During the day, shoppers had to queue up for bag searches – a custom that Ervine grew up believing was the norm.
“I remember my mummy taking us over to her sister’s in Liverpool and I think I was probably about 10 or 11 at the time,” she recalled.
“When they took us into a shop, the first thing myself and my brother did was we put our arms out to be searched.
“I remember her saying: ‘No, no, we don’t do that here’,” she laughed.
Ervine, whose husband is an ex-leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), now works for an organisation which promotes the “shared history” of the Irish language.
She acknowledged that Belfast’s security barriers were removed many years ago as a result of the peace process.
But she hopes the cross-community efforts of fleadh organisers and the “carnival atmosphere” they created helps break down cultural barriers that still persist.
“How welcoming it was to hear so much Irish spoken just around the city centre – it was just wonderful,” she said.
