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The background of this project and exhibitions
The Peace Lines or Peace Walls are a series of separation barriers in Northern Ireland that separate predominantly Irish republican and nationalist Catholic neighbourhoods from predominantly British Loyalist and Unionist Protestant neighbourhoods. They have been built in urban interfaith areas in Belfast and elsewhere as symbols of identity that are worth paying attention to, appreciating and documenting as historical artefacts.
This project hopes to demonstrate that the city is not an isolated and siloed space but a sentient living being in which histories, languages and cultures emerge, interweave and synergically live together bringing life to communities and providing spaces for learning and understanding about others. Ultimately, this research will directly lead to the achievement of impact to motivate emerging researchers and practitioners in the field of applied linguistics and language education to promote the importance of cultures and languages at the centre of pedagogical approaches to amplify the knowledges of diverse communities and celebrate their identities in order to foster a more welcoming society for all.
I would like to thank the great work of Fionnghuala, Cristina, Alex, and Anna and their assistance in this project and I also would like to thank the Duncairn, and Glór na Móna for their support in letting us use their facilities for the on-site exhibition.
Title of the exhibition and poster created and designed by Fionnghuala Nic Roibeaird.
This project was exhibited in person during the Months of April and June 2024.
OUR VIRTUAL EXHIBITION
In this virtual exhibition, you will see 1) a reflection in English and Irish (edits and translations by Fionnghuala Nic Roibeaird) on some of the photographs taken during the sound walking paseo, 2) an experimental audio response to some other photos and 3) audio sound (voice) excerpts from some of our conversations during the walk.
Enjoy and make sure to leave a comment on our virtual wall.
Photo 1
While this project is concerned with ‘linguistic’ landscapes, I felt that this photo was very powerful and indeed universal. Before we can write, in pre-schools we often place our hands in paint and imprint it on pages as artwork. I felt that this mural depicts a commonality between humans on a piece of security architecture that divides one community from the other. The child’s handprint reminds me of the abuse suffered by children since the partition of this island. My older relatives and my parents’ friends all have stories to tell of how grown adults would attack them, and indeed how their peers would also attack them. Following the outbreak of the Troubles, many teenagers would get involved in organised campaigns and their stolen youth is often forgotten about. In the blink of an eye many went from being children to adults following the outbreak of war, while those born in the 70s were forced to be born as adults in a warzone.
Cé go mbaineann an tionscadal seo le tírdhreacha ‘teangeolaíocha’, mhothaigh mé go raibh an íomha seo an-chumhachtach agus go deimhin uilechoiteann. Sular féidir linn scríobh, i naíscoileanna is minic a chuirimid ár lámha i bpéint agus é a phriontáil ar leathanaigh mar obair ealaíne. Mhothaigh mé go léiríonn an múrphictiúir seo comóntacht idir daoine ar phíosa ailtireachta slándála a scarann pobal amháin ó phobal eile. Cuireann lámhchló an linbh i gcuimhne dom an drochíde a d’fhulaing leanaí ó chríochdheighilt an oileáin seo. Tá scéalta le hinsint ag mo ghaolta níos sine agus ag cairde mo thuismitheoirí faoin dóigh a n-ionsódh daoine fásta iad, agus go deimhin an dóigh a ndéanfadh a bpiaraí ionsaí orthu freisin. I ndiaidh thús na dTrioblóidí, ghlacfadh go leor déagóirí páirt i bhfeachtais eagraithe agus is minic a dhéantar dearmad ar a n-óige goidte. I bhfaiteadh na súl chuaigh go leor ó bheith ina leanaí go daoine fásta i ndiaidh thús an chogaidh, agus b'éigean iad siúd a rugadh sna 70í a rugadh mar dhaoine fásta i limistéar cogaidh.
