• Northern Ireland's famed murals take a more peaceful tone

    Cathal McNaughton / Reuters

    A mural in the Bogside area of Derry depicts Operation Motorman, a 1972 British army operation aimed at reclaiming "no-go areas" in the city from the IRA.

    The story of Northern Ireland's troubled history has long been told in painted murals on the walls of its cities, towns and villages. But as Cathal McNaughton explains in a post on Reuters' Photographers Blog, the images commemorating ancient battles and honoring paramilitary groups are now being joined by paintings celebrating sporting successes and cultural achievements.

    Cathal McNaughton / Reuters

    A mural in the Bogside area of Derry depicts a petrol bomber during the Battle of the Bogside which took place in 1969 between residents of the area and the Royal Ulster Constabulary.

    Cathal McNaughton / Reuters

    A mural in the Bogside area of Derry commemorates the beginning of the struggle for democratic rights.

    Cathal McNaughton / Reuters

    People walk past a Loyalist paramilitary mural in the Shankill Road area of West Belfast.

    By Cathal McNaughton, Reuters

    A 15-foot-high mural of a gunman dressed in army fatigues and a balaclava clutching an AK-47 is painted on the wall of a house in a residential street. People walk by and don't even notice it.

    In other parts of the UK and Ireland there would probably be outrage, but not in Northern Ireland, where young children happily play on streets in front of a backdrop of politically-charged street art commemorating the violence and bloodshed of 'The Troubles'.

    These murals have become street wallpaper for the people living in this small corner of Europe, who appear to barely bat an eyelid at a gory depiction of a skeleton crawling over dead bodies that adorns the end wall of a house on their street.

    Cathal McNaughton / Reuters

    A man checks his cellphone beside a loyalist paramilitary mural in the Waterside area of Derry.

    Cathal McNaughton / Reuters

    Pigeons fly past a mural in the Shankill Road area of West Belfast depicting a Gaelic myth about the claiming of Ulster.

    Cathal McNaughton / Reuters

    A mural shows tributes to Britain's Queen Elizabeth on the Shankill Road in West Belfast.

    Most of the murals promote either Republican or Loyalist political beliefs. They often glorify paramilitary groups such as the IRA or the Ulster Volunteer Force with a roll call of the dead written large "lest we forget".

    However since the paramilitary ceasefires of the 1990s, this distinctively Northern Irish artwork has seen a shift in tone. New murals have sprung up depicting local heroes like golfer Rory McIlroy, who represent the changing face of the province's political landscape.

    Cathal McNaughton / Reuters

    Golfer Rory McIlroy, who hails from County Down, is pictured on a wall in the Holylands area of Belfast.

    Cathal McNaughton / Reuters

    A mural in the village of Cushendall in north Antrim commemorates 100 years of the local Gaelic Athletic Club.

    Cathal McNaughton / Reuters

    A mural features Irish boxer Michael Conlan winning a bronze medal in the flyweight division at the 2012 Summer Olympics on a wall in the Falls Road area of West Belfast.

    It would be nice to think that one day there will be no need to paint any more murals to commemorate new victims of Northern Ireland's troubled history. But with the annual marching season fast approaching, and following the most sustained period of rioting for years, I think there may well be a few more turns in this journey yet — and fresh paint on the wall.

    Read more at Reuters' Photographers Blog.

    Editor's note: Images taken between Feb. 19 and Feb. 23, 2013 and made available to NBC News today.

    Related:

    Belfast 'Peace Wall' still separates Catholics, Protestants

    A historic handshake, a historic image in Northern Ireland's peace process

    Outside the Frame: Journalists under fire in Belfast riot

  • 16 police officers wounded in Northern Ireland clashes

    Cathal McNaughton / Reuters

    Police officers in riot gear stand near a burning, hijacked car during rioting in East Belfast on Saturday. Protests continue in Northern Ireland as loyalists renewed their anger against restrictions on flying the union flag from Belfast City Hall.

    By Stephen Mangan, Reuters

    BELFAST -- At least 16 police officers were injured when pro-British and Irish nationalist youths clashed in the Northern Irish capital on Saturday following another protest against the removal of the British flag from Belfast City Hall.


    Rioting started as the mainly Protestant protesters passed a Catholic area on their way home from a rally in central Belfast against the flag's removal. Police scrambled to separate crowds of youths who pelted each other with bricks and bottles.

    The unrest over the past five weeks has been some of the most sustained in the British-ruled province since a 1998 peace deal ended 30 years of conflict between Catholic Irish nationalists seeking union with Ireland and Protestant loyalists determined to remain part of the United Kingdom.

    Exposing a deep vein of discontent with the peace deal, loyalists have held nightly protests since councilors voted last month to end a century-old tradition of flying the British union flag every day over the city hall.

