Short Strand
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The Short Strand (Irish: An Trá Ghearr ) is an area in eastern inner-city Belfast, in Northern Ireland. It is a nationalist enclave, with a population of around 3,000 within a much larger unionist area of about 60,000. Rioting between neighbouring Loyalist and Republican factions has been a feature of the area's recent past. The introduction of CCTV in the area, and in other similar places in the city (opposed by republican representatives), has had a positive effect with a drastic reduction in incidents there, and throughout Belfast. The neighbouring districts are unionist areas to the east and to the south, the area to the north is an industrial area and to the west is the River Lagan spanned by the Albert Bridge and leading to the Nationalist/Republican Markets area.
There is currently a peace line on its northern edge, separating unionist Cluan Place and nationalist Madrid Street.
On Mountpottinger Road, which traverses it, there is a Police Service of Northern Ireland station with fortifications made necessary during the troubles because of bomb and gun attacks against security force members from Republican paramilitaries. These barriers date from the days of the Royal Ulster Constabulary.
During the early years of The Troubles the area was the scene of many violent events. In particular the Provisional IRA fought its first major action there in June 1970, when a group of PIRA men led by Billy McKee defended St. Matthew's Church against attack from loyalist mobs in what was to become known as the "Battle of St. Matthews".
Short Strand is in the area of the Third Battalion of the IRA's Belfast Brigade.
Many loyalists avoid the area due to fear of attack, although bus service Metro 5A runs through Mountpottinger en route to Braniel, home of loyalist bomber Michael Stone who committed the 1988 Milltown Cemetery attack.
Robert McCartney, a nationalist murdered by (now expelled) members of the Provisional IRA in 2005, was from the Short Strand area.
