This expert experience led by Alwin McKee walks you through the Georgian and Victorian Streets and uncovers how Belfast recovered from the ‘Dragooning’ of Ulster during the 1798 Rebellion and then became a leading industrial town then city. Belfast’s politics became a sectarian battlefield that was then played out on the mean streets as the Hole Rule Bill was introduced and Belfast became the birthplace of armed paramilitary groups like the UVF, ICA, and IV’s.

As Belfast settled down from the effects and consequences of the 1798 Rebellion and the Act of Union it became a powerhouse of Mills, Shipyards and mass production. Vast fortunes were made and its rich citizens moved away from the smoke filled urban streets to the leafy suburbs of the Malone Ridge the Antrim Road and Hollywood Hills. Belfast built cutting iron edge ships leading to the biggest and most luxurious ships in the world the Olympic Class. The city centre became a place of consumer commerce and new department stores sold goods from all over the world to those who could afford it. Yet in the midst of this wealth lay the terrible conditions of the poor and working classes. Thousands of its citizens died though insanitary living conditions made worse in the aftermath of the Famine that brought devastation across Ireland. By the end of the century the movement to repeal the Act of Union through the Home Rule movement had once again reignited sectarian rioting and murders in Belfast that was cemented by the emerging confessionalism of politics.

This expert experience led by Alwin McKee walks you through the buildings and places of the era where you will discover the incredible stories of the super-rich and the incredible poverty that was the mean streets of Victorian Belfast. The rEvolutionary Belfast Walking Experience is a series of four expert lead walking tours telling the story of the evolution of Belfast from its creation as a town and rebel beginnings before becoming the most loyal city in the British Empire. Belfast became the Jewel in the Crown of the British Imperial led Industrial Revolution with the largest Shipyards, Linen Mills and Rope making factories to name just a few. Yet that same city raised a volunteer army ready to fight the British Army to maintain its constitutional place within the Empire and the scene was set for a Bloody Civil War when an opposing army was raised to enact Home Rule laws and institutions. Both World Wars took a toll on Belfast, its buildings and citizens yet the city became infamous for its ‘Troubles’ that again seen the city devastated and surrounded by iron gates. Yet today Belfast is one of the most peaceful places to visit and is one of the top destinations in the world to explore. These series of tour experiences are aimed at visitors to Belfast to discover its fascinating history or to local people who are interested in gaining a deeper understanding of Irish history and politics delivered by experts in their respective fields.