From Wednesday to Saturday of this past week, the 21 Americans in my program got on a bus and crossed the border into Northern Ireland. (I’m going to be completely honest- I had no idea there was a Northern Ireland before I got accepted to study here... yikes!) We’d recently been studying the troubles and tribulations that took place in Northern Ireland in the 19th and 20th centuries, so I was really excited to finally be able to put the pieces together in my mind and see them first hand.
We got on a bus in Dublin at 8:30 and made our way to Belfast. Fun fact- you don’t even need your passport to get across the Ireland-Northern Ireland border! We got to Belfast around 11am and were welcomed by pouring rain. We drove past the international wall (a wall that is covered in murals commenting on current affairs in Ireland and around the world), but were unable to get out and take pictures. Luckily we made it up there again before the trip was over- that’s a little further down! We made our way down Falls Road which is the main street in Belfast that belongs to the Republican/Catholic/Unionist side (from here on out, I will refer to this grouping as the Republicans). Directly parallel to this street and separated by a very high ‘peace wall’ is Shankill road, which runs down the Loyalist/Protestant/British-loyal side- herein ‘Loyalists’. As I was saying, we made our way down Falls road and took a slight turn onto Bombay Street where the rain had let up just enough for us to get out and take a short walk to the peace wall. Bombay street was the site of a major riot during the troubles of Northern Ireland, and all of the houses along this road were burned down by angry Loyalists. We also had a chance to stop at the Clonard Martyrs Memorial Garden, which is dedicated to those fighters and civilians from this area who lost their lives in the troubles. Here are some views of the peace wall and garden from this historic site:
Peace wall on the right, cage over housing to prevent damage from petrol bombs thrown over the wall to the left. Incredible.
After this, we boarded the bus again and went on to Shankill road on the Loyalist side. Here, we saw a couple sites where old buildings had been burned and gutted and left abandoned on their lots. It was a dreary site, and a painful reminder of the constant violence that engulfed this region for so long. We also went to the other side of the peace wall, where there is a youth art project going on with different kinds of graffiti sprayed along the wall. I took out a marker and signed my name and where I was from, with a small but powerful peace sign as a message of hope for the region’s future.
When I got back on the bus all I could think about was the powerful message that the peace wall gives. It’s a message of progress, but a message of separation at the same time. Erected initially to keep the two sides away from each other to avoid as many confrontations as possible, it still continues to be built and fortified. What does that mean? Why is this kind of segregation so supported by the government? The peace wall, in all honesty, is a huge tourist attraction. It was just really crazy to think about this kind of palpable segregation of a city in comparison to how we live at home and the way I (with my USA tinted glasses on) reacted to it. The US and Ireland have completely different historical tracks, and this was one of those times where it’s really hard to fathom the true sentiment that exists amongst Northern Ireland’s population, and especially the population of Belfast.
We got to the hotel and checked in, dropping our stuff off and taking a break for lunch. At 2:30, we got back on the bus and drove over to the Titanic quarter. Did you know that the Titanic was entirely planned, engineered and built right in Belfast? I sure didn’t! The site that we managed to get a tour of is a building that isn’t open to the public and hasn’t been for the past 20 years- it’s the site of the original offices of the boatyard that held the engineers who designed and built the famous Titanic. Don somehow managed to finagle us a private tour with one of the guides. It was really interesting! We went into the office building and saw the room where all of the workers sat to design the boat, as well as the room where the decision of how many lifeboats to include on the ship was made by the directors of the project. It’s a crazy piece of history that we were lucky to be exposed to!
Engineering design room
Boardroom where the decision was made about the number of lifeboats to include onboard the Titanic
After we left this building, we went with our guide to learn about how the boat was constructed physically. He took us to the place where the hull was built, and then to the holding tank where she ship was brought to put the final touches on. The holding tank that the Titanic sat in as it got its final paint job as well as propellers and smokestacks was gigantic! The tour guide explained the process of emptying the tank with the help of the pumphouse. The pumphouse held three pumps that were able to move the equivalent of 2 swimming pools worth of water a minute. To completely empty the holding tank took about an hour and a half- imagine the amount of water contained in this thing!
Location where a large majority of the construction of the hull took place
Holding tank where the Titanic was painted and the smokestacks and propellors were attached. It took an hour and half to empty and the pumps were getting 2 swimming pools worth of water out of there each minute!
Iconic photograph showing the sheer size of the boat
Controls in the pumphouse
The pumps that did all of the work!
