The Coiste Irish Political Tour has been for many visitors to The North of Ireland the highlight of their trip. this particular tour has attracted visitors to West Belfast in their thousands in recent times. Many of them have had the unsuspecting opportunity to meet many leading figures involved in the current peace process and also those who were in prison as a result of the British/Irish conflict.
Former activists and political ex-prisoners from within the Republican community host this 3 hour walking tour and provide the visitor with an in-depth insight into the most recent phase of the Anglo/Irish conflict. The guides weave their own personal stories into the tour as they visit many different sites that explain both the local and wider history of Ireland. For these guides this project is a living history. They are a primary source and an invaluable link into the most recent phase of struggle.
The tour starts at Divis Tower at the bottom of the Falls Road and travels through a main arterial route of West Belfast, visiting The International Wall, the Republican Memorial gardens and many murals, each with their own particular story, some relating to conflict in other areas around the world.
The tour finishes at Milltown Cemetery where three of the hunger strikers who died during the 1981 hunger strike are buried with other comrades who also paid the ultimate sacrifice in pursuance of their political beliefs. This tour is a must do for the visitor to Belfast. It is living history provided by those who have lived through the conflict and helped shape the current peace process of today.
You will find below the starting point of the tour, the Divis Tower on Divis street:
