Sandy Row
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Sandy Row (sometimes called Loyalist Sandy Row) is a Protestant working class community in south Belfast, Northern Ireland. It has a population of about 3,000. It is considered a staunchly loyalist area of Belfast, being a traditional heartland for affiliation with the Ulster Defence Association and its splinter group, the UFF.
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[edit] Geography
The road runs from the Boyne Bridge over the old Dublin railway line into Great Victoria Street station, then crosses the Donegall Road and on to the bottom of the Lisburn Road. At one end of the road was the famous Murray's tobacco factory, while at the other is a large Orange Order Hall.
[edit] History
Sandy Row is a loyalist neighbourhood in south Belfast, near the Europa Hotel. Known for its affiliation with loyalist paramilitary during the Troubles, Sandy Row was, in some respects, the loyalist answer to Free Derry in that it bears a large paramilitary mural indicating its "autonomy". The road used to be a popular shopping district attracting people from all over Belfast but since the Troubles this has declined substantially. Sandy Row is home to a loyalist memorabilia shop which sells Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and Ulster Volunteer Force paraphernalia, similar to one on the Shankill Road.
[edit] The mural
The UDA/Ulster Freedom Fighters mural at Sandy Row can be seen from the northern end of the street. The mural is similar to the republican one in Free Derry.
[edit] In Popular Culture
In the song "Madame George" on his album Astral Weeks Van Morrison sings: "Then you know you gotta go On the train from Dublin up to Sandy Row"
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