We watched a short movie about the history of the Titanic in Belfast and then got some tea before getting back onto the bus- the weather was getting bad again! We got back to the hotel and I wasn’t feeling that good. I had woken up with a really sore throat and at this point, was getting a fever! We had dinner in the hotel restaurant at 7 and from there, I just hung out and went to bed early. I wanted to try to be sure that I could go out the other nights that I was in Belfast, so I took it easy!
I had broken the fever by the next morning, so that was a good start! On Thursday, our plan was to go to Derry/Londonderry, another town in Northern Ireland. Called Derry by the Republicans and Londonderry by the Loyalists, this is another place that was the site of a lot of violence during ‘The Troubles.’ We got off the bus and began to walk the route that the protesters took on the day of Bloody Sunday, January 30, 1972. We ended at the site of the Museum of Free Derry, and archive of the troubles beginning in the 19th century and leading up to the events of Bloody Sunday. It’s actually owned and operated by one Michael Kelly’s brother, John. Michael was a victim of Bloody Sunday, and was shot and killed just 3 days after turning 17. The museum was extremely moving, bringing me to tears at some points. John Kelly introduced us at first and talked about his firsthand account of the fateful day that his brother was killed by solider F. It had artifacts, pictures, videos, voice recordings and more, all commemorating the events that happened on Bloody Sunday. If you don’t know much about the history of Northern Ireland or Bloody Sunday in general, I highly highly highly suggest that you do a bit of research. It’s extremely fascinating but sad at the same time. It’s a civil rights movement glazed over by many that deserves the attention of most. It honestly reminded me of the Peace Memorial Museum that I visited while I was in Hiroshima, Japan in 2006. Here are some photos/explanations of the museum:
Photo of the crowd of protesters on Bloody Sunday- January 30, 1972
A young protestor throwing a petrol bomb
The official emblem of the civil rights movement
In this shot, it explains how Annette McGavidan- age 14- was shot dead by the British army. Gary Gormley- age 3- was run over in his baby carriage by an armoured car. William McGreanery- age 41- was shot dead by soldiers in a lookout post. Kathleen Thompson- age 47 and mother of 6- was shot dead in her own garden. These are just a few of the casualties of the time kown as "the Troubles"
Original banner from the Bloody Sunday march
2010 report on Bloody Sunday that [finally] puts all blame on the British army. Read below.
Photo of Michael Kelly moments after he was shot by British soldier known as soldier F. Michael had just turned 17 three days earlier and had begged his mother in order to get permission to go to the protest
Original bulletholes still in the building that houses the Museum of Free Derry. For a point of reference, the handle of an umbrella can fit comfortably in the hole left behind by gunfire.
After we left the museum, we walked to the famous “You are now entering free Derry” monument in the center. This slogan was actually adopted as a copycat of a “you are now entering free Berkeley” sign that went up in California during the 60s. Agreeing with the message this sent to the world, a citizen of Derry painted the word ‘free’ alongside the welcome sign to the town right about the time the troubles began and it has stayed that way (and grown in popularity and size) ever since.
From here, we walked up to the entrance to the walls of Derry. The area we were in for the museum and the sign were called the Bogside, where all of the Republicans were virtually corralled and forced to live in slum like conditions. On the other side of these walls was where the Loyalists claimed their ground. You can see the physical difference in the space and design of the houses that are enclosed within these walls.
View to the Loyalist section from the walls
View to the Republican side from the walls
Gates that separate sections of the walls to block entry of the other side
After circling the city on these walls, we went to grab some lunch at a local café. We met up with the entire group, got back on the bus and headed back to our hotel! Hung out for a little while until it was dinner time at 7. After dinner, I was feeling a bit better so a group of us hung out in a hotel room for a while and then decided to go out to try to find a bar that advertised that it had turned itself into ‘The Leaky Cauldron’ (Harry Potter reference for those who don’t get it!). After Google-mapping it, we were on our way. However, the directions led us to a particularly sketchy area. We turned the corner, were confronted by a 2 story high mural about Loyalists and protestant rule (intimidating in and of itself), and shortly thereafter, heard a large BANG. Well, needless to say, we turned right around and went back to the hotel. We did end up going to a bar down the street though, called “The Crown” where they had live Irish bands playing and a dance floor. Overall it was a lot of fun, even though we didn’t get a chance to play Harry Potter trivia in the Leaky Cauldron!
