Interface area
Encyclopedia
Interface area is the name given to areas where segregated
nationalist
and unionist
residential areas meet in Northern Ireland
. They have been defined as "the intersection of segregated and polarised working class residential zones, in areas with a strong link between
territory and ethno-political identity".
, but this is not always the case and so people not local to the area are not always aware of the existence of interface areas. They are sometimes the sites of sectarian
violence, when they have become known as "flashpoints". One of the most famous interface areas is Holy Cross in the Ardoyne
area of Belfast
, which was the site of significant disputes
in 2001 and 2002.
, a public amenity straddling both areas, dividing the park between the two communities. The fence remains in place although a gate was added in 2011 permitting limited access from one side to the other.
A major flashpoint also exists at Duncairn Gardens between the republican New Lodge
area of the Antrim Road and the neighbouring loyalist Tiger's Bay area. Clashes here date back to at least the early 1970s when local "defence associations" formed by loyalists to clash with republicans became part of the wider Ulster Defence Association
. Trouble in the area has been a regular feature with petrol bombs thrown in 2000 and 2001 after local UDA Brigadier Jimbo Simpson
claimed that republican housing was starting to encroach into Tiger's Bay. The Limestone Road, which runs parallel to Duncairn Gardens, also provides a dividing line, with the Parkside and Newington areas being largely nationalist and the Tiger's Bay and Halliday's Road area mainly unionist (although a small section of Halliday's Road forms the edge of the New Lodge area and is divided from the rest of the road as a result). There have also been divisions around the Antrim Road between the Protestant Westland Road and the Catholic areas of the Cavehill Road known as "Little America" although co-operation between community groups aimed at decreasing tensions has increased.
Further north another major flashpoint exists between the republican Ardoyne
area and the loyalist Glenbryn estate, with this clash reaching its apex in the Holy Cross dispute
of 2001 and 2002. The dividing line between the two areas is reckoned to be Alliance Avenue and this is where the peace line has been since 1971. On its western edge Ardoyne borders on the Crumlin Road
and Woodvale Road, two mainly loyalist areas.
The the south of Ardoyne there are a number of interface areas on the Oldpark Road. The Torrens area was a heavily fortified loyalist enclave on the road access onto which is severely restricted. Areas such as Wyndham Street and Oldpark Avenue that surround Torrens are republican in nature. During the summer of 1996 the Ulster Volunteer Force
in Torrens had been preparing to attack Ardoyne after local disturbances although they were talked out of it by Progressive Unionist Party
politician Billy Hutchinson
. Around 2010 however the majority of the loyalist population was moved from the area and the barricades and police station have since been demolished. Further down the road the loyalist Lower Oldpark is divided from the republican Ardoyne by the area around Hillview Road and Rosapenna Street with Manor Street split in half by a peace line. The Lower Oldpark area sees occasional sectarian clashes as a result.
Towards Newtownabbey
the Whitewell Road
contains an interface area between the republican Whitewell and loyalist White City areas. The Whitewell area also borders on the loyalist Rathcoole
estate.
is a nationalist enclave in south Belfast which is bordered by unionist areas to the south (Donegall Pass) and the north (Annadale Flats and Ballynafeigh). The area has become most notorious for regular clashes between local residents and members of the Orange Order over the attempts by Orangemen to march over the Ormeau Bridge.
One of the deadliest interface areas in Northern Ireland was that between the loyalist Shankill Road and the republican Falls and Springfield roads. Reports of rioting between the two communities go back to at least the 19th century and in the post-war years violence between the young people from both sides was common on the many streets that linked the two areas. Following the outbreak of the Troubles
and a huge upturn in violence in these areas most of the direct points of access were sealed by peace lines. These continue to exist for the most part although low level violence and vandalism often occur at the points where the two areas come very close, notably where Ainsworth Avenue backs onto the Springfield Road, the points at which Kirk Street and Workman Avenue in the Woodvale area touch Springfield, the parts of the Highfield estate that border the Springfield Road and where republican Bombay Street and loyalist Cepar Way almost meet.
Other interfaces in west Belfast include the Donegall Road
and Broadway, which are divided between the loyalist Village area and the republican St James's area by the roundabout where the Rise statue
stands and the Stewartstown Road that divides the republican Lenadoon area from the loyalist Suffolk.
forms a number of interface areas with neighbouring loyalist districts on the Albertbridge Road and the Newtownards Road. The 1970 Battle of St Matthew's
saw one of the deadliest expressions of the tensions in the area, although as recently as 2011 sustained violent clashes have broken out in the area.
town. Violence broke out here in 2011 after loyalist youths had liaised with each other through social network sites in order to launch the disturbances.
Segregation in Northern Ireland
Segregation in Northern Ireland is a long-running issue in the political and social history of Northern Ireland. The segregation involves Northern Ireland's two main communities – its nationalist/republican community and its unionist/loyalist community...
nationalist
Irish nationalism
Irish nationalism manifests itself in political and social movements and in sentiment inspired by a love for Irish culture, language and history, and as a sense of pride in Ireland and in the Irish people...
and unionist
Unionism in Ireland
Unionism in Ireland is an ideology that favours the continuation of some form of political union between the islands of Ireland and Great Britain...
residential areas meet in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. They have been defined as "the intersection of segregated and polarised working class residential zones, in areas with a strong link between
territory and ethno-political identity".
