BELFAST & THE GREAT WAR

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, Belfast was a great commercial and industrial centre. Linen, rope-making, tobacco, shipbuilding and a number of other industries were all thriving at this time. In1886 the city suffered home rule riots which served to divide the increasing population. Around thirty years later, the First World War broke out. Many Belfast residents lost their lives in the conflict, and are now commemorated by memorial monuments throughout the town. During this time, the way of life in Belfast changed a great deal for its residents. In the early part of the 1920s, Belfast became the capital of Northern Ireland after the island was portioned. The conflict that came at this time - the Irish War of Independence - cost many Belfast lives and was one of the bloodiest events prior to the Troubles of the 1960s onwards. In Belfast and the Great War, author Keith Haines documents the impact of the First World War and the internal struggles between 1870 and 1920 on day-to-day life in Belfast, including a selection of old photographs to show how the conflict left its mark on the people and places around the area and case studies of past residents.