The Troubled Murals of Titanic Town

Belfast, the town where the ill-fated ocean liner Titanic was built, is the capital of Northern Ireland and the fourteenth largest city in the United Kingdom. For the longest time its reputation has been tied with The Troubles, a period of tense ethnic conflict over the constitutional status of Northern Ireland after the island was partitioned in 1920, and violent conflicts between the Protestant unionist and Catholic unionist communities. Though the Troubles, which began in the 1960s, officially ended with the signing of the Belfast “Good Friday” Agreement of 1998, tensions have not completely eased. The angst and nationalist sentiment of Belfast residents find expression on the city’s walls, which are painted richly with murals. LAKSHMI SHARATH guides you on a pictorial tour.