Timeline

1949 – Joan is born (Catholic). She lives through the worst of the troubles: she is 20 years old when British troops first arrive in Belfast due to violence, 23 when the Bloody Sunday Massacre occurs, and she is 49 when the Good Friday Agreement is reached which starts the official peace process in Belfast. She has lived 29 years in war and 13 years in peace.

1960- Ann born (Protestant). She is 6 years old when the violence within Belfast begins stirring up, 12 years old when direct rule is imposed, and 38 years old when the peace process begins in Ireland. She has lived 32 years at war, the longest of any character.

1965- Terry is born (Protestant). He is born 4 years before violence begins and the IRA’s paramilitary group begins large-scale operations. He is six when the Ulster Defense Association (UDA) is formed, and 29 when the UDA declares a ceasefire.

1960- Anne is born (Protestant). She is 6 years old when the violence within Belfast begins stirring up, 12 years old when direct rule is imposed, and 38 years old when the peace process begins in Ireland. She has lived 32 years at war, the longest of any character.

1967-1969 The Northern Ireland Civil Right Movement begins forming in Belfast.

1969- British soldiers move into Belfast’s streets for the first time. Bombay street is burned down. Many mixed neighborhoods become segregated.

1971- Internment begins leading to the imprisonment of hundreds of men. Both Protestants and Catholics disagree with the political action.

1972- The Bloody Friday and Sunday Massacres occur. On Friday a massive day of bombing by the IRA in which 22 bombs are set off in the span of 80 minutes.

1971- Internment begins leading to the imprisonment of hundreds of men. Both Protestants and Catholics disagree with the political action.

1973- Taximan is born (Catholic). The Troubles have been going on for 4 years when he is born. He is 8 during the Maze hunger strike in which 10 republican (Catholic) prisoners died of starvation, and 25 when the peace process begins.

1972- The Bloody Friday and Sunday Massacres occur. On Friday a massive day of bombing by the IRA in which 22 bombs are set off in the span of 80 minutes.

1982- Homosexuality is legalized in Northern Ireland, 15 years after England). Note that gay men still can’t donate blood in Northern Ireland and the UK ruling on same sex marriage is not enforced.

A sense of "infectious paranoia" takes over West Belfast according to James Conroy.

1982- Homosexuality is legalized in Northern Ireland, 15 years after England). Note that gay men still can’t donate blood in Northern Ireland and the UK ruling on same sex marriage is not enforced.

A sense of "infectious paranoia" takes over West Belfast according to James Conroy.

1981- The Maze Hunger Strike begins which will mark the culmination of the five year protest of Republic prisoners. Over the course of the strike Bobby Sands, the head of the IRA within Maze, was elected to parliament and subsequently died in prison. 100,000 people lined the streets for his funeral. The hunger strikes allowed the republican Sinn Féin to become a legitimate political party.

1987- Ian is born (Protestant). The Troubles have been going on for 18 years. During the 80’s and 90’s violence continues with loyalists enacting shoot-to-kill policies. He is 11 when the Belfast Agreement is made. When he returns from college in 2008, peace is tentative and Belfast is in transition.

1982- Homosexuality is legalized in Northern Ireland, 15 years after England). Note that gay men still can’t donate blood in Northern Ireland and the UK ruling on same sex marriage is not enforced.

A sense of "infectious paranoia" takes over West Belfast according to James Conroy.

1990- Fiona is born (Protestant). She is born as The Troubles are beginning to come to a close. She is 4 years old when the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) declares their cease fire, and 8 years old when the Belfast Agreement is declared.

1992- Emmet is born (Catholic). He is 4 years old when his older brother Ryan goes missing in 1996, just 2 years before the Good Friday Agreement. Emmet lives 6 years living through the end of the Troubles.

1994- Aoife is born (Protestant). The Troubles have been going on for 25 years when she is born. She is 4 years old when the Belfast Agreement is made. She grows up watching Belfast transform throughout tentative peace, though she still can't get an abortion legally within Northern Ireland.

1994- The Provisional Irish Republican Arm (IRA) and loyalist paramilitaries declare a ceasefire for the first time since the Civil Rights Movement began 30 years ago.

1996 – Phillip is born (Catholic). He is 2 years old when the peace process begins in Ireland. Like Aoife, he knows more a tentative peace in the city. Like many young men he may struggle with what to do with himself with the end of paramilitary operations in Belfast.

1996- The IRA ends their ceasefire with a bombing in London. Political talks continued without Sinn Féin as did the sectarian violence. This is the same year Ryan, Joan's son, goes missing.

1996- The IRA ends their ceasefire with a bombing in London. Political talks continued without Sinn Féin as did the sectarian violence. This is the same year Ryan, Joan's son, goes missing.

1998- After 2 years of intensive political talks engaging the UK, the USA, Loyalist and Republican political/military groups The Belfast Agreement (or Good Friday Agreement) is made. The Troubles officially come to a close and the peace process begins.

2001-2002- The Holy Cross Blockade reveals that peace is tentative within segregated neighborhoods like Ardoyne in North Belfast. Parents and their children attending Holy Cross, a Girl's Catholic primary school within a Protestant area, are blocked by protesters who often wielded stones, fireworks, and blast bombs.

2003- Tracey is born (Catholic). She is the only character who is born post-Troubles. Peace was reached 5 years before she is born. Tracey therefore grows up in a different Belfast than any of the other characters.

2008- The Victoria Shopping Complex opens, bringing international brands to Belfast for the first time ((Urban Outfitters, Starbucks, Apple).

2009- First article reporting the harassment of Romanians within Belfast. 115 Romanians were forced from their homes in South Belfast.

2011-
LAGAN
begins.