Reflection by Fionnghuala
Photo 2
I really like the illustration of cracks in the wall and on the other side there is a field of grass and the synonymity between peace and green spaces speaks to issues such as colonisation, climate justice, and public space. This imagery stands in contrast to the fact that on the other side of this image stands houses which were burned out due to sectarian rioting against the nationalist population who live there. I also really like the writing ‘may peace fall as a healing rain’ particularly in a place like Ireland where our oceanic climate means it rains a lot and I like how this is reoriented toward something we should be at peace with and something that can bring us peace.
Is breá liom an tarraingt de scoilteanna sa bhalla agus ar an taobh eile tá páirc féir agus tógann an chomhchiall léirithe idir an tsíocháin agus na spásanna glasa ceisteanna ar an choilíniú, cirt aeráide, agus spás poiblí. Seasann an íomháineachas seo i gcodarsnacht leis an fhíric go ndearnadh ionsaí ar na tithe ar an taobh eile den bhalla seo agus gur dódh an pobal náisiúnach sin amach ag tús na trioblóidí i gcíréib seicteach. Chomh maith leis sin, is breá liom an scríbhinn ‘may peace fall as a healing rain’ go háirithe in áit cosúil le hÉireann ina chiallaíonn ár n-aeráid aigéanach go mbíonn sé ag cur fearthainne go minic agus is maith liom an dóigh a bhfuil sé seo athdírithe mar rud éigin ar cheart dúinn a bheith ar ár suaimhneas le mar pháirt den nadúr agus den chnéasú.
Reflection by Fionnghuala
Photo 3 and 4
I have paired Figures 3 and 4 because they both depict the same thing and I think it’s important to note that this occurs at different sections of the wall. The missing bricks are from young people breaking them off the wall and throwing them over the peace wall into people’s back gardens. What you can’t see are the extra grills that have been installed in the gardens to provide additional protection against these attacks. It’s important to note that even in Figure 3 which is a part with more affluent housing and trees planted, that attempts were made there to create projectiles from the wall. These absences tell more of the living reality of these communities than what the murals on the peace wall do.
Cuireann an dá íomha seo an rud chéanna ina luí agus sílim go bhfuil sé tábhachtach a thabhairt faoi deara go dtarlaíonn sé seo ag áiteanna éagsúla den bhalla. Tá brící ar iarraidh cionn is gur bhain daoine óga iad ón bhalla agus iad ag déanamh ionsaí ar na tithe ar an taobh eile den bhalla thar bharr an balla síocháin agus istigh ina ngairdíní. An rud nach féidir leat a fheiceáil ná na greillí breise a cuireadh isteach sna gairdíní chun cosaint bhreise a sholáthar i gcoinne na n-ionsaithe seo. Tá sé tábhachtach a thabhairt faoi deara, fiú sa chéad íomha, ina bhfuil tithíocht níos saibhre agus crainn curtha, go ndearnadh iarrachtaí ansin fiú le teilgeáin a chruthú ón bhalla. Insíonn na neamhláithreachtaí seo níos mó de réaltacht bheo na bpobal seo ná mar a dhéanann na múrphictiúir ar an bhalla síochána.
Reflection by Fionnghuala
Photo 5
I feel this deliberate installation of women is an important inclusion in this exhibition. The positioning of this mural, i.e. away from the peace wall and therefore away from the main focus, and in an area that is protected by walls (this photo was captured through a gap) is so important. In 2017 I painted a women’s rights mural on the unionist side of the wall and it did not last the night. This was a concern that I and the funders of the mural had when painting it and it is clear that the positioning of this mural speaks to similar concerns. Moreover, feminism is associated with republicanism and many women from the Protestant Unionist Loyalist community feel isolated from it and do feel that it is a republican ideology. It takes bravery to articulate a women’s perspective in the PUL community and I feel that this mural speaks to that bravery.
