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 with a strong link between territory and ethno-political identity". [1]
Interface areas are sometimes bounded by the defensive barriers known as peace lines, and can be identified at their perimeter by painted kerbs or flags, demarcating the territorial affiliation of the area. [2] However, this is not always the case, so people not local to the area are not always aware of the existence of interface areas. [1] They are sometimes the sites of sectarian violence, when they have become known as "flashpoints". [3] [4] [5]
North Belfast is home to a number of interface areas. One of the most famous is Holy Cross in the Ardoyne area of Belfast, which was the site of significant disputes in 2001 and 2002. [5] [6] [7] Another significant area is that between the lower Antrim Road and the lower Shore Road which was seen as such a flashpoint in 1994 that a three-metre high (10') 'peace wall' was added to Alexandra Park, a public amenity straddling both areas. Alexandra Park is believed to be the only park in western Europe to be divided by such a wall, effectively dividing the park between the two adjacent communities. [8] The wall remains in place although a gate was added in 2011 permitting limited access from one side to the other. [9]
A major interface also exists at Duncairn Gardens between the Irish republican New Lodge area of the Antrim Road and the neighbouring Ulster loyalist Tiger's Bay area. Clashes here date back to at least the early 1970s when local "defence associations" formed by loyalists became part of the wider Ulster Defence Association. [10] Trouble in the area has been a regular feature with petrol bombs thrown in 2000 and 2001 after local UDA Brigadier Jimbo Simpson claimed that republican housing was starting to encroach into Tiger's Bay. [11] The Limestone Road, which runs parallel to Duncairn Gardens, also provides a dividing line, with the Parkside and Newington areas being largely Irish nationalist and the Tiger's Bay and Halliday's Road area mainly unionist (although a small section of Halliday's Road forms the edge of the New Lodge area and is divided from the rest of the road as a result). There have also been divisions around the Antrim Road between the Protestant Westland Road and the Catholic areas of the Cavehill Road known as "Little America", although there has been more co-operation between community groups aimed at decreasing tensions. [12]
Further north another major flashpoint exists between the republican Ardoyne area and the loyalist Glenbryn estate, with this clash reaching its apex in the above mentioned Holy Cross dispute of 2001 and 2002. The dividing line between the two areas is Alliance Avenue where the peace line has been since 1971. [13] On its western edge Ardoyne borders on the Crumlin Road and Woodvale Road, two mainly loyalist areas.
To the south of Ardoyne there are a number of interface areas on the Oldpark Road. The Torrens area was a heavily fortified loyalist enclave on the road access onto which is severely restricted. Areas such as Wyndham Street and Oldpark Avenue that surround Torrens are mostly republican. During the summer of 1996 the Ulster Volunteer Force in Torrens had been preparing to attack Ardoyne after local disturbances, although they were talked out of it by Progressive Unionist Party politician Billy Hutchinson. [14] Around 2010, the majority of the loyalist population was moved from the area and the barricades and police station have since been demolished. [15] Further down the road the loyalist Lower Oldpark is divided from the republican Ardoyne by the area around Hillview Road and Rosapenna Street, with Manor Street split in half by a peace line. The Lower Oldpark area sees occasional sectarian clashes as a result. [16]
Towards Newtownabbey the Whitewell Road contains an interface area between the republican Whitewell and loyalist White City areas. [17] The Whitewell area, as well as neighbouring Catholic areas of Longlands and Arthur, also border on the loyalist Rathcoole estate.
