Today we took a walking tour of Belfast. The first half was led by a former IRA member and the second by a former loyalist prisoner. While at times it seemed like their situations were incredibly similar, there were fundamental differences in attitude and presentation that were fascinating. Both of them served time at a young age for crimes related to the Troubles, they grew up within miles of each other, and both feel that violence is no longer an option, but the underlying tone in the way they spoke about it was not the same.
The former IRA member had a confidence and poise about him. He seemed prepared to share his side of the story from as factual a point of view as possible, given that he was personally involved in the conflict. He told us that he was on the scene when two young boys became the first victims of the Troubles. Patrick Rooney (9) and Emanuel McClarnon (21) were killed at Divis Tower in August of 1916. Our tour guide was 10 at the time.
He shared that he was arrested at the age of 18 with firebombs and served time in prison. He mentioned the people he’d lost and the struggles he had faced, but he also shared some positive things. He told the story of meeting his wife when they both worked in the IRA headquarters. While both men blamed the other side for the conflict, the former IRA member seemed to have moved on more than the loyalist. He even went so far as to say that the Catholics were no longer oppressed and that a united Ireland is not far from happening by peaceful means.
It was clear that the former UVF member knew this as well because he seemed much more defensive on his tour. He stated his view that Northern Ireland should be a part of the UK immediately; however, he did acknowledge the idea that there will most likely be a referendum at some point in the future and that if the unionists win, they’ll have to honor that. Many times throughout his tour, he mentioned the great things that Protestants had done, most of which didn’t relate to the conflict at all. He attributed the success of Belfast to Protestants and even mentioned in passing that Guinness was founded by a Protestant. In every word he spoke, I could tell he was guarded and ready to defend his people.
Both tour guides were telling the story from their point of view, but it felt like the former UVF member was trying harder to convince us that his was correct. He told us the story of when he witnessed the bombing of a fish shop in Belfast and when he lost loved ones to the IRA, but the most clear example of this was the last stop on his tour. As we turned the corner, we were confronted with a large wall filled with words and pictures showing the horrible things that the IRA had done and comparing them to other terrorist groups. There were graphic photos of the 2015 ISIS attacks in Paris with words underneath that said “IRA-Sinn Fein-ISIS no difference.” The wall was covered in photos of IRA bombings and victims. Across the top of the wall it read “Sinn Fein/IRA’s Slaughter of the Innocents.” This clear and blatant propaganda was shocking.
Now, I must remind myself that this was only one man from each side. I can’t let them shape my entire view of the conflict. I have to work on sorting out my feelings about the whole thing, which I’m still trying to process, but there was one major thing that I could take away from both of them. Both men expressed that they never want to see the kind of violence that they have again. They both spoke about the youth and how this can affect them. So while they have completely opposite opinions, they agree on one thing: peace.