There’s always been art on the streets of Belfast. The political murals on gable walls in nationalist and unionist areas are famous worldwide, and art often provided a way of bringing people together, forging an alternative view of the city that was never just about the stereotype of bombed-out buildings and gun-toting soldiers prior to the 1998 peace agreement.
I think about this over a caramel square in the Linen Hall Library cafe, contemplating the display of political posters stretching up several floors in the stairwell. Founded in 1788 in a former linen warehouse, the Linen Hall is the oldest library in Belfast. Not only does it have a vast collection of books and cosy places to read them, it also runs regular exhibitions, events and tours, and holds the definitive archive of the Troubles. “The very words the Linen Hall Library represent not just books but better hopes for the way we live,” said poet and former patron Seamus Heaney.