Characteristics
Interface areas are sometimes characterised by so-called peace linesPeace lines
The peace lines or peace walls are a series of separation barriers in Northern Ireland that separate Catholic and Protestant neighbourhoods. They have been built at urban interface areas in Belfast, Derry, Portadown and elsewhere...
, but this is not always the case and so people not local to the area are not always aware of the existence of interface areas. They are sometimes the sites of sectarian
Sectarianism
Sectarianism, according to one definition, is bigotry, discrimination or hatred arising from attaching importance to perceived differences between subdivisions within a group, such as between different denominations of a religion, class, regional or factions of a political movement.The ideological...
violence, when they have become known as "flashpoints". One of the most famous interface areas is Holy Cross in the Ardoyne
Ardoyne
Ardoyne is an Irish nationalist, working class and mainly Catholic district in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. It gained notoriety due to the large number of incidents during "The Troubles". It is home to approximately 20,000 inhabitants...
area of Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, which was the site of significant disputes
Holy Cross dispute
The Holy Cross dispute occurred in 2001 and 2002 in the Ardoyne area of Belfast, Northern Ireland, and involved an escalating dispute between on the one hand the pupils and parents of Holy Cross R.C. Primary School and on the other the residents of a loyalist area that lay on the route to the front...
in 2001 and 2002.
North Belfast
North Belfast is home to a number of interface areas. Amongst the most notorious is that between the lower Antrim Road and the lower Shore Road which was seen as such a flashpoint that in 1994 a fence was added to Alexandra ParkAlexandra Park, Belfast
Alexandra Park is a Victorian park situated in north Belfast. It is named after Princess Alexandra and was opened in 1888. As is typical for parks of the period, it has a formal layout that includes tree lined avenues. It also contains play areas for children....
, a public amenity straddling both areas, dividing the park between the two communities. The fence remains in place although a gate was added in 2011 permitting limited access from one side to the other.
A major flashpoint also exists at Duncairn Gardens between the republican New Lodge
New Lodge
New Lodge may refer to:*New Lodge, Winkfield near Windsor, Berkshire, England*New Lodge, South Yorkshire, England*New Lodge, Belfast, an area of North Belfast, Northern Ireland...
area of the Antrim Road and the neighbouring loyalist Tiger's Bay area. Clashes here date back to at least the early 1970s when local "defence associations" formed by loyalists to clash with republicans became part of the wider Ulster Defence Association
Ulster Defence Association
The Ulster Defence Association is the largest although not the deadliest loyalist paramilitary and vigilante group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 and undertook a campaign of almost twenty-four years during "The Troubles"...
. Trouble in the area has been a regular feature with petrol bombs thrown in 2000 and 2001 after local UDA Brigadier Jimbo Simpson
Jimbo Simpson
James "Jimbo" Simpson, also known as the Bacardi Brigadier, is a Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary. He is most noted for his time as Brigadier of the North Belfast Ulster Defence Association...
claimed that republican housing was starting to encroach into Tiger's Bay. The Limestone Road, which runs parallel to Duncairn Gardens, also provides a dividing line, with the Parkside and Newington areas being largely nationalist and the Tiger's Bay and Halliday's Road area mainly unionist (although a small section of Halliday's Road forms the edge of the New Lodge area and is divided from the rest of the road as a result). There have also been divisions around the Antrim Road between the Protestant Westland Road and the Catholic areas of the Cavehill Road known as "Little America" although co-operation between community groups aimed at decreasing tensions has increased.
Further north another major flashpoint exists between the republican Ardoyne
Ardoyne
Ardoyne is an Irish nationalist, working class and mainly Catholic district in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. It gained notoriety due to the large number of incidents during "The Troubles". It is home to approximately 20,000 inhabitants...
area and the loyalist Glenbryn estate, with this clash reaching its apex in the Holy Cross dispute
Holy Cross dispute
The Holy Cross dispute occurred in 2001 and 2002 in the Ardoyne area of Belfast, Northern Ireland, and involved an escalating dispute between on the one hand the pupils and parents of Holy Cross R.C. Primary School and on the other the residents of a loyalist area that lay on the route to the front...
of 2001 and 2002. The dividing line between the two areas is reckoned to be Alliance Avenue and this is where the peace line has been since 1971. On its western edge Ardoyne borders on the Crumlin Road
Crumlin Road
The Crumlin Road is a main road in north-west Belfast, Northern Ireland. The road runs from north of Belfast City Centre for about four miles to the outskirts of the city. It also forms part of the longer A52 road.-Lower Crumlin Road:...
and Woodvale Road, two mainly loyalist areas.