    Loyalist politicians have joined their nationalist rivals in condemning the violence, but they have been unable to prevent groups of young men draped in British flags from clashing with police.

    The protesters have complained that the removal of the flag was a step too far in the ebbing of loyalist dominance in the province, saying too many concessions had been given to Irish nationalists in a power-sharing government.

    "The protests will continue until our concerns are met," said Fergus Ferguson, from south Belfast, who described the decision to take down the flag as "illegal."

    At least 1,000 loyalists, some with Union Jack tops, balaclavas and "No Surrender" banners, gathered at City Hall on Saturday.

    After police blocked their way towards East Belfast the loyalist protesters took a detour towards the nationalist Short Strand area, a traditional flash point for sectarian violence, where they clashed with local youths.

    After the nationalists dispersed, police turned water cannons on loyalist protesters who pushed riot police back with metal fencing and ripped up paving stones to hurl at police lines.

    Reinforcements including dozens of jeeps, a helicopter and at least three water cannon trucks were sent in to try to control the crowds. Police said they fired at least four plastic bullet rounds.

    "The police have a lot to answer for. We had women and children in this parade. It's a miracle nobody was killed," said Matthew Ferguson, who attended the protest with his 12-year-old son.

    Train services in Belfast were disrupted on Saturday when a small explosive device was found near a rail line in the city, a police spokesman said.

    Related stories: 

    Flag fury ignites some of Northern Ireland's worst violence in 15 years

    Bombs in Northern Ireland target 'positivity and progress'

    Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

  • Flag fury ignites some of Northern Ireland's worst violence in 15 years

    ITN's Neil Connery reports from Belfast, where a fifth consecutive night of violence followed a loyalist rally outside City Hall.

    By Ian Johnston, NBC News

    A spat over the flag fluttering over a local government building might sound trivial. But in Northern Ireland, the decision to stop permanently flying the British flag outside Belfast City Hall has sparked some of the worst violence since the 1998 Good Friday peace deal.

    Dozens of officers have been injured in attacks on police lines by furious protesters who, night after night, have thrown stones, bottles, fireworks, and, sometimes, Molotov cocktails -- violence that police say is orchestrated by the Ulster Volunteer Force, a pro-British paramilitary group.

    Gunshots were heard Saturday, although police said later it appeared that blank rounds had been used. Monday night saw a mix of peaceful protest and riots during which police used water canon and fired plastic bullets, ITV News reported. 

    Peter Muhly / AFP - Getty Images

    Loyalist protesters confront police as they gather at Belfast City Hall during a city council meeting Monday evening.

    According to one pro-British politician, the demonstrators are staging a “revolution with a small r” against attempts by Irish nationalist parties to “remove their Britishness.”

    Irish nationalists say they wanted to stop flying the flag from outside city hall because it is also used by pro-British paramilitaries and others to mark out their territory in the divided city and “intimidate” Catholics.

    The Good Friday Agreement was credited with largely ending three decades of sectarian violence known as "The Troubles," during which British troops were sent in to patrol the streets and at least 3,600 people were killed.

    It created an elected Northern Ireland assembly and devolved government in which power is shared between all sides, with traditional arch-enemies remarkably sitting side by side. The assembly meets in an imposing historic building, Stormont, over which the British flag flies for just 15 pre-agreed days each year. The recent violence was sparked by a vote that agreed a similar policy at local government level in Belfast last month.

    Naomi Long, deputy leader of the Alliance Party, warned Northern Ireland was now facing "an incredibly volatile and extremely serious situation."

    "I don't think anyone should underestimate the threat it poses to long-term peace and security in Northern Ireland," she told NBC News.

    "If people continue with violence, if it continues to escalate, if paramilitary involvement in that violence continues to grow, there's a real risk that we lose the progress we've made," Long said.

    In the month since Belfast City Council in Northern Ireland voted to limit the numbers of days the Union flag flies over its City Hall, 62 police officers have been injured, tens of thousands of dollars' worth of damage caused and senior loyalist paramilitaries have been involved in orchestrating the violence.  Channel Four Alex Thomson Channel Four Europe reports.

    Long described the violence as a "reality check." While politics had delivered the peace process, she said, true reconciliation between the divided communities had been "left to one side because it's painful and difficult."

    "What we have had is a papering over of the cracks," she said. "We have deep divisions, deep hatred and sectarianism and it won't go away by itself."

    Long, a member of the U.K. parliament, said she and other politicians had received death threats after the Alliance Party members on Belfast City Council voted for an attempted compromise deal over the flag on Dec. 3. 

    It allowed the British flag to be flown on a number of designated days -- about 17 or 18 depending on the year -- rather than all the time or not at all.

    Riots continue to erupt in Belfast, Northern Ireland, after lawmakers announced restrictions over flying the Union Jack. ITV's Mark Mallett reports.

    Cops hurt as British unionist protesters try to storm Belfast City Hall in flag spat

    An angry mob tried to storm the council chamber on the night of the vote and protests have continued sporadically since, with Monday seeing the fifth straight night of violence as the council met for the first time since last month’s controversial vote.

    Police said Monday afternoon in an emailed statement that 96 people had been arrested since the latest unrest broke out and 61 police officers had been injured.

    'Attempt to kill': Police in Belfast attacked as flag riots rage on

    Billy Hutchinson, leader of the Progressive Unionist Party, which he said provides political advice to the UVF, told NBC News that the flag decision had “driven people mad.”

    “I think what this is about is ordinary citizens who feel people are trying to remove their Britishness,” he said.

    “You need to remember that this is the United Kingdom and the flag of the country is the union flag,” he added. “It would be a bit like if people wanted to take down the Stars and Stripes from some local government in the U.S.”

    Paul Mcerlane / EPA

    Local shoppers waiting for a bus watch as riot police follow pro-British protesters away from Belfast's City Hall during a protest Saturday.

    State collusion in 1989 murder of Belfast lawyer 'shocking,' British PM says

    Hutchinson said this was one of a number of actions by Sinn Fein that were “outside the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement.”

    “I think the flag issue is a very big issue, I think it was the straw that broke the camel’s back … the catalyst that brought people onto the streets,” he said.

    “I think it is serious, I think people need to recognize this is a revolution with a small ‘r.’ We cannot sustain this sort of inequality coming from Sinn Fein, who are disguising it as equality. They cannot force this through,” he said.

    “I think if you listen to what the protesters are doing and saying, I think it is a threat [to the peace process]. It’s not a threat of armed violence… it’s a threat of community and political action,” he added.

    Hutchinson stressed he believed in peaceful protest, and would seek to persude any UVF members taking part in violence to stop.

    Clinton condemns violence, revisits family legacy in trip to Belfast

    Jim McVeigh, leader of Sinn Fein’s councilors on Belfast City Council, said they had thought it would be better to have no national flags at city hall, but had agreed to the compromise deal, which was passed with votes from the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party, and the non-aligned Alliance Party.

    “The issue of the flag and allegiance and identity is a very important one here in Belfast. [In the city] you will see flags are used to mark out territory … to intimidate,” he told NBC News, highlighting murals painted on walls and national colors on curbs.

    Cathal Mcnaughton / Reuters

    A burnt out car blocks Dee Street in east Belfast Sunday near a mural that supports the Ulster Volunteer Force paramilitary group.

    McVeigh, who said he has had death threats since the vote, said he had expected some protests after the decision on Dec. 3, but added no one anticipated it would be “as ferocious as it has been.”

    “The bottom line is we made the right decision. We’re not going to change that decision. The flag is not going to go back up [permanently]. These protests are futile,” he said.

    A spokesman for the police trade union in Northern Ireland, who asked not to be named, told NBC News that the police were “severely stretched” in dealing with the riots and also the threat from dissident Irish nationalist groups.

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  • Police: Paramilitary group 'orchestrating' Belfast violence

    In the month since Belfast City Council in Northern Ireland voted to limit the numbers of days the Union flag flies over its City Hall, 62 police officers have been injured, tens of thousands of dollars' worth of damage caused and senior loyalist paramilitaries have been involved in orchestrating the violence.  Channel Four Alex Thomson Channel Four Europe reports.

    By Reuters

    Police in Northern Ireland came under attack for a fifth straight night on Monday as the province's police chief urged politicians and parents to act to halt the riots on Belfast streets.

    The violence is some of the worst in the British-controlled province since a 1998 peace deal ended 30 years of conflict that pitted Catholics seeking union with Ireland against security forces and Protestants keen to remain British.

    The unrest was triggered by a decision by Belfast city council — which is dominated by pro-Irish members — to end the century-old tradition of flying the British flag from City Hall every day.


    The council met on Monday for the first time since taking the decision last month and a protest passed off peacefully outside City Hall.

    But later, in an eastern part of the capital where rival Protestant and Catholic communities live side by side, a crowd about 200-strong threw petrol bombs, fireworks and paint bombs at police who responded with water canon.

    Earlier on Monday, Northern Ireland's police chief appealed to political organisers and parents of youths involved in the violence — some of whom were as young as 10 — to rein it in.

    "As chief constable I'm taking the unusual step of calling directly now for protests, if not to be ended, to take a step back, for the violence to come to an end and for responsible voices to be heard," Matt Baggott told a news conference.

    He said members of pro-British militant groups, who ceased hostilities in recent years, were exploiting and in some cases instigating the riots.

    Militant Republican groups, responsible for the killings of three police officers and two soldiers since 2009, have so far not reacted violently to the flag protests.

    Some 3,600 people were killed during 30 years of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland before the 1998 peace agreement.
     

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    Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

  • Car bomb attempt on Northern Irish policeman foiled

    Reuters

    Army bomb disposal officers prepare to carry out a controlled explosion on a bomb discovered under a police officer's car in Belfast on Sunday.

    By NBC News and wire services

    BELFAST — An attempt by militant nationalists to kill a Northern Irish policeman was foiled when a booby-trap bomb "clearly intended to kill" was found under his car, police said on Sunday. 

    The attack was the latest by splinter groups of Irish republicans opposed to British rule of the province and a 1998 peace agreement that ended 30 years of sectarian conflict. 


    It came two months after the first murder of a prison officer in almost 20 years and followed two weeks of rioting by pro-British loyalists protesting against restrictions on the flying of Britain's union flag from Belfast City Hall. 

    The bomb, which the officials said was "clearly intended to kill the police officer," was discovered under the officer's car near the Northern Irish parliament in east Belfast, according to BBC News.  The officer found the device just before he was going out to lunch along with his family, the BBC added.

    The officer's home and those of his neighbors were evacuated while army bomb disposal experts defused the device. 

    "Obviously there are people out there who are still intent on causing murder and mayhem. Attacks on police officers are attacks on the entire community and cannot be allowed to continue," Assistant Chief Constable George Hamilton said in a statement. 

    'Attempt to kill': Police in Belfast attacked as flag riots rage on

    "Our belief is that this attempted murder was carried out by those opposed to peace from within dissident republicanism. They don't care who they attack, they don't care who they kill." 

    More than 3,600 people were killed in Northern Ireland when Catholic nationalists seeking union with Ireland fought British security forces and mainly Protestant loyalists determined to remain part of the United Kingdom. 

    Clinton condemns violence, revisits family legacy in trip to Belfast

    Militant nationalists have stepped up attacks in recent years. As well as last month's killing of the prison officer, two soldiers and a policeman were shot dead in March 2009 and another policeman was killed by a car bomb in April 2010. 

    Reuters contributed to this report. 

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  • 'Attempt to kill': Police in Belfast attacked as flag riots rage on

    Cathal Mcnaughton / Reuters

    A forensic officer works on an unmarked police car in East Belfast Monday, after it was attacked by rioters.

    By Reuters

    BELFAST -- Police were attacked in Northern Ireland on Monday night by protesters enraged by a decision to remove the British flag from Belfast City Hall, which has sparked eight consecutive days of demonstrations.

    About 15 masked men broke out of a crowd assembled in the predominantly Protestant Newtownards Road area of Belfast, smashed the windows of a police car and threw a Molotov cocktail into it while an officer was still inside, police said.

    The officer escaped unharmed but the Police Service of Northern Ireland said they were treating the attack as attempted murder.

    The attack was one of a series of protests across the city on Monday during which stones and fireworks were hurled at police, who responded with water cannons in at least two locations.

    Clinton condemns violence, revisits family legacy in trip to Belfast

    Loyalists -- or supporters of Northern Ireland remaining part of the U.K. -- have been protesting against a decision taken mainly by Irish nationalist city councilors from political parties Sinn Fein and the SDLP to take down the British flag which has flown above the provincial capital's city hall every day since it opened in 1906.


    Cops hurt as British unionist protesters try to storm Belfast City Hall in flag spat

    The decision means Britain's Union Jack will now fly on only 17 days of the year, as is the case at the provincial assembly at Stormont in the British-controlled province.

    Teen charged in riots
    The Molotov cocktail attack happened outside the constituency office of Naomi Long, a member of the British parliament for the non-sectarian, centrist Alliance Party.

    "This was a planned attempt to kill a police officer which also put the lives of the public in danger," Assistant Chief Constable George Hamilton said.

    Complete World coverage on NBCNews.com

    Long was forced to flee her home last week after receiving threats over her party's support of the removal of the flag from City Hall.

    Later on Monday night, police separated rival loyalist and republican crowds rioting in a flashpoint area between the loyalist east Belfast and the small nationalist Short Strand enclave.

    Violence has raged for seven of the last eight days since the decision, in Belfast and around the and nearly 30 officers have been injured.

    About 10 people have appeared in court charged with offences linked to the rioting - the youngest just 13 years of age.

    Decades of violence between the province's mainly Catholic republicans and pro-British Protestants largely ended when a peace agreement was signed in 1998, but much of Belfast remains divided along sectarian lines.

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    Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

  • Clinton condemns violence, revisits family legacy in trip to Belfast

    Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

    Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meets Friday with Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson, right, and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, left, at Stormont Castle in Belfast on Friday.

