page_title: Sailortown (Belfast)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Sailortown (Belfast) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Old houses on Garmoyle Street, Belfast
context_page_description: Sailortown was a working-class dockland community located in the docks area of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Established in the mid-19th century on partly reclaimed land, it had a mixed Protestant and Catholic population. The 1907 dock strike called by trade union leader James Larkin commenced in Sailortown before spreading throughout the city.
  Urban redevelopment in the late 1960s resulted in Sailortown's eventual demolition; only two churches, several pubs, and three houses remain of the once bustling waterfront enclave. However, a combination of private investment in the greater Docks area and building of social housing by associations such as Clanmill has led to a steady growth in population since 2010.
  A "sailortown" is a dockland area "that catered to the transient population of seafarers" that have existed in seaports throughout the world.
context_section_description: The working-class enclave of Sailortown was established on partly reclaimed land in the mid-19th century and was Belfast's first waterfront village. It came into being in the period when Belfast's industry expanded and flourished; Sailortown was displayed on an 1845 Belfast street map. In addition to the docks and warehouses, Sailortown had linen mills, factories, a large fire station, a hotel, boarding houses, a variety of shops and businesses, and many pubs and taverns. Later there were a number of boxing clubs and cinemas. Du Barry's Bar on the docks was frequented by prostitutes and was the favourite haunt of Belfast's gay community in the early 20th century. Most of the local men found employment as dock labourers, carters or merchant seamen; the women worked in the mills and cigarette factories. Most families had men away at sea, including boys as young as 14. During the period when Belfast reached its apex as the hub of the shipbuilding, engineering, and linen manufacturing industry, there were more than 2000 men working in the docks. The main distribution centre was beside the railway station with a constant flow of horses and carts passing through the main thoroughfares.
  Life was hard for most of the people in Sailortown as they had to endure harsh working conditions with low wages and return home to small, damp, dilapidated homes, which often housed more than one family. The waterfront was described as having been "desperate with crime and inhumanity". As a result of these factors, Sailortown became closely affiliated with Irish trade unionism and the Labour movement. In January 1907, trade union leader James Larkin arrived in Belfast with the aim of organising the dock workers for the National Union of Dock Labourers (NUDL). He was successful in bringing the dockers and carters, both Protestant and Catholic, into the NUDL union. In May of that same year, he sent them out on strike after their employees refused their demand for higher wages, better conditions and union recognition. The strike soon spread across the city and the striking dockers and carters were joined by transport workers, coal heavers, shipyard workers, boilermakers, firemen, sailors, and factory workers. The strike lasted until 28 August, and was largely unsuccessful; the British Army was eventually sent in to restore order after the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) mutinied. The dockers' strike and lock-out did, however lead to Larkin establishing the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU).
  Protestants and Catholics were not segregated and often lived in neighbouring houses and shared the same workplace. Despite being host to a steady stream of foreign sailors, Sailortown was a close-knit community and viewed strangers with mistrust and suspicion. William Murphy, the father of loyalist Lenny Murphy (the leader of the notorious Shankill Butchers gang), was a dock labourer from Sailortown's Fleet Street. Jobs in Sailortown were traditionally passed from father to son; Lenny Murphy's grandfather had also worked as a dock labourer. Murphy was a common surname in Sailortown, albeit traditionally borne by Catholics.
  Parts of Sailortown were damaged during the Second World War when the Luftwaffe rained bombs down onto Belfast on the nights of 7 April, 15/16 April and 4/5 May 1941, the Docks being a strategic target for the German bombers. Many buildings in Sailortown were engulfed with fire, the docks were hit, and the Victorian York Street Spinning Mill was completely destroyed. One of its large walls collapsed onto the adjacent terraced houses in Vere and Sussex streets, crushing the occupants to death. North Belfast suffered the greatest loss of life and property damage from the devastating air raids on the city; in particular the New Lodge district, where entire streets and families were obliterated.
caption: Houses on Garmoyle Street, one of the few parts of old Sailortown remaining
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