The purpose of this paper is to consider the role of tour guides in presenting ‘authentic’ versions of the conflict and post-conflict situation in Belfast. The paper is based on how post-conflict Belfast and relationships between Catholics and Protestants are presented by tour operators to tourists visiting the city. The paper is based on eight tours undertaken in 2008 involving twelve tour guides. The paper compares and contrasts the discourses produced by former paramilitary combatants who are now employed as tour guides by Coiste (an organisation that focuses on supporting former political prisoners) with ‘neutral’ tour guides who provide ‘official’ Belfast City Sightseeing tours. Each claim to be giving an ‘authentic’ account of the past and present and the paper will explore the various dimensions of ‘biased authenticity’1 presented.
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