    By NBC News and wire reports

    Updated at 10:25 a.m. ET: BELFAST — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday condemned a wave of street violence in Northern Ireland, saying it showed the peace process she has long supported in the British province was not yet complete.

    Making one of her last foreign trips in her current job, she visited a province transformed by the 1998 peace agreement that her husband Bill Clinton helped bring about in what was regarded as one of the greatest successes of his presidency.

    But Northern Ireland remains riven by sectarian tensions and Clinton arrived in a week that has seen three riots, the seizure of a bomb over 62 miles outside Belfast, and the arrest of four militant nationalists.

    The latest riot erupted Thursday night when a policeman was injured after protesters hurled missiles to vent their anger against nationalist councilors who voted to remove the British flag atop Belfast City Hall.

    'It pains me': Clinton decries plight of women in male-dominated countries

    Police said Friday that four men were arrested after a "viable bomb" was recovered from a car in a nationalist area of Derry overnight. A letter bomb was also found in a County Down postbox with the capacity "to kill or cause serious injury."

    "It has been a sad reminder unfortunately that despite how hardy the peace has been, there are still those who not only would test it but try to destroy it," Clinton said.

    "I really commend the leaders and citizens who have condemned the violence— and I join them in condemning it — to remind us all that peace comes through dialogue and debate, not violence," she added.


    Important for 2016?
    However, Clinton's visit, during which politicians from both sides of the political divide briefed her on the peace process, was a reminder of the huge popularity of her family in Ireland, a potential asset in attracting the Irish-American vote if Clinton decided to run for the U.S. presidency in 2016.

    The province has suffered one of the world's worst property market crashes and its leaders are hoping for the kind of U.S. foreign investment that has transformed the rest of Ireland.

    "Our need is more economic now than political," said Reg Empey, Chairman of the Ulster Unionist Party, who was a senior figure in the peace process.

    Cops hurt as British unionist protesters try to storm Belfast City Hall in flag spat

    "But we also have to be aware that there is still a degree of volatility ... and in those circumstances I think we should make sure we keep the relationship going," he said.

    Peace process
    Hillary Clinton traveled to Northern Ireland several times in the mid-1990s while her husband helped broker the 1998 Good Friday peace accord. His hands-on approach was widely recognized as crucial at moments when the agreement looked like crumbling.

    Bill Clinton's work helped win over the Irish vote during his re-election campaign in 1996 and his popularity among Irish-Americans could rub off on his wife if she needed it.

    Clinton on Thursday told journalists in Dublin she was "too focused on what I'm doing" to think about a run for the presidency and declined to comment on U.S. newspaper reports that her husband may be appointed as Washington's next ambassador to the Republic of Ireland.

    Complete World coverage on NBCNews.com

    Personal ties
    As first lady, Clinton lent support to pro-peace women's groups in Northern Ireland and visited people wounded in the 1998 Omagh bombing, the deadliest attack in three decades of violence commonly known as the "Troubles."

    At least 3,600 people were killed during that time as Catholic nationalists seeking union with Ireland fought British security forces and mainly Protestant Loyalists determined to remain part of the United Kingdom.

    "The lessons learned here in Ireland about how to build peace could be of great use to other peoples and nations," Clinton said Thursday in a speech in Dublin in which she recalled a meeting between Catholic and Protestant women in Belfast in the 1990s.

    "There are so many more ties that bind us than divide us, and that is what has motivated me over many years now," she said.

    NBC News' Catherine Chomiak and Reuters contributed to this report.

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  • Cops hurt as British unionist protesters try to storm Belfast City Hall in flag spat

    Reuters

    Loyalists clash with police officers outside the City Hall in Belfast following a vote by local councilors to stop flying the British flag every day.

    By NBC News staff and wire reports

    Fifteen police officers were injured when hundreds of people tried to storm Belfast City Hall in Northern Ireland over a plan to stop flying the British flag as it currently does every day of the year, ITV News reported.

    The violence broke out after Irish nationalist councilors from the Sinn Fein and SDLP parties voted to take down the flag which has flown above the city hall every day since the building was opened in 1906.


    The decision means the flag will be flown only for 17 days of the year, as is the case at the provincial assembly at Stormont.

    Nationalist and Unionist parties share power under a 1998 peace deal that largely ended 30 years of sectarian violence in which more than 3,600 people died.

    Read more on this story from ITV News

    Many of the protesters who clashed with police were carrying British Union flags.

    Reuters reported that the attempt to storm the building was repelled by police.

    A photographer from the Press Association news agency and two security guards were also injured, a police spokeswoman told Reuters.

    Peter Morrison / AP

    Police and protesters face off during clashes that saw 15 officers and three others injured.

