Picture Perfect

Seeing Ireland; Studying Territorial Identity

Meet Stephanie N. Shady, a Comparative Politics Ph.D. Candidate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who travelled to the island of Ireland in the summer of 2019 after receiving a Jean Monnet Center of Excellence Summer Research Award.

In tandem with a Question & Answer post about Stephanie’s research experience, this photo essay provides a glimpse into Stephanie’s interest in territorial identity in Northern Ireland, as well as the goals of the JMCE Summer Research Award: making the EU — and the study of it — accessible to as many people as possible.

Catholic Church, Armagh

Left: Alliance Party and Social Democratic Labour Party Campaign Posters, Armagh | Right: Church of Ireland, Armagh

Left: Graffiti and Alliance Campaign Poster, Armagh | Center: Protestant Church with a Catholic Cathedral in the Background, Armagh | Right: Protestant Church, Armagh

Unionist Campaign Posters, Armagh

Left: Protestant Churches, Armagh | Right: Sinn Fein Campaign Poster, Armagh

Left: Various Campaign Posters, Armagh | Right: Courthouse that Held Trials During the Troubles, Belfast

Crumlin Road Jail, Which Incarcerated Unionists and Nationalists During the Troubles, Belfast

Left: Fences that Continue to Divide the Communities of Belfast, Belfast | Right: Graffiti Near a Bonfire Supplies Location in a Unionist Neighborhood, Belfast

Nationalist Mural Comparing Irish and Palestinian Communities, Belfast

Left: Nationalist Mural in the Falls Road Neighborhood, Belfast | Right: Sinn Fein Campaign Poster on a Multi-Community School Fence, Belfast

Stormont, the Northern Ireland Regional Assembly Building, Belfast

Left: The Falls Memorial Garden, Belfast | Right: Troubles Reflection Space in City Hall, Belfast

Unionist Campaign Poster Outisde Shankill Memorial Park, Belfast

Left: Unionist Campaign Posters in the Shankill Neighborhood, Belfast | Right: Unionist Memorial in the Shankill Neighborhood, Belfast

Unionist Mural in the Shankill Neighborhood, Belfast

Left: Unionist Mural, Belfast | Right: Before Catholic Mass, Dundalk

Catholic Church, Dundalk

Left & Center: Catholic Church, Dundalk | Right: Hope Graffiti, Dundalk

Memorial to a Victim of the Troubles, Dundalk

Left: Sinn Fein Campaign Poster, Dundalk | Right:Sinn Fein Office, Dundalk

Thank you to Stephanie for sharing these photos and your experience! Best of luck in all your future endeavours!

The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.