| |
 Divis Mountain from the Shankill | |
  Location within Greater Belfast | |
| Part of | B39 |
|---|---|
| Namesake | from Irish Seanchill, meaning 'old church' |
| Maintained by | Transport NI |
| Length | 2.4 km (1.5 mi) |
| Location | Belfast |
| Postal code | BT13 |
| Coordinates | 54°36′15″N 5°57′11″W / 54.6043°N 5.9530°W |
| West end | Woodvale Road |
| East end | Peter's Hill |
| Other | |
| Known for | Ulster Loyalism, Murals |
| Website | greatershankillpartnership |
The Shankill Road (from Irish Seanchill, meaning 'old church'[3]) is one of the main roads leading through West Belfast, in Northern Ireland. It runs through the working-class, predominantly loyalist, area known as the Shankill.
The road stretches westwards for about 1.5 mi (2.4 km) from central Belfast and is lined, to an extent, by shops. The residents live in the many streets which branch off the main road. The area along the Shankill Road forms part of the Court district electoral area.
In Ulster-Scots it is known as either Auld Kirk Gate ("Old Church Way"),[1][better source needed] or as Auld Kirk Raa ("Old Church Road").[2] In Irish, it is known as "Bóthar na Seanchille" ("the road of the old church").[4]
- ^ a b O'Fee, James (12 August 2008). "Irish and Ulster-Scots on the Shankill". Impala Publishers blog. Archived from the original on 27 February 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
- ^ a b Kay, Billy (2006). Scots - The Mither Tongue. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1845960520. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
In North Belfast, bilingual signs announce both 'Silverstream Park and 'Sillerburn Pairk', and if the Ulster-Scots Culture Group in the area has its way, the Shankill Road - a name of Irish origin - will soon acknowledge the Lowland Scots roots of some of its people with signs reading 'Auld Kirk Raa'.
- ^ "Shankill, County Antrim". Northern Ireland Place-name Project. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ^ "Shankill Road in Irish". Glosbe Irish translation. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 23 July 2017.