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Falls Road also refers to the Rochester, Lockport and Niagara Falls Railroad, the New York Central Railroad's line to Niagara Falls, New York.

The Falls Road (Bóthar na bhFál in Irish, meaning "road of the hedgerows") is the main road through west Belfast in Northern Ireland; from Divis Street in Belfast city centre to Andersonstown in the suburbs. Its name is synonymous with the Catholic and republican communities in the city. It is easily known as one of the more famous streets in Northern Ireland, drawing many tourists all year round. The neighbouring Shankill Road is predominantly Protestant, separated from the Falls Road by peace lines. The road is usually referred to as The Falls Road, rather than as Falls Road.

History

The Falls Road was originally a country lane leading from the city centre but the population of the area expanded rapidly in the nineteenth century with the construction of several large linen mills. All of these have now closed. The housing in the area developed in the nineteenth century and was organised in narrow streets of small terraced back-to-back housing. By the 1960s the buildings in the area had decayed considerably and the Belfast Corporation introduced a major development plan which involved wholescale demolition of much of the area and its replacement with a series of flat complexes. The high point of this redevelopment was Divis Tower.

Politics

As a predominantly working class community, the Falls Road has historically had a strong socialist tradition. James Connolly, the Irish socialist resided in the Upper Falls for a period in the early 20th century and was involved in organizing the workers in the linen mills. In 1829 the Falls Orange Lodge was formed in Divis Street.

In 1964 Billy McMillen stood as a Republican candidate for the Belfast West constituency in the Westminster election. His office was in Divis Street and displayed the Irish tricolour alongside the Starry Plough of James Connolly's Irish Citizen Army in the office window. The illegal public display of the flag of the Republic of Ireland was banned by the Northern Ireland government at that time. Protestant preacher Ian Paisley insisted police remove the flag, or it would instigate rioting. The police feared a backlash from Protestants and took down the flag for public safety. There was unsupported unrest and rioting from the Catholic community. This is sometimes considered the start of The Troubles.

In the late 1960s, many Catholics from across Northern Ireland began to campaign for civil rights. This included an end to religious discrimination in housing and jobs which Protestants also suffered. The campaign provoked opposition from loyalists due to the IRA's involvment with the movement. Several streets around the Falls Road were burnt out by loyalists in retaliation in August 1969 during severe rioting. In response to the worsening security situation and the inability of the police to cope, the Government deployed the Army on to the Falls Road. The troops were initially welcomed by the residents as a source of protection. This attitude, however, quickly turned to anger as they were drawn into needless conflict with the Army. In 1970, the road was the scene of what became known as the Falls Curfew. In response to a gun and grenade attack by the Provisional IRA, 3000 British army troops sealed off the streets around the road, home to about 10,000 people. They flooded the area with soldiers in an attempt to recover IRA weapons. After an all day gun battle, the operation was justified and (predominantly with the Official IRA), ninety rifles were recovered and over the course of the weekend four Catholic terrorists were killed by the soldiers. This event is widely regarded as the end of the British army's "honeymoon" period with the Irish nationalist community in Northern Ireland. For the following thirty years the British Army and maintained a substantial presence for security reasons 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's Normalisation programme following the IRA'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.

Culture

The area has a rich and vibrant culture, both Roman Catholic & Protestant. Over the past thirty years there has been a substantial revival of traditional culture in terms of Irish language, dancing and music although the small Protestant communities have been sidelined. These are all displayed in the Féile an Phobail, which is an annual festival that aims to rival the Belfast Festival at Queen's. The road is also home to the Cultúrlann, an Irish cultural centre. In recent times the area has become a tourist destination, with people wanting to see the site of some of the incidents that occurred during The Troubles and the many Republican murals that are now to be seen in the area. A popular destination is the Sinn Féin shop and office with its mural of hunger striker Bobby Sands, which is often used by Sinn Féin politicians as a backdrop when giving television interviews. Another popular destination is the 'solidarity wall', which features murals mainly dedicated to peoples/revolutionaries inspired by or with connections or no connections to Irish Republicanism, e'g The PLO, ETA etc. (the Blanketmen, Palestinians, ETA, Frederick Douglass and so on) and is located close to the newly refurbished Falls Road Leisure Centre and the Divis area.

Educational institutions and hospitals

Several large educational institutions are also located in the area. These include St. Dominic's High School, St Rose's High School, St Mary's University College, Irish language secondary school Coláiste Feirste and St. Louise's Comprehensive College, one of the largest comprehensives in Europe. There were also several primary schools including St Finian's Primary School and St. Catherine's Primary School but these latter closed due to falling student numbers while St. Catherines merged with St. John's Girls and St. Gall's Boys to form St. Clares in September 2005 . St Marys CBGS Belfast was originally located in Barrack Street off Divis Street in the lower Falls area but transferred to a greenfield site on the Glen Road in the upper Falls area in the 1960s.

There are also several large hospitals in the area including the Royal Victoria Hospital, the Royal Maternity and the Children's Hospital.

Notable buildings

Although the area is largely residential there are several substantial buildings. These include several Catholic churches such as St. Peter's Cathedral in the Divis Street/Lower Falls area, St. Paul's Church in the mid-Falls area and the Protestant St. John's Church in the Upper Falls. Nearby is located Clonard monastery, the home of the Redemptorist religious order. Two large cemeteries are located at the top of the Falls Road - Belfast City Cemetery and Milltown Cemetery. The most famous of the original Mill Buildings is Conway Mill, originally a flax spinning mill, it now houses a community enterprise of small businesses, art studios, retail space and education floor. The Dunlewey Centre (Belfast Metropolitan College) is a Community Education Centre in the heart of the lower Falls.

References

1. A Secret History of the IRA by Ed Moloney (ISBN 0-141-01041-X), page 91.

External links

• Fáilte Feirste Thiar
• Féile an Phobail
• Cultúrlann
• Raidió Fáilte 107.1 FM
• Falls Road in Rushlight Magazine
• Gaeltacht Quarter

v t e Roads in Northern Ireland
Motorways	M1 M2 M3 M5 M12 M22 A8(M)
Main 'A' roads	A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A12 A20 A21 A22 A23 A25 A24 A26 A29 A32 A34 A36 A37 A38 A40 A43 A46 A47 A55 A505 A515 A509
Main 'B' roads	B1 B52 B53 B136 B193
Others	Antrim Road Botanic Avenue Crumlin Road Donegall Square Donegall Road Falls Road Glenshane Pass Great Victoria Street Lisburn Road Malone Road Ormeau Road Royal Avenue Sandy Row Shaftesbury Square Shankill Road Shore Road Springfield Road Stranmillis Road Westlink

• Geography of Belfast
• Streets in Belfast
• Roads in Northern Ireland