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Peace in division - 19th April 2023

Twenty-five years after a peace agreement was signed in Northern Ireland, ending decades of violence between catholics and protestants, the 'peace walls' built by the British army continue to dominate the city of Belfast.

75 walls, collectively stretching over 13 kilometres, were built by the British army in 1968 to separate the pro-Ireland republicans, mainly Catholic, and the pro-UK loyalists, mainly Protestant. The sectarian violence, known as 'The Troubles', ended with a peace accord - the Good Friday Agreement signed in 1998.

Michael Culbert is a former member of the republican paramilitary organisation the IRA. He now leads tours of the walls; for him, they are a symbol of the past.

Michael Culbert: "The walls here are a, are a remnant of our, our past conflict, when you think of wall. The walls were built, one, by the British government. And to a degree they were built to stop bullets. That's what the wall - the bullets can't go through the wall. There are no bullets flying now, so the walls have to come down."

In Berlin, the wall dividing the city was torn down with the end of the Soviet Union. Jonny Byrne, a professor in criminal justice, believes there are reasons why this has never occurred in Belfast.

Jonny Byrne: "That's never happened and never will happen because we don't have a Berlin wall structure here. The peace walls, they actually have become part of the built environment and communities. You, you can drive through areas and not even know they're there because they've become part of the, the, the, the buildings and the, and the, and the architecture of these communities."

The peace walls, whilst now a tourist attraction, are also a magnet for what Byrne terms 'recreational rioting' and in 2021, they served as flashpoints for tensions over Brexit trade agreements.

As communities come together in other parts of the city, will this create pressure for the walls to finally come down? Michael Culbert believes this will take time.

Michael Culbert: "The problem is the walls have been here that long. They're, they're covering at least two, possibly three generations. It'll take time but people will come, come to it."

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