BELFAST WALKING TOUR FIELD GUIDE
Walking the Painted Memory: A 3‑Hour Tour of Falls Road’s Murals and Memorials
A 3‑hour walking tour led by former activists and political ex‑prisoners that traces murals from Coiste’s mural at Divis Tower through the International Wall to Bobby Sands’ mural and Milltown Cemetery.
Walking the Painted Memory: A 3‑Hour Tour of Falls Road’s Murals and Memorials.
The Falls Road Mural Tour is a living history walk through West Belfast led by former activists and political ex‑prisoners. Over three hours guides weave personal testimony into a route that visits Divis Tower, the International Wall and its famous murals, the local Irish History Museum, Republican memorial gardens and finishes at Milltown Cemetery, offering an immersive perspective on the recent phase of the Anglo‑Irish conflict and the peace process.
Highlights
Outing Highlights
Firsthand testimony — guides who lived the conflict
Former activists and political ex‑prisoners host the tour and interweave their own personal stories into stops that explain both local and wider history and the evolution of the peace process.
The International Wall and the art of memory
The route takes visitors to the International Wall and many of West Belfast’s famous murals, each a public canvas that reflects political, social and cultural layers of the city’s recent past.
Bobby Sands’ mural and Milltown Cemetery
The tour visits the internationally renowned Bobby Sands’ mural and culminates at Milltown Cemetery, the resting place of Bobby Sands and other hunger strikers from 1981, a focal point of Republican memorialisation.
What the day feels like
What the tour feels like
This is an intimate, narrative walk: over three hours guides lead small groups through West Belfast’s streets and walls, stopping to unpack murals, memorials and the stories behind them—ending at Milltown Cemetery where the tour’s themes of sacrifice and remembrance come into sharpest focus.
Suitability
Who it's for
Who this tour suits and why.
Practical planner
Details to review before reserving
The tour runs for three hours.
No specific gear requirements are listed in the source material.
Review cancellation policies before reserving.
Frequently asked questions
Planning Your Outing
How long is the Falls Road Mural Tour?
The tour is three hours long.
Who leads the tour?
Former activists and political ex‑prisoners from within the Republican community host the tour.
Where does the tour start?
The tour starts at Coiste’s mural at Divis Tower at the bottom of the Falls Road.
What sites are included on the route?
Stops include Divis Tower, the International Wall, Republican memorial gardens, the local Irish History Museum and Bobby Sands’ mural, finishing at Milltown Cemetery.
Where does the tour finish?
The tour concludes at Milltown Cemetery, the site of Bobby Sands’ grave and the graves of the 1981 hunger strikers.
Is this an authoritative source of recent local history?
The tour is described as a living history provided by those who lived through the conflict and who have helped shape the current peace process.