    Dozens of police hurt in Northern Ireland sectarian clashes

    Democratic Unionist Party councilor Ruth Patterson described the vote to remove the flag as "divisive, destructive and disrespectful of anything remotely Protestant, anything remotely British," ITV News reported.

    Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson condemned the violence.

    "There is no excuse or justification for attacks on police officers, council staff, and property," he said, according to ITV News.

    "Such behavior is not representative of those who campaigned to maintain the Union flag flying over Belfast City Hall," he added. "Those who talk most about building community relations have by their actions in the council substantially damaged relations across the city."

    Queen Elizabeth to hold historic meeting with former IRA commander

    Nationalist parties, which aspire to break from the U.K. and join a united Ireland, last year for the first time secured more seats on the council than Unionist parties, which support maintaining Northern Ireland's position in the United Kingdom.

    Gerry Kelly, a member of the Northern Irish Assembly, strongly criticized the police, according to ITV News.

    "I have to say, and I don't use these words unless I really mean them, it was a disgraceful police operation -- or lack of a police operation," he said. "If that had been 1,000 or more republicans, it would have been very different."

    Ireland PM in historic tribute to veterans on British Remembrance Day

    "They indiscriminately attacked cars. We are very, very lucky that they didn't get into the building or we could have been dealing with a lot more injuries," he added. "I am angry because it's not as if they were taken by surprise. This was a well-planned protest."

    ITV News, a U.K. partner of NBC News, and Reuters contributed to this report.

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  • Belfast 'Peace Wall' still separates Catholics, Protestants

    Cathal Mcnaughton / Reuters

    A section of the 'Peace Wall' that divides Catholic and Protestant communities runs along Alliance Avenue, north Belfast on Nov. 6.

    Cathal Mcnaughton / Reuters

    William Boyd, Protestant, poses for a picture at the side of his house in Cluan Place in east Belfast on Oct 27. When asked would he like to see the 'Peace Wall' that divides Catholic and Protestant communities taken down, Boyd replied, "It should be left the way it is. Why would they want to pull down these walls?"

    Cathal Mcnaughton / Reuters

    A section of the 'Peace Wall' that divides Catholic and Protestant communities runs along Cupar Way in west Belfast.

    A so-called 'Peace Wall' has separated Catholic and Protestant communities in Belfast since 1969. The barriers were built following the Northern Ireland riots and the start of the conflict that is known as "The Troubles." They were built as temporary structures meant to last only six months, but they have multiplied over the years, from 18 in the early 1990s to 40 today and in total they now stretch over 13 miles.   

    Photographer Cathal McNaughton photographed sections of the wall and gained rare access to communities living on either side. In interviews with the residents he found that despite living in houses effectively caged in by a towering 20 foot high wall, these people do not want the wall to be taken down.

    They live in fortress-like houses surrounded by metal fencing and barricades with an ever present symbol of their troubled past looming overhead. But to these communities - who live under the fear of attack every day - the wall is a necessary form of protection that they would not live without.

    Read McNaughton's blog, 'A barrier to peace' at reuters.com.

    Jean McAnoy, Roman Catholic, a care worker, poses for a picture in the back garden of her home in Bombay Street, west Belfast on Oct. 18. When asked would she like to see the 'Peace Wall' taken down, Foster replied, ""No way. I would like it kept the way it is."

    Sonya Foster, Protestant, a care worker, poses for a picture in the back garden of her home in the Glenbryn area of Belfast on Oct. 27. When asked would she like to see the peace wall that divides Catholic and Protestant communities taken down, Foster replied, "Not now but in the future maybe. It would be nice to see it down."

    Stephen McGarry, Roman Catholic, poses for a picture in the back garden of his home on Clonard Street in west Belfast on Oct. 17. When asked would he like to see the Peace Wall taken down, McGarry replied, "It never should be taken down. But mum would love to see holes in it to let the light through."

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  • Dozens of police hurt in Northern Ireland sectarian clashes

    Peter Morrison / AP

    Masked loyalists gather before attacking police in North Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Sunday.

    By NBC News staff and wire reports

    Police in Northern Ireland fired plastic bullets and water cannon on rioters late on Monday in a second night of sectarian clashes between Catholics and Protestants that have injured dozens of police officers.

    Police fired controversial plastic rounds for the first time during the disturbances after protesters threw Molotov cocktails, fireworks, bricks and stones at officers trying to separate rival groups in north Belfast.


    Rioters from the Protestant group hijacked a van at one point and pushed it at police lines. At least three of the injured officers were taken to a hospital.

    Riots often erupt during the summer months when Protestant groups hold traditional parades that are seen as provocative by nationalists, who want to be part of a united Ireland, and Catholics.

    The second night of disturbances over the last week followed a parade by Catholic Irish nationalists in an area where Protestant groups were recently barred from marching.