Although not strictly an interface as the areas on each side of it are majority Catholic according to the 2001 and 2011 censuses, [18] Ormeau Bridge became the focus of clashes in the 1990s. Residents of the Lower Ormeau Road opposed the Orange Order marching towards the city centre across Ormeau Bridge and via the Lower Ormeau Road. The marches originated in Ballynafeigh, which although a mixed area, contains an Orange Hall and a couple of Protestant enclaves, leading to a tradition of marches along the Ormeau Road. The Parades Commission has determined that marches be prevented from crossing Ormeau Bridge in recent years, and tensions have since reduced. [19]
One of the deadliest interface areas in Northern Ireland was that between the loyalist Shankill Road and the republican Falls and Springfield roads. Reports of rioting between the two communities go back to at least the 19th century and in the post-war years violence between the young people from both sides was common on the many streets that linked the two areas. [20] Following the outbreak of the Troubles and a huge upturn in violence in these areas most of the direct points of access were sealed by peace lines, generating pockets of urban voids marked by dereliction and abandonment. [21] Low level violence and vandalism often occur at the points where the two areas come very close, notably where Ainsworth Avenue backs onto the Springfield Road, the points at which Kirk Street and Workman Avenue in the Woodvale area touch Springfield, the parts of the Highfield estate that border the Springfield Road [22] and where republican Bombay Street and loyalist Cupar Way almost meet. More recently, on 7 April 2021, the gate at Lanark Way, a road connecting the Springfield Road to the Shankill Road, was the site of rioting in protest against the ‘Northern Ireland Protocol’ of the UK Brexit withdrawal agreement.
Other interfaces in west Belfast include the Donegall Road and Broadway, which are divided between the loyalist Village area and the republican St James's area by the roundabout where the Rise statue stands and the Stewartstown Road that divides the republican Lenadoon area from the loyalist Suffolk. [23]
Although east Belfast as a whole is largely Protestant in nature the republican enclave of the Short Strand forms a number of interface areas with neighbouring loyalist districts on the Albertbridge Road and the Newtownards Road. The 1970 Battle of St Matthew's saw one of the deadliest expressions of the tensions in the area, although as recently as 2011 sustained violent clashes have broken out in the area. [24]
The interface between the loyalist Corcrain Road and republican Obins Drive has been a regular scene of violence in the County Armagh town. [25] Violence broke out here in 2011 after loyalist youths had liaised with each other through social network sites in order to launch the disturbances. [26]
One of the main interface areas is between the Fountain estate and Bishop Street in the cityside as well as several others including the Dungiven Road, Currynierin and Tullyally interface and Irish Street and Gobnascale in the Waterside. In the early years of The Troubles, the Fountain estate almost directly bordered Bishop Street, which was a part of Free Derry, a Republican no-go area, resulting in hardline loyalism and the government trying to intervene by making more interface areas. After Operation Motorman and the end of Free Derry, sectarian violence became worse and the peace lines grew rapidly in the Protestant Fountain area bordering the Catholic Bishop Street. The heavily Protestant Waterside area borders the Catholic Dungiven road and it has multiple peace lines, and has been known as a violent area during The Troubles. There were many other interface areas in Derry but the two mentioned above were the largest. The City Council has attempted to tackle the tensions in these areas by embarking on a Shared City Project that aims to bring together people from both communities through education and recreational activities. [27] Harding Street in the city is divided by a fence. [28]
The Holy Cross dispute occurred in 2001 and 2002 in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast, Northern Ireland. During the 30-year conflict known as the Troubles, Ardoyne had become segregated – Ulster Protestants and Irish Catholics lived in separate areas. This left Holy Cross, a Catholic primary school for girls, in the middle of a Protestant area. In June 2001 – during the last week of school before the summer break – Protestant loyalists began picketing the school, claiming that Catholics were regularly attacking their homes and denying them access to facilities.
The peace lines or peace walls are a series of separation barriers in Northern Ireland that separate predominantly Irish republican or nationalist Catholic neighbourhoods from predominantly British loyalist or unionist Protestant neighbourhoods. They have been built at urban interface areas in Belfast and elsewhere.
Ardoyne is a working class and mainly Catholic and Irish republican district in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. It gained notoriety due to the large number of incidents during The Troubles.
Billy "Hutchie" Hutchinson is a Northern Irish Ulster Loyalist politician and activist who served as leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) from 2011 to 2023, now serving as party president. He was a Belfast City Councillor, representing Oldpark from 1997 to 2005, and then Court from 2014 to 2023. Hutchinson was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Belfast North from 1998 to 2003. Before this, he had been a member of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and was a founder of their youth wing, the Young Citizen Volunteers (YCV).
During 12–16 August 1969, there was an outbreak of political and sectarian violence throughout Northern Ireland, which is often seen as the beginning of the thirty-year conflict known as the Troubles. There had been sporadic violence throughout the year arising out of the Northern Ireland civil rights campaign, which demanded an end to discrimination against Catholics and Irish nationalists. Civil rights marches had been attacked by Protestant loyalists, and protesters often clashed with the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), the overwhelmingly Protestant police force.
