Violence used to be commonplace in Northern Ireland. Over 3500 people died in the so-called
“Troubles”. A peace agreement 25 years ago put an end to it. But is Brexit reopening old wounds?
“We are not Irish. We are British, Ulsterman.”
“You don´t want to see any shootings,
you don´t want to see any bombings. You just want these kids having a good life.”
“It´s tit-for-tat constantly, and we are the ones that are suffering.”
Once at the heart of Northern Ireland´s violent conflict, Belfast is still divided.
Some neighborhoods are mixed. Some are separated by religious affiliations into
mainly Protestant and Catholic areas, divided by so-called peace walls.
Each side has their own symbols and identities. Memories of a
violent struggle, kept alive to this day.
Murals like these are scattered around Belfast and other places in Northern Ireland. For
those that live near them, they're a daily reminder of a troubled past. Since the Good
Friday agreement 25 years ago, it's been largely peaceful here. And yet Brexit has
reminded some people that they are divided. So is Brexit threatening peace in Northern Ireland?
East Belfast is a predominantly Protestant area.
Ledley Hall Boxing Club used to be staunchly Protestant. Today, young boxers from all areas
of Belfast can train here, including Catholics. Young people in Northern Ireland still grow up
largely segregated. It's rare that Catholic and Protestant pupils are taught in the same schools.
Trainer Gary Black has been boxing here for over 25 years and has seen big changes.
As you can see around here, there’s plenty of kids here. This is East
Belfast. You have kids from West Belfast, from North Belfast. They all come over.
In here, they wouldn't bother with each other. This is where they meet. Now they are
mates. They would have never met each other just walking about the streets of Belfast.
It’s not that these young men and boys have to fear being attacked
on a daily basis. But they all are aware of potential threats.
If you are passing certain areas that are Catholic or Protestant.
If they know you are Protestant, they might not like it. But most of the time,
it's not like that. They have calmed down on that, and they are more forgiving.
Just around the corner from the club though, Protestant
paramilitary organizations are celebrated.
It's their loyalty to Britain that defines them. They still have a grip
on areas like this, just like Catholic paramilitary groups do in other areas.
Throughout Northern Ireland, so-called peace walls separate Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods.
Ten years ago, Northern Ireland´s politicians set out a plan. Bring down all of these
so-called peace walls by 2023. But today, it is estimated that over 100 of them are
still in place. They clearly show that the peace process is far from finished.
West Belfast once was a notorious flashpoint. Bombay Street is in a Catholic neighborhood,
just behind one of these walls. Eight people were killed here in 1969. Today, most nights
are quiet. Though one resident, who wanted to remain anonymous, told us that recently a large
rock was thrown from the other side. Others say that since Brexit, they have noticed more tension.
It’s gotten worse. That’s caused even more divides between the two sides of the community.
Because we were in the European Union, there was no identity crisis,
everybody could be what they wanted to be. There was no borders, there was no walls,
not as much animosity. People wanted to engage with each other. But once Brexit came along,
people re-lit old flames and hatred and things.
Katy Hayward is an expert on Brexit and Northern Ireland. She says that since the vote to leave
the EU, the progress that had been made in reconciling the two communities has stalled.
It's very much getting to the heart of questions of sovereignty and identity, and those two issues
are very important in Northern Ireland. They are very divisive in Northern Ireland. We have the
difficulty to explain the nuances and details of these new arrangements and new challenges
against the background of very simple national identity priorities.
To understand better why some people are upset about the realities of Brexit,
it’s important to talk to businesses.
Lowden Guitars is a business based just outside Belfast that specializes in handmade acoustic
guitars. The vote for Brexit was a shock to the 50-year-old company, as most of
their products are exported to the EU and the rest of the UK.
One of the first things that I said was: Maybe we have to move the workshops over into the South of
Ireland into the EU. Maybe we have to do that. So far that hasn’t been necessary, and I hope not.