    At least 47 officers were hurt in clashes on Sunday in the dispute over the rights of the two communities to hold parades in the area. As many as nine were reportedly injured on Monday night.

    The Queen is making a historic visit to Northern Ireland as part of her Diamond Jubilee tour. She arrived in Enniskillen, the scene of one of the worst atrocities of The Troubles, and meet the Stormont deputy first minister, former IRA commander Martin McGuinness, in a gesture which will herald another milestone in Anglo-Irish relations. ITN's Martha Fairlie reports.

    Over the weekend, seven police officers were hurt in the same area when a Protestant band marched past a Catholic church playing music in defiance of a ban from the parades commission, which regulates marches in the province.

    Photos: Riots erupt in Northern Ireland

    Paramilitary violence between the province's mainly Catholic republicans and pro-British Protestants, which raged on and off for three decades, has largely ended since a peace agreement was signed in 1998, but much of Belfast remains socially divided along sectarian lines.

    The head of the Northern Ireland Police Federation, Terry Spence, praised the officers on the front lines. 

    Martin McGuinness, a former commander of the Irish Republican Army met with Queen Elizabeth in Northern Ireland. It was a historic moment decades after the IRA led a bloody fight against British rule. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.

    "Their bravery and courage is in stark contrast to that of the cowardly thugs responsible for trying to murder them," he said, according to BBC News. 

    Alban Maginness of the predominantly Catholic and moderate nationalist political party S.D.L.P., claimed that the riots were not spontaneous, the BBC reported.

    Violence flared for a second night running in Northern Ireland as Catholic youths clashed with police following Protestant parades. NBC's Yuka Tachibana reports.

    "The bulk of the violence over the past two days has, I believe, been sustained by loyalist paramilitaries," the BBC quoted him as saying. "I think this is an attempt to intimidate the lawful authorities."

    Police had blamed loyalists for the weekend's violence at a republican march, the BBC reported, adding that up to 350 loyalists had rioted. 

    Reuters contributed to this report. 

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  • Lennox, dog condemned as pitbull, is put to death in Belfast

    PA wire via AP, file

    Lennox, deemed an illegal pitbull terrier type dog in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A pug-nosed Belfast dog named Lennox, who inspired a two-year legal fight and animal-rights protests on both sides of the Atlantic, has been put down, the Belfast City Council confirmed Wednesday.

    By msnbc.com staff

    A two-year international battle to save pug-nosed Lennox, whose resemblance to a pitbull brought it a death warrant from the City Council in Belfast, Northern Ireland, ended Wednesday with the announcement that city officials killed the 7-year-old dog.


    The City Council declared Lennox had a severe personality disorder, but his owners, the Barnes family, said he was a well-handled American bulldog-Labrador cross. After measuring his legs and snout, dog wardens declared Lennox a “possible pitbull type” and in 2010 seized him under the UK’s dangerous dog act.

    Owner Caroline Barnes, said her teenage daughter, Brooke, had been denied the chance to say a final farewell, the Belfast Telegraph reported.

    "We had told Brooke that even if we don't win (the case), she can still see Lennox, have her last pictures with him and say goodbye," said Caroline Barnes. "To then have to tell her that no, that is not happening, it has been extremely unfair."

    Victoria Stilwell

    The euthanizing sparked expressions of outrage, including from celebrities such as Victoria Stilwell, host of Animal Planet’s “It’s Me or the Dog.”

    “Outraged & devastated for the Barnes family,” Stilwell tweeted. “@BelfastCC are defending their decision to murder this ‘dangerous dog, but the world knows different.'”

    Stilwell had offered to the Belfast City Council to take Lennox, all expenses paid, to a new home in the United States, but her request for a meeting to discuss the proposal went unanswered.

    "I think the council had something to prove, and they were going to do it even though it was wrong," Stilwell told msnbc.com.

    To owners of dogs targeted by breed-specific legislation, she warned: "Don’t trust your council and don’t trust your county. There are vindictive people dead set against bully breeds who will find you and take your dogs away."

    She said she will work to fight breed-specific legislation.

    "We must target the deed not the breed," Stilwell said. "We must hold irresponsible pet owners accountable. Dogs of any breed can be fantastic, and dogs of any breed can be dangerous. Breed-specific law is flawed; it just doesn’t work."

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    A Belfast council spokesman on Wednesday, quoted by the Belfast Telegraph, said:

    "Lennox, an illegalpit-bull terrier type, has been humanely put to sleep. This was in accordance with the Order of the County Court which was affirmed by the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal.

    "Whilst there is an exemption scheme to which dogs of this type (pit-bull terrier type) may be admitted as an alternative to destruction, there were no such measures that could be applied in this case that would address the concerns relating to public safety. The Council’s expert described the dog as one of the most unpredictable and dangerous dogs he had come across.

