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Today, the group and I went on the famous Black Taxi Cab Tour. This tour brought us through the Protestant and Catholic areas of N.Ireland. The taxi driver, Danny, gave us such important information about the history of N.Ireland. He told us stories that occurred back in the day, as well as stories that happen to this day. We visited Protestant areas, learned about the figures and murals, as we did for the Catholic areas.
We also learned that if you see a British Flag, you are in a Protestant area. If you see the Irish flag, you are in a Catholic Area.
The mural that caught my attention the most is the one below:
STEVIE TOPGUN McKEAG is a well-known figure in Belfast. He is known for killing more than 40 people. He was age 17 when he had his first kill. "TOPGUN" is shown in his name as a representation of the person with the most kills-he received this "honor" 4 years in a row.
Another interesting fact about this picture are the poppy flowers boarding his image. The 17 poppy flowers represent the 17 Catholics that he brutally murdered.
STEVIE died on September 24, 2000 due to a drug overdose (as mentioned on his death certificate). To add, many believe that he was murdered because there were bruises on his head, as well as cocaine on his mouth at the time that he was discovered.
The names on this monument are names of innocent people who were murdered. The name Philomela Hanna on the picture to the right is a story that I will share below:
Philomena Hanna was a 26 year old woman who was well known to the Protestant and Catholic communities. She worked in a pharmacy on the Catholic side of Belfast, but frequently passed through the gates to the Protestant side to deliver medications.
One day, Philomena crossed over to the Protestant side of Belfast to deliver oxygen to an elderly man. She walked back through the gates and returned to the Catholic side of Belfast where she was to return to the pharmacy. Unfortunately, Stevie followed her to the pharmacy, and shot Philomena's head, and then her chest until she lay there dead on the floor. Innocent she was, and it is said that Stevie purposely disfigured his targets head so that they could not have a proper ceremony with an open casket.