Tourists buy slice of Shankill Road

Visitors to a famous loyalist heartland in Belfast can now claim they’ve been there, done that and, quite literally, bought the T-shirt.

The Shankill Road launched its own range of branded clothing goods today to tap into the area’s growing popularity among tourists.

As well as T-shirts, visitors who travel to see the vast array of painted murals from the Troubles era can pick up caps, sweatshirts and a range of other merchandise all with a Shankill logo emblazoned across them.

The ’Shankill – Original Belfast since 455 AD’ brand name harks back to the first Christian settlement in the area in the 5th Century.

Then it was referred to an Sean Cill, which meant old church.

The branding initiative has been developed by the community development group, the Greater Shankill Partnership.

Roz Small, tourism and arts officer with the partnership said the campaign was part of a wider effort to maximise tourist revenue to the benefit of the local community.

“Claiming and recognising the Shankill’s long history, provides us with a secure basis to look to the future with confidence,” she said.

The North's Tourism minister Arlene Foster was joined at today’s launch by North Belfast MP and Finance Minister Nigel Dodds.

Mrs Foster said the branding was a very positive development.

“I was pleased to go along to the launch in order to see for myself the good work being carried out by local community stakeholders in exploiting the tourism potential of this historic Belfast community,” said the Democratic Unionist minister.

“The Shankill Road has a very proud and significant history and has produced many renowned figures down through the years.. Projects such as this which are designed to improve the area and open up its tourist potential are very welcome.”