer who played a leading role in the negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement on 10 April 1998. He is cur ...
of Sinn Féin and
Nichola Mallon Nichola Mallon (born 23 August 1979) is a former politician from Northern Ireland who served as Deputy Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) from 2017 to 2022. She served as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for ...
of the
Social Democratic and Labour Party The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP; ) is a social democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland Assembly ( MLAs) and two members of Parliament (M ...
. East Antrim's MLAs are
David Hilditch David Hilditch (23 July 1963 – 5 November 2023) was a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Antrim from 1998 to 2023. Biography David Hilditch was born in Carrickfergus o ...
, Alastair Ross and
Gordon Lyons Gordon Lyons (born 6 March 1986) is a Northern Irish unionist politician, serving as Minister for Communities since 2024. He has also served as Director of Elections for the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) since 2021. He was Minister for the E ...
of the DUP, Roy Beggs Jr of the
Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it l ...
,
Stewart Dickson Stewart Dickson (born 8 December 1950) is an Alliance Party of Northern Ireland politician who has been a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Antrim since 2011. Political career Councillor (1977-1981, 1985-2011) Dickso ...
of the
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI), or simply Alliance, is a liberal and centrist political party in Northern Ireland. Following the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, it was the third-largest party in the Northern Ireland ...
and Oliver McMullan of Sinn Féin. Nigel Dodds maintains a constituency advice centre in the Grove area of the Shore Road. For local government purposes, the Shore Road is divided between
Belfast City Council Belfast City Council () is the Local government in Northern Ireland, local authority with responsibility for part of Belfast, the largest city of Northern Ireland. The council serves an estimated population of (), the largest of any district c ...
and
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council is a local authority that was established on 1 April 2015. It replaces Antrim Borough Council and Newtownabbey Borough Council. A statutory transition committee was established in 2013 to prepare for the m ...
. The lower parts of the Shore Road are part of the Castle District Electoral Area of Belfast City Council, whilst the rest of the road is covered by several areas of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council.


The Troubles

Like much of Belfast, the Shore Road saw a number of paramilitary attacks during
the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
. Paramilitaries from both the
Ulster loyalist Ulster loyalism is a strand of Unionism in Ireland, Ulster unionism associated with working class Ulster Protestants in Northern Ireland. Like other unionists, loyalists support the continued existence of Northern Ireland (and formerly all of I ...
and
Irish republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both w ...
sides were both active on the Shore Road, both in terms of recruiting members and in carrying out attacks.