Joe Bratty was a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitant and a leading member of the Ulster Defence Association's South Belfast Brigade. The head of UDA activity in the area during one of the organisation's most active phases, Bratty was suspected by security forces of playing a role in, or at least orchestrating, around 15 killings.
The 2011 Northern Ireland riots were a series of riots between 20 June 2011 and 16 July 2011, starting originally in Belfast, before spreading to other parts of Northern Ireland. They were initiated by the Ulster Volunteer Force.
From 6 to 11 July 1997 there were mass protests, fierce riots and gun battles in Irish nationalist districts of Northern Ireland. Irish nationalists/republicans, in some cases supported by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), attacked the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and British Army. The protests and violence were sparked by the decision to allow the Orange Order to march through a Catholic/nationalist neighbourhood of Portadown. Irish nationalists were outraged by the decision and by the RUC's aggressive treatment of those protesting against the march. There had been a bitter dispute over the march for many years.
The Crumlin Road is a main road in north-west Belfast, Northern Ireland. The road runs from north of Belfast City Centre for about four miles to the outskirts of the city. It also forms part of the longer A52 road which leads out of Belfast to the town of Crumlin. The lower section of the road houses a number of historic buildings, including the city's former law courts and prison, whilst the road encompasses several large housing areas, including Ardoyne, Ballysillan and Ligoniel(from Irish Lag an Aoil, meaning 'hollow of the lime').
William John Boreland was a Northern Irish footballer and loyalist activist. He came to prominence in the early years of the 21st century when he served as leader of the North Belfast Brigade of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and, as such, one of the six commanders of the movement as a whole. Boreland was killed in a shooting at his Belfast home in 2016.
The Shore Road is a major arterial route and area of housing and commerce that runs through north Belfast and Newtownabbey in Northern Ireland. It forms part of the A2 road, a traffic route which links Belfast to the County Antrim coast.
The Springfield Road 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. Along parts of the road are several interface area with the neighbouring Ulster loyalist areas of the Greater Shankill. The Springfield Road includes the Ballymurphy and New Barnsley districts and is overlooked by Black Mountain and Divis.
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, a traffic route which links Belfast to Derry. It passes through the New Lodge, Newington and Glengormley areas of Northern Ireland amongst others.
Samuel Smyth was a Northern Irish loyalist activist. A founder member of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) he was the early public face of the movement as the organisation's spokesman, and he later became involved in the group's attempts to politicise. He was assassinated by the Provisional IRA as part of the Troubles. Author Steve Bruce described Smyth as the "sometime editor of the Ulster Militant and a loose cannon who enjoyed an exciting and erratic relationship with the UDA".
During the 2012 North Belfast Riots sectarian disorder and rioting between loyalists and republicans occurred when rival parades, authorised by the Parades Commission, took place.
Jackie Coulter was a member of a loyalist paramilitary from Belfast, Northern Ireland who held the rank of lieutenant in the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). He was killed by the rival loyalist paramilitary organisation the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), as the result of a feud within loyalism.
Raymond Elder was a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary and a prominent figure within the Ulster Defence Association's South Belfast Brigade. Suspected by security forces of playing a role in numerous killings, including the Sean Graham shooting, he was shot dead by the Irish Republican Army on the Ormeau Road in 1994.
On 14 November 1992, the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), a loyalist paramilitary group, launched an attack on James Murray's bookmakers on the Oldpark Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A gunman fired on the customers with an assault rifle, while another threw a grenade inside. Three civilians were killed and thirteen wounded. The shop was in a Catholic and Irish nationalist area, and all of the victims were local Catholics. The attack was likened to the Sean Graham bookmakers' shooting carried out by the UDA earlier that year.
The 2010 Northern Ireland riots were riots and civil disturbance in Northern Ireland in July 2010, orchestrated by Irish republicans.
The May 2002 Belfast riots were riots that occurred in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. On Saturday May 2002, up to 800 people were involved in sectarian clashes beginning shortly after the Scottish Cup Final in which Rangers F.C. beat Celtic F.C. Petrol bombs and fireworks were thrown at Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers. That night 28 police officers and 10 civilians were injured, including two Protestant men who were shot.
