Overview
The rooms of Clonard Monastery hosted some of the most consequential conversations in modern Irish history: the secret talks between John Hume and Gerry Adams that fed into the 1994 IRA ceasefire. Officially the Church of the Holy Redeemer, it sits just off the Falls Road in West Belfast, home to a community of Redemptorist priests since the 1890s. The early-French-Gothic church is genuinely worth a look for its own sake, but it’s the recent history packed into these few streets that gives a visit its weight.
If you have time for one thing here, make it the political walking tour rather than the church interior. The building is handsome; the story is unforgettable, and a former prisoner telling it on the spot is worth more than any plaque.
History
Bishop Henry Henry of Down and Connor invited the Redemptorist order to Belfast in 1896 to serve the city’s growing Catholic working-class population. A temporary tin church went up in 1897, with a modest residence in the early-French-Gothic style alongside it. The present Church of the Holy Redeemer replaced the tin structure in 1911.
A four-year restoration from 2008 to 2012, costing £3 million, returned the stonework, stained glass and altar and tidied up the garden.
The harder history is the recent kind. In August 1969 nearby Bombay Street became a flashpoint of the clashes that opened the Troubles, and Clonard took in families burned out of their homes. Two priests in particular, Fr Alec Reid and Fr Gerry Reynolds, spent years mediating between the communities from here. In 1981 the Redemptorists formed a formal link with the Fitzroy Presbyterian Church, making the complex a centre for cross-community dialogue, and it was in these rooms that Hume and Adams met.
What to see
The International Wall on the approach carries the area’s best-known murals, including the Bobby Sands portrait and panels on freedom struggles elsewhere in the world. A short walk away, Bombay Street is marked with commemorative plaques and signs explaining the 1969 clashes.
Inside the church, the nave takes coloured light from stained-glass panels of the Virgin Mary, St Finian and other scenes. The high altar, restored in 2012, has carved stone, a marble reredos and a marble statue of St Finian by Carlo Nicoli, dated 1957.
The most rewarding visit is a Coiste Irish Political Tour, led by former political prisoners who give first-hand accounts of the conflict, explain the murals and set out Clonard’s part in it. Joint Falls/Shankill tours pair a nationalist and a unionist guide, which is the fairest way to see both sides of the line in a single morning.
Getting there and visiting
The church, garden and visitor centre are free and open to the public at your own pace. The address is Clonard Monastery, Clonard Gardens, Belfast BT13 2RL.
Buses serving the Falls Road get you close, and it’s a walkable distance from the City Hall area. Parking is the weak point – it’s limited on these narrow streets, so come by bus or on foot if you can.
Coiste tours need booking in advance; they run most days, last around 90 minutes and carry a per-adult charge. Check the Coiste website for current rates and times before you travel.
Toilets are in the visitor centre, and a small café runs on weekdays, roughly 9am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 4.30pm, though hours shift – worth checking the website. This is a working place of worship, so modest dress is appreciated. Interior photography is allowed, but flash may be restricted in some areas.
Nearby
The Belfast Botanic Gardens, with the Palm House and the Ulster Museum, make an easy follow-on, as does the city centre around City Hall for food and shops. If you do only the tour and the murals, give yourself a clear ninety minutes – the streets reward slow walking more than the church does.