Ulster Volunteer Force

The
Ulster Volunteer Force The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group based in Northern Ireland. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former Royal Ulster Rifles soldier from North ...
(UVF) was active locally from early in the Troubles. They placed a bomb in Conway's Bar, Greencastle on 29 March 1974 with two Catholic civilians, James Mitchell and Joseph Donnelly, killed in the explosion.Sutton Index of Deaths 1974
cain.ulst.ac.uk; accessed 4 March 2015.
The UVF carried out a bomb and gun attack on the same bar a year later on 13 March 1975 resulting in the deaths of a Catholic woman, Marie Doyle, and a UVF bomber, George Brown.Taylor, Peter (1999). ''Loyalists''. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., pp. 144–46 On 23 May 1975 the UVF, under its Protestant Action Force (PAF) codename, killed two Catholic brothers, John and Thomas McErlane, as they visited friends in Mount Vernon, before shooting another Catholic civilian in late August, who would die from his wounds on 8 October.Sutton Index of Deaths 1975
/ref> In 1976 a
loyalist feud Sporadic feuds erupted almost routinely between Northern Ireland's various loyalist paramilitary groups after the ethno-political conflict known as the Troubles began in 1969. The feuds have frequently involved conflicts between and within the ...
between 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 ...
(UDA) and UVF broke out and this included several incidents on the Shore Road, including UVF member Alexander Frame being assaulted with a breeze block, and a former seaman, who was not a member of either organisation, being shot and killed in a bar after getting caught in the crossfire. Larry Potter from
County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...
was killed by a UVF
car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, van bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roug ...
on the Shore Road on 25 March 1977 when his firm's minibus was fitted with an explosive device. On 29 October 1983, David Nocher, a member of the
Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...
, was killed at his Mill Road shop, with the attack claimed by the UVF again under their PAF pseudonym. Sectarian killings continued, as on 31 January 1986 when Martin Quinn was shot dead at his Bawnmore home. The UVF became more active in the area during the 1990s, carrying out a number of killings. Peter McTasney was killed on 24 February 1991 at his home in Bawnmore. McTasney had no paramilitary affiliations. On 17 January 1993, a Catholic young woman, Sharon McKenna was killed by the organisation as she visited a Protestant friend on the Mount Vernon estate. On 17 May 1994 two Catholic workmen, Eamon Fox and Gary Convie, were shot and killed by the UVF as they waited in a car outside the Tiger's Bay building site at which they were employed.Sutton Index of Deaths 1994
cain.ulst.ac.uk; accessed 4 March 2015.
Later that same year, on 17 June, two Protestant workmen, Cecil Dougherty and William Corrigan, were killed in similar circumstances when the UVF, believing them to be Catholic, launched a gun attack on the hut at which their construction team was based. During the Troubles an active UVF unit was based in the Shore Road's Mount Vernon estate and in 2011 the
Historical Enquiries Team The Historical Enquiries Team was a unit of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) set up in September 2005 to investigate the 3,269 unsolved murders committed during the Troubles, specifically between 1968 and 1998. It was wound up in S ...
(HET) undertook a wide-ranging investigation into its activities. A number of alleged members were brought to trial based on evidence provided by
supergrass Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey (drums, ...
Robert Stewart with crimes including the killing of UDA and
Ulster Democratic Party The Ulster Democratic Party (UDP) was a small Ulster loyalism, loyalist political party in Northern Ireland. It was established in June 1981 as the Ulster Loyalist Democratic Party by the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), to replace the New Ulst ...
(UDP) activist Tommy English as part of a
loyalist feud Sporadic feuds erupted almost routinely between Northern Ireland's various loyalist paramilitary groups after the ethno-political conflict known as the Troubles began in 1969. The feuds have frequently involved conflicts between and within the ...
. The trial, which involves some 13 alleged members of the Mount Vernon unit, ended in February 2012 when all but one of the defendants was acquitted after the judge called into question the testimonies of the central witnesses. As part of the same feud the UVF had also killed Tiger's Bay
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 ...
(UDA) activist David Greer, an attack for which the UDA killed
Progressive Unionist Party The Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) is a minor unionist political party in Northern Ireland. It was formed from the Independent Unionist Group operating in the Shankill area of Belfast, becoming the PUP in 1979. Linked to the Ulster Volunte ...
member Herbert Rice in the same area.


Ulster Defence Association

The UDA has been active in the area since the 1970s with the Shore Road divided between the North Belfast and South East Antrim brigades. Killings committed by the UDA in the area include Gordon Harron, a policeman, was killed near Mount Vernon after stopping a car containing UDA members on 21 October 1972. and on 13 July 1976 the shooting of Gerard Gilmore, an
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 emerg ...
(OIRA) member, outside the Boundary Bar. The ''
Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'' reported that he was on vigilante duty and was believed to have been armed at the time. An Official IRA death notice in the ''
Irish News Irish commonly refers to: * 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 island and the sovereign state *** Erse (disambiguati ...
'' confirmed he had been on vigilante duty. He was also a member of the
Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...
. However, one of their most notorious attacks in the area occurred on 11 February 1974 when a group of Catholic workers from Abbey Meats, a Shore Road meat packing plant, were shot at with machine guns by UDA members from East Antrim. Two teenagers, Margaret McErlean (17) and Thomas Donaghy (16), were killed in the attack. The group was also responsible for the killing of Henry Corbett of Bawnmore Grove, Greencastle, on 3 September 1979. On 30 August 1993 Stephen McKeag of the
UDA West Belfast Brigade The UDA West Belfast Brigade is the section of the Ulster loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), based in the western quarter of Belfast, in the Greater Shankill area. Initially a battalion, the West Belfast Brigade emer ...
killed Marie Teresa Dowds de Mogollon in an attack on her Fortwilliam home, although this murder was disowned by the UDA, which resulted in the killing being claimed as an accident when it was claimed under the UDA's
Ulster Freedom Fighters The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and Timeline of Ulster Defence Association act ...
cover name; the group said it had intended to kill her husband, a native of
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, whom the group accused of providing safe houses and apartments for IRA volunteers. Glen Branagh, a 16-year-old member of the UDA's youth group
Ulster Young Militants The Ulster Young Militants (UYM) are considered to be the youth wing of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. Commonly known as the Young Militants or UYM, the group formed in 1974 wh ...
, was killed in the Tiger's Bay area on 11 November 2001 after a pipe bomb he was wielding during clashes at the
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 ...
exploded prematurely. UDA members have frequently used the Alexandra Bar on York Road as a meeting place. In March 2006 six UDA members, including Ihab Shoukri, were arrested there as part of a police raid. Several years earlier, on 15 March 1975, two UDA members John Fulton and Stephen Goatley, had been shot dead by the UVF as part of a feud between the two groups.