The next morning, our first stop was Carrickfergus Castle. One of the most well-preserved castles in Northern Ireland, Martin and Don had arranged a thorough tour of the premises. It is so well preserved because it was an active castle up until the early 1900s. It changed hands many times throughout history, and was the site of many-a-battle. Here are some photos with descriptions:
Inner courtyard of the castle
Courtyard used for more formal ceremonies
Banquet hall where it was appropriate and positive to belch loudly, eat with your fingers, and wipe your hands on your clothes (and your neighbors clothes!) to show your satisfaction
Spiral staircase that led up to the King's quarters. About 3/4 of the way up, there is a trip step tha tis built higher than the others aimed at tripping invaders and making them fall all the way back down.
Ryan dressed up in chainmail- each set of chainmail armor weighs about 70 lbs!
After we left the castle, we drove across town to the Northern Ireland Parliament building. Unfortunately, you needed an appointment in order to actually enter the building, but the grounds were absolutely breathtaking! The building is the site of ongoing governmental meetings and celebrations.
We had a lot of the afternoon free, so Martin offered to walk a group of us up to the International Wall again because it was a gorgeous day! We walked for a bit and finally made it there and were able to take a lot of great photos of the murals that were there. Some of the murals are permanent, but many of them change to reflect current affairs in the world. It’s a really unique expression of Belfast City’s heartbeat- a different kind of approach to world affairs. Below the murals I’ve included some descriptions of what they’re depicting:
A general call to oppose and put an end to racism of all kinds
A mural in support of the Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara and his mission in Cuba
A mural against Margaret Thatcher (of England) and her measures against the Irish state
A mural against the holding of Maghaberry prisoners
A call to end the agression surrouding the Israeli-Pakistani conflict abroad
A static mural dedicated to Kieran Nugent- the first man to be a blanket protester. He refused to wear a prison uniform and wore blankets to protest being held as a prisoner of war.
A mural dedicated to the 10 hunger strikers
"All things shall come to pass as one
So hope should never die,
There is no height or bloody might
That a freeman can't defy.
There is no source or foreign force
Can break one man who knows,
That his free will no thing can kill
And from that freedom grows."- Bobby Sands
So hope should never die,
There is no height or bloody might
That a freeman can't defy.
There is no source or foreign force
Can break one man who knows,
That his free will no thing can kill
And from that freedom grows."- Bobby Sands
Iconic mural of Bobby Sands, the first of the hunger strikers to die. Part of a group of 10, Bobby Sands did not eat or drink anything for 67 days before he died as a protest against British interference in Ireland
"Everyone Republican or otherwise has their own particular role to play... our revenge will be the laughter of our children"
"Everyone Republican or otherwise has their own particular role to play... our revenge will be the laughter of our children"
We got back to the hotel and found that we still had time to kill before dinner, so Ryan, Alli, TJ and I decided to wander around the city a bit. We walked along the main street, to city hall, and stumbled upon a mall. It was actually the place that we needed to go later that night for the movies (HARRY POTTER!!) so it was convenient! We walked around there for a little while just browsing. It’s a strange inside/outside mall- it doesn’t have any definite walls so it’s pretty much outside but once you walk in it seems like a regular mall- trippy. It also had this really cool observation deck at the very top of a huge glass dome in the center of the mall. AND! We found the Irish Santa! Being the overexcited 20 and 21 year olds that we are, we got a picture with himJ.
After this, we went back to the hotel and had dinner with the rest of the group. Post-dinner, it was time for Harry Potter!!! Our movie didn’t start until 10:30 so we walked down the street to get candy and snacks in order to avoid paying for the overpriced ones in the theatre. Way too anxious to wait any longer, we went to the movie theatre and hung out in the lobby for a while. Quizzing each other with Harry Potter trivia to pass the time, we let the excitement for the first installment of the Deathly Hallows to finally be in front of our eyes! Jackie and I took a few photos with the movie advertisements we saw- no big deal J I can’t even begin to describe how amazing the movie was- I left the theatre wanting to go right back in and see it again! In fact, I think I will see it again when my parents visit! And then again when I get home!
We got back to the hotel, allowed our excitement and awe to die down a bit, and finally got to sleep. The next morning, it was up and out! We got back to Dublin around 12:30 or so and I’ve been working on school assignments ever since!
Overall, it was a really amazing experience. I’m so glad that I got a chance to finally experience and fully understand the history that this country has struggled through. I wish we got more of an unbiased USA-focused view of history in school as we were growing up, but I guess everyone just needs to travel abroad to see for themselves. J