Reflection by Fionnghuala
Photo 6
This mural depicts what this area looked like before the walls, with the Conway Mill which many from both communities worked in the background and behind that the Black Mountain which depicts the land and is held sacred in the hearts of many in this community. The mural calls for working-class unity stating that ‘Slowly those who create the wealth of the world are permitted to share it. The future is in labor’s strong, rough hands.’ The obvious aging on the mural speaks to the timeless message of working-class unity and also how it is something that has been accepted and not subject to vandalism.
Reflection by Fionnghuala
Photo 7 and 8
In the semiotic landscape of Bóthar na bhFál, we saw references to an Ceathrú Gaeltachta, or the Gaeltacht Quarter, a name that points to the local community’s dedication and connection to the Irish language. I was particularly interested in a sticker we saw on a pole (Figure 8) that looks like the street signs you see as you enter the officially designated Gaeltacht regions. The sticker challenges the idea that such regions have to be officially designated and recognised by a state, with official signage marking where they begin and end. It calls for a different way of understanding the connection between the Irish language and space, one that recognises that it is through community efforts that connection is built.
Reflection by Alex
Photo 9
Having spent time researching the Irish language in the semiotic landscape of Baile Átha Cliath (Dublin), I was struck by the images that crossed between Baile Átha Cliath and Béal Feirste. Here are two stickers that serve as examples. The first references Connolly Books, a radical bookshop in Baile Átha Cliath that hosts a weekly Irish-language conversation circle. The second references Irish speakers’ dream to live full lives in Irish and the same sticker can be found on the streets of Baile Átha Cliath. These stickers remind me of the connections between these two cities and the passing of people, ideas and material objects between them.
Reflection by Alex
Photo 10
This image is interesting to me for two reasons. Firstly, I don’t remember ever seeing a betting shop with Irish-language signage before, even though I grew up in a place where the Irish language has been afforded more official protection and dedicated policy. The betting shop having posters in Irish while graffiti calls for more official protection through #AchtAnois made me think a lot about where change can come from for our language: community, official protection, both? This signage also inspired me to think about what role somewhere like a betting shop should have in making the language more visible, being as it is an entity that profits off addiction and animal exploitation. On the one hand, people use betting shops, including Irish speakers. On the other hand, I dream of a world where Irish speakers and all animals, including non-human animals, can live freely.
Reflection by Alex
Photo 11
This figure represents the Welcoming to the heart of the Gaeltacht quarter - which means you are in the Irish-speaking area. This was my first time ever visiting this Gaeltacht and these constant representations of the Irish language and I did not even know it existed somewhere where these signs were present. So it made me feel I was re-discovering Belfast and meeting a ‘new’ community that is really really connected through their linguistic roots. Because when you come from abroad and you first think about Ireland (including any region and the north), you just think they speak Irish everywhere, the signs are all in Irish and that everything is gonna give you that Irish sense. Nothing to do with reality and here my first time really seeing this language represented in the region.
Reflection by Cristina
Photo 12 and 13
The first picture (Figure 12) has #CeartaTeanga written on it, which means ‘Language Rights’, and the second one (Figure 13) has #AchtAnois represented in it, the name of a campaign claiming for a rights-based Irish Language Act. Both show the need for this community to claim their linguistic rights, which seem to be a big part of who they are as both individuals and a community. Again, coming from the point that I know no Irish and I have never been made aware of these signs or any other linguistic enactments, these were quite symbolic to me.
Reflection by Cristina
Photo 14 and 15
I have chosen Figure 14 and Figure 15 because they both represent the same meaning of “HOPE”. These two pictures were taken at different streets from the wall around Falls Road and I chose them because they can be differentiated from the rest of the paintings that are shown throughout this area, which are usually related to more political and linguistic ‘enactments’ towards the Irish language, or representations from the Troubles among others. Indeed, now that I am looking at them again, there are two main things that made me choose these two images: (1) they both show two hands either holding (in Figure 15) or touching (Figure 14), as if they represent a sense of community and belonging together aside from all their fighting in the past; and (2) the fact that both say ‘hope’, from what I interpret there is faith in a future where everyone is part of a common something. Basically, these pictures can be summarised in the writing of one of them: “A Lifeboat from Despair”. Just beautiful.