Provisional IRA

The
Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...
(PIRA) launched a number of attacks in the area. One of the first came on 5 January 1973 when 18-year-old Trevor Rankin was killed at a petrol station on the road. It was later claimed that the killers had mistaken the civilian Rankin for an off-duty member of the
Ulster Defence Regiment The Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army established in 1970, with a comparatively short existence ending in 1992. Raised through public appeal, newspaper and television advertisements,Potter p25 their offi ...
. John Beattie, a 17-year-old member of the UDA, was killed by the PIRA on 12 July 1974 in the Tiger's Bay area. On 5 June 1976, the IRA launched a bomb attack on the Times Bar on York Road killing two Protestant patrons. In response to the attack the UVF launched a reprisal hit on the Chlorane Bar in the city centre, killing five people.Dillon, Martin (1989). ''The Shankill Butchers: the real story of cold-blooded mass murder''. New York: Routledge. p. 125 On 4 February 1978 the PIRA shot a civilian dead while mounting an attack on a
Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the ...
(RUC) foot patrol on the road.Sutton Index of Deaths by Malcolm Sutton – 1978
/ref> A similar attack, carried out from the Seaview football ground on 12 January 1980 resulted in the death of David Purse, a member of the RUC.


Others

During the early years of the Troubles a number of people were killed in attacks in which the group responsible remains unknown. On 21 June 1974 loyalists killed Protestant Stanley Lemon as he arrived at work on the Shore Road, mistakenly believing he was a Catholic. The Railway Bar in Greencastle was damaged in a bomb attack on 20 February 1975 with patron Gerald McKeown killed in the explosion. The attack was carried out by loyalists but not claimed by one group. The shooting of Joseph Branagh in Tiger's Bay later that year was likewise unclaimed, although it was the work of republicans. Michael Boothman was killed on 25 September 1976 as he stood outside the Shore Road's Wolfe Tone Social Club. Boothman's killing was carried out by loyalists but not claimed by a specific group. Later that same year, on 3 November, Georgina Strain was killed at her home in Tiger's Bay in an attack carried out by republicans but also not claimed by a specific group. Peter McGuinness, a 41-year-old Catholic civilian was killed by a
plastic bullet Plastic bullet can refer to: * Plastic baton round: a large, blunt, low-velocity projectile fired from a specialized gun, intended as a less-lethal weapon for riot control and an alternative to rubber bullets. * Plastic bullet: a conventionall ...
fired by the RUC outside his home in Greencastle on 9 August 1981. Elsewhere the republican
Irish People's Liberation Organisation The Irish People's Liberation Organisation was a small Irish socialist republican paramilitary organisation formed in 1986 by disaffected and expelled members of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), whose factions coalesced in the after ...
killed 66-year-old William Sergeant on 5 May 1992, shooting him as he stood outside the Mount Inn, Tiger's Bay.


