Which Belfast communities were separated by the Falls Road and Shankill Road peace wall?

The peace walls in Belfast were constructed to separate the city's sectarian communities, specifically the republican and loyalist enclaves. These barriers, which evolved from simple barbed wire placed by British soldiers into permanent brick and steel structures, were designed to segregate the Falls Road Catholic community from the Shankill Protestant community.1

These structures are part of a broader pattern of residential segregation in Northern Ireland, where many residents live in districts dominated by one of the two communities. Such divisions are particularly pronounced in Belfast, where these "peace lines" serve as physical constraints intended to keep warring factions apart and mitigate the impact of sectarian violence on everyday life.2