Roghnaigh mé an dá íomha seo mar go léiríonn siad araon an bhrí chéanna le "DÓCHAS" nó “HOPE”. Tógadh an dá phictiúr seo ar shráideanna éagsúla ón bhalla thart ar Bhóthar na bhFál agus roghnaigh mé iad toisc gur féidir iad a dhifreáil ón gcuid eile de na pictiúir a léirítear ar fud an cheantair seo, a bhaineann de ghnáth le ‘achtacháin’ níos polaitiúla agus teangeolaíocha i dtreo an Gaeilge, nó léiriúcháin de na Trioblóidí i measc eile. Go deimhin, anois agus mé ag féachaint orthu arís, tá dhá phríomhrud ann a thug orm an dá íomhá seo a roghnú: (1) taispeánann an bheirt acu an dá lámh agus iad ag beir greime nó ag tadhall, amhail go léiríonn siad braistint phobail agus muintearas le chéile seachas an troid ar fad a bhí acu san am a chuaigh thart; agus (2) an fhíric go ndeir an dá cheann ‘dóchas’, ón méid a léirím go bhfuil creideamh i dtodhchaí ina bhfuil gach duine mar chuid de rud coiteann. Go bunúsach, is féidir achoimre a dhéanamh ar na pictiúir seo agus ceann acu á scríobh: “Bád Tarrthála ón Éadóchas”. Go hálainn ar fad.
Reflection by Cristina
Photo 16
This last picture (Figure 16) shows a community centre with the Palestine flag and the presence of several teddy bears attached to the fence. At the time of this walk, it was the first time I was becoming aware of the presence and solidarity of Belfast people towards the Palestine genocide. Like, I was familiar some of the connections between Northern Ireland and Palestine in the past (as we saw during the Black Taxi tour through the international wall), but I was actually shocked by how many of these teddy bears I could see not only here (in this part of the walk) but around the whole Falls Road. This made me realize of the sense of community, solidarity and support that people in this area show to those in a difficult (and nameless) situation.
Reflection by Cristina
Photo 17
The Kenyan writer and academic Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, published in 1986 a book named Decolonising the Mind which is about his critiques of the impact of colonialism on African societies. As such, this artwork reminded me of my place in the world and understand that I am a visitor to this land, I need to respect and learn the history and legacies of cultures and languages of this content. In a sense, this is an invitation for those who walk by to question all power structures and the legacies and pain that have lasted for centuries not only in Northern Ireland but else in the world.
I 1986 d’fhoilsigh an scríbhneoir agus an scoláire Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o leabhar darb ainm Decolonising the Mind a bhaineann lena léirmheasanna ar thionchar an choilíneachais ar shochaithe na hAfraice. Mar sin, mheabhraigh an saothar ealaíne seo m’áit sa domhan mór agus thuigim gur cuairteoir ar an tír seo mé, go gcaithfidh mé meas a bheith agam ar stair agus oidhreacht chultúir agus theangacha na háite seo agus mé a fhoghlaim. Ar bhealach, is cuireadh é seo dóibh siúd a shiúlann thart gach struchtúr cumhachta a cheistiú agus na hoidhreachtaí agus an phian a mhair leis na céadta bliain, ní hamháin i dTuaisceart na hÉireann ach in áiteanna eile ar an domhan.
Reflection by Yecid
EXPERIMENTAL AUDIO RESPONSES
Click each photo to listen to a short audio response by Yecid.
SOUNDWALK PASEO
Listen to some snippets of our conversations (Yecid &Fionnghuala, Cristina & Alex) while walking on some parts near the Peace Walls in Belfast.
Please leave your mark on our wall. Any comments or reflections?
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