Belfast, North of Ireland - Pogrom of August 1969 - August 2025

On our first full day, we actually left the country of Ireland altogether. We went up to the North of Ireland on a guided tour. J's got a lot of family from up there, so we are pretty pro-Republic.

In regards to the tour itself (which I'll cover in the next few posts). Our tour guide was Sean, and Pete was our driver - they were both excellent. I did a lot of research in advance on what were the best-rated tours, bus vs renting a car, etc., etc. This was the absolute right choice for us (although the benefit of driving ourselves would have been getting to Giant's Causeway before the glut of people). Sean was incredibly helpful and knowledgeable, and we learned so much from him. It was just incredibly worth it.

There were several stops of the day on the schedule, but the first was in Belfast. We were presented with a choice - either tour the Titanic Museum, or take a guided black cab tour of the Peace Wall by either a Catholic Republican or a Protestant Unionist. J and I were both pretty invested in the history of the Troubles, so we were some of the few who opted for the black cab tour.

Oh my gosh, was it incredible. It was deeply moving, and our tour guide was a Catholic Republican who had lost his brother in the troubles. For those who don't know, the Peace Walls close at around 8:30 at night. You need to be on your side of the wall for your own safety at that time. His brother had been at a pub after hours on the Protestant side, and one of the Loyalists there had called his friends, they took John's brother into the back room, and beat him to death simply for being a Catholic Republican. Because obviously the British government had an incentive to keep the Loyalists happy, the men got off on a technicality.

Our first stop of the black cab tour was at the site of the Pogrom of August 1969. The Troubles had been going in earnest for a few months, as jobs were scarce and living conditions were poor, causing people to have escalating anger at the government. The RUC (the police force of Northern Ireland) shot into a building on August 15, 1969 - shooting through the kitchen while a woman stood, into the room of her son Patrick Rooney, a 9-year-old boy murdered in his bed. The 56th anniversary of the atrocity had been the week before we arrived, so we saw the moving tributes to the boy - flowers on the fence by his mother and family, stuffed animals tied to the fence in his honor. Across the street is a pro-Palestine mural that is currently the longest mural in the world. Obviously, the Catholic Republicans have a lot in common with the Palestinians.

Here are some of the photos of the Pogrom area.

Townsend Street was the site of the Pogrom.

"No Sovereignty = No Control." Graffiti is so often correct.

Stuffed animals and Palestinian flags line the fence of Patrick's home.

This sign commemorating the Pogrom is right outside Patrick Rooney's bedroom.

This lone bunch of flowers from Patrick's mother and family honored his brief life.

This plaque also honors Patrick and Hugh McCabe.

The pro-Palestine mural lines the opposite side of the street!