Walk for the Weekend: Retracing the steps of Belfast’s bloody past.

The Conflicting Stories guided walk through West Belfast gives a perspective on the Troubles from both sides of the divide.

I am in the elegant lobby of the Europa Hotel, Belfast, but I could be anywhere. Around me are an eclectic ensemble of businessmen, shoppers, harassed mums and coffee addicts. It’s the essence of normality, yet it took just 20 minutes to walk from an area regarded, until recently, as among the world’s most dangerous.

My Belfast ramble began beneath Divis Tower, where I was joined by an assortment of visitors determined to gaze beneath the skin of this enigmatic, perplexing city. Greeted by a republican ex-prisoner, he began our Conflicting Stories walk with a nationalist perspective on the “Troubles”.

By John G O'Dwyer.

Full story at Irish Times.