    "Over the past two years, Council officials have been subjected to a sustained campaign of abuse including threats of violence and death threats. The Council has been in ongoing contact with the PSNI in relation to that.

    "The Council regrets that the court action was necessary but would emphasise that the safety of the public remains its key priority."

    Northern Ireland's senior appeals court last month upheld two 2011 court rulings that Lennox should be put down.

    However, Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson suggested on Monday that the Belfast City Council consider offers to take the dog elsewhere, raising the hopes of Lennox supporters, some of whom were protesting in New York. Protests were also held Saturday in Belfast, and a candlelight vigil was held there Tuesday night. Protests were also held Tuesday in Spain.

    Online petitions garnered 200,000 signatures.

    A Short Film Dedicated To Lennox The American Bull Dog Cross Wrongfully Seized By Belfast City Dog Wardens On May 19th 2010 And Sentenced To Death Because Of How He Looks.
    http://www.savelennox.co.uk
    http://www.savelennoxblog.co.uk
    http://www.savelennoxpetition.co.uk
    http://www.savelennoxfacebook.co.uk

    Msnbc.com's Jim Gold contributed to this article. Follow him on Facebook here.

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  • Protesters in New York, Belfast try to save Lennox, condemned dog


    By Jim Gold, NBC News

    Updated 8 p.m. ET Sunday: A two-year international effort to save Lennox, a Belfast, Northern Ireland, death-row dog whose owners say was mistaken for a pitbull, moves to New York on Monday as protests in his homeland appear to be going nowhere.

    An international protest Saturday in Belfast, where the animal is slated to be euthanized this week, according to media reports, included demonstrators who flew in from the U.S., England and Dublin, UTV in Belfast reported.

    Victoria Stilwell, host of “It’s Me or the Dog” on the Animal Planet network, offered to find Lennox a new home in the United States, all expenses paid, but on Sunday she told msnbc.com her quest went unanswered.

    Protesters organized by No Kill New York animal-saving group plan to target British and Irish consulates Monday in New York to prevent the dog's killing.

    The Belfast City Council declared Lennox had a severe personality disorder, but his owners, the Barnes family, say he is a well-handled family pet.

    The 7-year-old dog was seized in 2010 as a breed banned under the UK’s Dangerous Dog act.

    The dog’s owners say he is an American bulldog-Labrador cross, but dog wardens after measuring his legs and snout declared Lennox a “possible pitbull type.”

    No complaints had been made against the dog, according to media reports, and the Barnes family has been unable to see the dog.

    The Court of Appeal last month rejected a plea spare the dog, being held in a secret location, the Belfast Telegraph reported. 

    Dog trainer and television presenter Victoria Stilwell

    Protesters say theyare trying to raise awareness not only about Lennox but also to show that “breed specific legislation” is unfair.

    Lennox’s plight is documented on a Save Lennox website and on a Facebook page with more than 75,000 fans. Expressions supporting the dog are also posted on Twitter.

    The dog’s cause also is championed by Stilwell, who traveled to Belfast last week to consult with the Barnes family and with Belfast officials to stop the euthanizing and allow the dog to be brought to a new home in the United States.

    “It is important to understand that every possible legal avenue to release Lennox back to the family has been exhausted, and that result is no longer an option,” Stillwell posted on her website. “Indeed, the latest news is that he is scheduled to be euthanized next week. My heart goes out to Craig, Caroline and Brooke [Barnes] for what they are enduring.”

    On Sunday, she told msnbc.com in an eamiled statement:

    “Despite my repeated public and private requests for a meeting with the Belfast City Council to discuss positive alternatives to the euthanasia of Lennox, they have inexplicably refused to even discuss these possibilities with me, the family or their legal team. Although I’ve previously given the benefit of the doubt about the BCC’s motives, I now fear that their collective decision-making has been clouded by personal and potentially vindictive reasoning while exhibiting an unreasonable obstinance to even exploring positive solutions. I sincerely hope they relent and accept my offer of an all-expenses paid, face-saving rehoming process for this poor dog.”

    The Barnes family, in a statement posted on Facebook and the Save Lennox website, earlier wrote, “the fight to spare Lennox’s life may well be over. It has been almost impossible for us to accept that we have to admit defeat.”

    A Short Film Dedicated To Lennox The American Bull Dog Cross Wrongfully Seized By Belfast City Dog Wardens On May 19th 2010 And Sentenced To Death Because Of How He Looks.
    http://www.savelennox.co.uk
    http://www.savelennoxblog.co.uk
    http://www.savelennoxpetition.co.uk
    http://www.savelennoxfacebook.co.uk

    Follow Jim Gold at msnbc.com on Facebook here.

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