The the south of Ardoyne there are a number of interface areas on the Oldpark Road. The Torrens area was a heavily fortified loyalist enclave on the road access onto which is severely restricted. Areas such as Wyndham Street and Oldpark Avenue that surround Torrens are republican in nature. During the summer of 1996 the Ulster Volunteer Force
Ulster Volunteer Force
The Ulster Volunteer Force is a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in late 1965 or early 1966 and named after the Ulster Volunteer Force of 1913. The group's volunteers undertook an armed campaign of almost thirty years during The Troubles...
in Torrens had been preparing to attack Ardoyne after local disturbances although they were talked out of it by Progressive Unionist Party
Progressive Unionist Party
The Progressive Unionist Party is a small unionist political party in Northern Ireland. It was formed from the Independent Unionist Group operating in the Shankill area of Belfast, becoming the PUP in 1979...
politician Billy Hutchinson
Billy Hutchinson
Billy Hutchinson is the leader of the Progressive Unionist Party in Northern Ireland. He was elected to Belfast City Council in 1997 and to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1998. He lost his assembly seat in 2003 and his council seat in 2005...
. Around 2010 however the majority of the loyalist population was moved from the area and the barricades and police station have since been demolished. Further down the road the loyalist Lower Oldpark is divided from the republican Ardoyne by the area around Hillview Road and Rosapenna Street with Manor Street split in half by a peace line. The Lower Oldpark area sees occasional sectarian clashes as a result.
Towards Newtownabbey
Newtownabbey
Newtownabbey is a large town north of Belfast in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Sometimes considered to be a suburb of Belfast, it is separated from the rest of the city by Cavehill and Fortwilliam golf course...
the Whitewell Road
Whitewell Road
The Whitewell Road is an interface area in north Belfast and Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, and historically the site of occasional clashes between nationalists and loyalists. The Whitewell Road and the surrounding area is a residential community in the Greencastle parish. The Whitewell area is...
contains an interface area between the republican Whitewell and loyalist White City areas. The Whitewell area also borders on the loyalist Rathcoole
Rathcoole
Rathcoole may refer to:* Rathcoole, Dublin, a village in south Dublin, Republic of Ireland* Rathcoole , a large housing estate in Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK* Rathcoole Aerodrome Co. Cork, Republic of Ireland...
estate.
South Belfast
The Lower Ormeau RoadOrmeau Road
The Ormeau Road is a road in south Belfast, Northern Ireland. Ormeau Park is adjacent to it. It forms part of the A24.-History:Having previously been the home of George Chichester, 2nd Marquess of Donegall, a road was first built in 1815, when it was known more commonly as the New Ballynafeigh Road...
is a nationalist enclave in south Belfast which is bordered by unionist areas to the south (Donegall Pass) and the north (Annadale Flats and Ballynafeigh). The area has become most notorious for regular clashes between local residents and members of the Orange Order over the attempts by Orangemen to march over the Ormeau Bridge.
West Belfast
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
and a huge upturn in violence in these areas most of the direct points of access were sealed by peace lines. These continue to exist for the most part although low level violence and vandalism often occur at the points where the two areas come very close, notably where Ainsworth Avenue backs onto the Springfield Road, the points at which Kirk Street and Workman Avenue in the Woodvale area touch Springfield, the parts of the Highfield estate that border the Springfield Road and where republican Bombay Street and loyalist Cepar Way almost meet.
Other interfaces in west Belfast include the Donegall Road
Donegall Road
The Donegall Road runs from Shaftesbury Square in Belfast city centre to the Falls Road in west Belfast. It is bisected by the Westlink, and the largest part of the road, prior to the Westlink junction, is predominantly unionist...
and Broadway, which are divided between the loyalist Village area and the republican St James's area by the roundabout where the Rise statue
Rise (sculpture)
Rise also called the Balls on the Falls, Belfast Ball and Broadway Junction Art Piece is a concept £400,000 public art spherical metal sculpture by Wolfgang Buttress 37.5 metres high and 30 metres wide to be constructed early 2011 in the centre of the Broadway roundabout, at the...
stands and the Stewartstown Road that divides the republican Lenadoon area from the loyalist Suffolk.
East Belfast
Although east Belfast as a whole is largely Protestant in nature the republican enclave of the Short StrandShort Strand
The Short Strand is a mainly-nationalist area in east Belfast, surrounded by a mainly-unionist area. It is within the townland of Ballymacarret and sits on the east bank of the River Lagan in County Down.-Security issues:...
forms a number of interface areas with neighbouring loyalist districts on the Albertbridge Road and the Newtownards Road. The 1970 Battle of St Matthew's
Battle of St Matthew's
The Battle of St Matthew's or Battle of Short Strand was a gun battle fought between volunteers of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and Ulster loyalists on 27 June 1970. It took place in the area around St Matthew's Roman Catholic Church, which is in the mainly nationalist Short Strand...
saw one of the deadliest expressions of the tensions in the area, although as recently as 2011 sustained violent clashes have broken out in the area.
Portadown
The interface between the loyalist Corcrain Road and republican Obins Drive has been a regular scene of violence in the County ArmaghCounty Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
town. Violence broke out here in 2011 after loyalist youths had liaised with each other through social network sites in order to launch the disturbances.