Sport

The Shore Road and its surrounding area is home to a number of
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
clubs. The largest of these is
NIFL Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Sports Direct Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and Irish Premiership colloquially, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Northern Ireland Football L ...
club
Crusaders F.C. Crusaders Football Club is a semi-professional Northern Irish football club playing in the NIFL Premiership. The club, founded in 1898, is based in north Belfast and plays its home matches at Seaview. Crusaders originally played as a junior ...
, whose Seaview home is located on the road. The club had previously played at Simpson's Boiler Field further up the Shore Road until they settled at Seaview in 1921. Since 2013 Seaview has also been home to Newington Youth F.C. Skegoneill Avenue, a street almost facing Seaview which links the Shore Road to the Antrim Road contains the home stadium of Brantwood F.C., which the ground also known as Skegoneill Avenue. Further up in the Greencastle suburb the Shore Road playing fields are home to
Northern Amateur Football League The Northern Amateur Football League, also known as the Northern Amateur League and often simply as the Amateur League, is an association football league in Northern Ireland. It contains 13 divisions. These comprise four intermediate sections: ...
sides Grove United F.C. and Malachians F.C. The Tiger's Bay area is home to the Midland Boxing Club where reigning
WBA (Super) The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is an international professional boxing organization based in Panama. The WBA awards its world championship title at the professional level. Founded i ...
featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...
champion
Carl Frampton Carl Frampton (born 21 February 1987) is a Northern Irish former professional boxer who competed from 2009 to 2021. He held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBA (super) super bantamweight title in 2016, and the IBF su ...
was amongst the fighters they trained.
World Flyweight champion This is a list of world flyweight boxing champions, as recognized by the four major sanctioning organizations in boxing: * The World Boxing Association (WBA), established in 1921 as the National Boxing Association (NBA). The WBA often recognize up ...
Rinty Monaghan John Joseph Monaghan (21 August 1918 – 3 March 1984) was an Undisputed World flyweight boxing champion from Belfast. He became famous in the post-war period, eventually rising to become undisputed world champion and a hero to many people in ...
, a native of the nearby Sailortown area, is commemorated by a statue on York Street. Fortwilliam golf club is also located adjacent to the Shore Road. Located at Downview Avenue the course itself straddles Grays Lane, an arterial road linking the Shore Road and the Antrim Road in the Greencastle area close to the Whitewell Road. Grove Swimming Baths were opened in the early 1960s and contained at the time the only international standard 25-metre swimming pool in all Ireland. However it was closed with the opening of the Grove Wellbeing Centre and the building, which stood on the corner of North Queen Street, was demolished in 2013.


Education

A number of post-primary schools are located in and around the Shore Road, including Castle High School on Fortwilliam Park, Hazelwood Comprehensive College on Whitewell Road, Newtownabbey Community High School and Belfast High School in Jordanstown. Primary schools on the Shore Road include Seaview Primary School in the Grove area, St Mary's Star of the Sea in the Greencastle area and Lowwood Primary on Sheringhurst Park off the main road in the Belfast section and in Newtownabbey Whitehouse Primary School just past the junction of the Shore Road and Doagh Road and Whiteabbey Primary School on the Old Manse Road. Loughshore Educational Resource Centre, an institute for pupils with behavioural issues who have been removed from mainstream education, is also located on the Shore Road close to the Whitewell junction. The main Belfast campus of
Ulster University Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...
is located in York Street which is the continuation of the Shore Road into the city centre. A campus of the
Northern Regional College Northern Regional College (or NRC) is a third level educational institution in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The college has five campuses around the north-east of Northern Ireland (County Antrim and eastern County Londonderry): Ballymena ...
, a third-level institution, is also located on the Whiteabbey section of the Shore Road.


Transport

Public transport is now provided by the
Metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), 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 urban area with high ...
arm of Translink with the Shore Road forming the second of the company's twelve corridors. Buses link Belfast City Centre to the estates of Newtownabbey such as Monkstown, Rathcoole, Carnmoney and Ballyduff.
Ulsterbus Ulsterbus is a public transport operator in Northern Ireland and operates bus services outside Belfast. It is part of Translink (Northern Ireland), Translink, the brand name for the subsidiary operating companies of the Northern Ireland Transpor ...
services to the areas beyond Newtownabbey also operate on the Shore Road whilst it is also served by the Yorkgate and Whiteabbey railway stations. Both stations are part of the Belfast–Larne railway line although Yorkgate is only one stop away from the main hub at Belfast Central railway station. Previously, Belfast trams, and later Belfast trolleybuses, ran along the Shore Road, terminating at Greencastle and Fortwilliam, whilst the trains from York Street to such towns as
Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)Larne/Latharna
Placenames Database of Ireland.
is a to ...
,
Portrush Portrush () is a small seaside resort town on the north coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It neighbours the resort of Portstewart in County Londonderry. The main part of the old town, including the Portrush railway station, railway stati ...
, Ballycastle and
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...
were controlled by
London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with London and North Eastern Railway, LNER, Great Western Railway, GWR and Southern Railway (UK), SR. The London, Midland an ...
. The M2 motorway runs alongside the Shore Road for much of its length. Junctions one and two of the M2 are found on the Shore Road, Junction One at Fortwilliam facing the entrance to the Mount Vernon estate and Junction Two at Greencastle.M2/M22 Motorway
/ref>


References

{{Northern Ireland roads Streets in Belfast Roads in Northern Ireland