Because Northern Ireland remains in the single market, Lowden can continue exporting to the EU.
But, some of the most expensive guitars now need an additional license when they
are being shipped to mainland Britain. Before Brexit, that was not the case.
In the end, we find out there have been a small number of restrictions
between ourselves and the UK directly as a result of Brexit.
When the UK decided to leave the EU, it was feared that having a hard border in Ireland
could lead to the return of sectarian violence. That’s why Northern Ireland
has a special status and stays within the EU’s single market.
A trade border for goods with mainland Britain is the consequence of that.
The Good Friday Belfast Agreement was created very much in the context
of the UK and Ireland being members of the European Union,
and this helped in two ways. First, politically. That good British-Irish
relationship as friendly neighbors and partners in the EU underpin the whole of the peace process.
Second, in practical terms. Being part of the single market in the EU enabled borders and
divisions between Ireland and Northern Ireland to be reduced, but also across the United Kingdom.
While businesses in Northern Ireland are benefitting from being inside the EU’s single
market, Great Britain is still Northern Ireland's biggest trading partner. So any friction at the
border causes concern. Especially, when it comes to goods that are seen as important.
Sausages and some cheeses, for example, are harder to import from mainland Britain.
For Marc Brown, who runs Arcadia Delicatessen in Belfast,
it is more difficult now to receive products from small producers in England and Scotland.
Sometimes there is a delay. You don´t know if you´re going to get it. Is it going to
get stopped? I need that very quickly, and if does get delayed, you need to return it,
to say, I am sorry, but that is four days being delivered. It’s fresh foods, discarded.
It’s these trade barriers that some Protestants in Northern Ireland have a problem with.
They feel closely aligned with Britain, and celebrate the memory of the late Queen.
It is this British identity that they feel is being stripped away. They fear
an ever closer alignment and possible re-unification with the Irish Republic.
That´s what we are: British people.
We are not Irish. We don't represent as Irish. We are British Ulstermen. When
that border is there that’s forcing us into being more Irish. That's where the problem is.
The majority of the people here including myself see ourselves as British.
I think it means we are less British in a way. It goes against our identity.
There’s separation between ourselves and the mainland
that shouldn't happen. I am a British citizen and not Irish.
On the other side of the peace wall, that is exactly what many people want. They feel Irish,
and they want to break away from the United Kingdom, to be part of the Republic of Ireland.
Northern Ireland’s latest census shows Catholics outnumber Protestants for the
first time. Religious identity tends to be a good indicator of attitude to a united Ireland.
Pat Sheehan used to be a member of the IRA. He spent over 18 years in prison
for committing terror attacks, and was released as part of the peace process.
Today, he is sure that a united Ireland can be achieved entirely peacefully.
"What I think Brexit has done is accelerate the discussion around a united Ireland. Because we
have seen that be the dynamo and the driving force behind Brexit was English nationalism.
That it’s England that wanted Brexit. Scotland didn't want it. It wasn’t wanted here. We voted
against it. Scotland didn't vote for it, but we're being taken out against our will."
Pat Sheehan is a longstanding member of Northern Ireland´s Assembly. But some of
his counterparts who feel aligned to Britain have been blocking the
regional government over Brexit, leaving a dangerous political void.
"There is a concern if there isn't access to exclusively democratic
and peaceful means of expressing your political views, that there is
a certain logic in some people's minds to the use of violence to express political viewpoints."
Local politicians are trying to counterbalance this. Everyone’s invited to the annual St. Patrick
Day parade in honor of Ireland’s patron saint, regardless of whether they feel British or Irish.
And the UK government together with the EU has just agreed to reduce trade
checks to an absolute minimum. And yet, grievances over Brexit remain.
People in Northern Ireland don't want to go back to the old days to the so-called ‘troubles.’ They
want to move forward in peace. But Brexit has created new borders and new divisions,
making it clear that eace in Northern Ireland cannot be taken for granted.