My Hometown - Belfast, Northern Ireland.

I am from Northern Ireland, a country that is pretty much torn apart by religion and politics. Without going into the whole history, the breakdown is; Catholics & Republicans vs Protestants & Unionists. The situation has gotten better since the 70's, a time in which we call "The Troubles" but there is still so much work to be done in both communities. Luckily I grew up in a mixed religious household so I have family from both "sides" if you will. I never seen the difference in either side of my family, we are all just people. I love all my family regardless of their religious or political beliefs. 

Sectarianism is a word we hear a lot where i'm from, "there's been another sectarian attack" is what we are used to reading in the papers or hearing on the news. I know there are a lot of cross-community projects that try to bring both sides together and I admire them for their work, but there is still so much fighting in our wee country that it just makes me sad. Kids are growing up hating "the other side" because of how they have been brought up, with family or friends who are bitter from things that have happened in the past. Everyone just needs to let it go and try and make our country a safe environment for children to grow up and are then able to say that they are proud to be from here. We shouldn't care what area someone is from, as most areas in my city (Belfast) are labelled as either a Catholic or Protestant area. Or what school they went to, again the majority of schools are purposely only for either religion. 

Too many people have lost their lives or lost a friend or family member due to this ongoing "war". I understand when people feel passionately about what they believe in and I think that it is great but why should someone else's life be taken just because you are trying to make a statement? This ruins families and almost always causes a retaliation which just results in more fighting and more deaths. The streets of Belfast are filled with murals on walls which display hatred, bitterness and anger, not something I would personally want my future children to be growing up around. 

I'd just like to show you two murals that I am glad our city is celebrating; George Best who was one of the most incredible footballers of all time and the Titanic, now we all know how that ended but it was actually built in Belfast and well as the saying goes; "Built by Irishmen, sunk by an Englishman."

These are the kind of street art murals I would be happy for my children to look at and admire, being proud of things that our country has done and the people who have come from Northern Ireland and have done us proud. So many great and talented people have come from N.I. (naming dropping of course) like; Van Morrison, Liam Neeson, the band Two Door Cinema Club, Joey Dunlop the motorcycle racer, Alex Higgins the snooker player, Eddie Irvine the racing driver, Rory McIlroy the golfer, Nadine Coyle from Girls Aloud. Well the list really does go on. 

Belfast will always be my home and I really do love my city, I love it's history and how strong we have shown to be. Religion and politics is such a touchy subject in Northern Ireland, it really has destroyed so many lives and families. There are a lot of movies about Belfast, Northern Ireland and "The Troubles" that I recommend you watch if you want a bit more background and understanding of our history. 

Gary Lightbody the lead singer of Snow Patrol even wrote a song about Belfast called "Take Back The City" here is a little preview of the lyrics;

It’s a mess
It’s a start
It’s a flawed work of art
Your city, your call
Every crack, every wall
Pick a side, pick a fight
Get your epitaph right
You can sing ‘til you drop
Cause the fun just never stops

I love this city tonight 
I love this city always
It bears it’s teeth like a light
And spits me out after days
But we’re all gluttons for it 
We know what’s wrong and it’s right
For every time it’s been hit
Take back the city tonight

Later skaters
Love S xoxo