Belfast Tour and Murals

Nationalist/Republican murals on the Falls Road. The range from memorials, art reproductions, tributes to the Basque country and Palestine, a tribute to Frederick Douglass, to a few indictments of President Bush and our handling of Cuba.

A tribute to the Catholic victims of the 1981 hunger strike. The H-shape is supposed to represent the H-block of the jail cells.

Peace wall.

Unionist/loyalist tribute and memorial to the Queen Mother. Part of it says "No rebel hate will harm this state, the bible or the crown."

A UFF (Ulster Freedom Fighter) mural--they are Loyalists. See what I mean about scary masked and armed men?

The Giant's Causeway

Legend has it that this is Finn McCool's camel, who got stuck like this when he was covered in lava as he was sleeping during the volcanic eruption.

The giant's face.

The really cool rock formations that make up the causeway.

The trail we took...it eventually got much, much steeper. I need to think about working out more.

View from the top of the trail!

"Too many churches and not enough Christianity."

Arcadia took us on another trip, this time for a whole weekend. All the Arcadia students studying on the island got to go to Belfast from Friday to Sunday. I kind of feel like I spent half of the weekend on the bus, especially after getting caught in Dublin traffic getting there, but it was really worth it.

On Friday, we only got to the city around 7, so after checking into the hostel we headed off to dinner with about half the group. Between walking to dinner and then around the city centre later, it was really easy to tell that Belfast has a totally different feeling than any of the cities I've visited in Ireland. I didn't realize that I'd gotten so used to seeing everything repeated in both English and Irish, and since Northern Ireland is part of the UK, Belfast doesn't have that. It lacked the quaintness that even bigger cities in Ireland, like Dublin and Cork, have; Belfast also felt much more gritty, urban, and industrialised (which makes sense since it was the only big city on the whole island to go through the Industrial Revolution).

On Saturday, all 150 of us headed an hour and a half away to visit the Giant's Causeway, which is Northern Ireland's only World Heritage Site. It reminded me a little bit of Dingle since it was on the coast and had these great cliffs, but the big draw is the natural rock formations that were made after a volcanic eruption millions of years ago. There was also an amazing trail that we walked up that had a great view of the causeway from above when you got to the top. When you looked out to your left, you could see Donegal, the most northern point of Ireland (although it is controlled by the republic), and you could also look out to your right and see Scotland. The mythology behind the causeway is that the Irish giant Finn McCool built it as a bridge so that he could go fight his counterpart in Scotland, who he discovered was much larger. So Finn's wife disguised him as a baby and put him in a carriage. When the Scottish giant came looking for him, he said, "If that's how big the baby is, I don't want to see the father," and went back to his country.

When we went back to Belfast, we found a pub where we could watch the Ireland-Scotland game before going to meet the group again for dinner. Everyone on the island, no matter the country, plays and cheers for Ireland, so we were in good company. There was one guy in there who was wearing a kilt with an Irish rugby jersey, which was a little confusing...but he was cheering for Scotland, so we just ignored him. Ireland won 34-13, which was awesome!! Great game! I also randomly met someone there who had done an exchange program to Massillon, OH, where I have family--small world! He said that people in Ohio were so friendly and he made lifelong friends, that since he's a barrister (lawyer), if I ever get into any trouble in Ireland, just to let him know and he'd help me out. So no fear, Mom and Dad, I'm all set for the rest of my trip!

The best part of the weekend, by far, was Sunday. In the morning we had a presentation on the Troubles in Belfast and Northern Ireland. This really smart and funny professor from University of Ulster, Bill Rolston, gave the presentation, which really cleared up a lot of the confusion that I had.
Key terms:

• Unionist: A supporter of Northern Ireland's political union with Britain; Protestant.
  
• Loyalist: Someone who is opposed to a united Ireland and supports the Union with Britain; the militant wing of the Unionists; Protestant.
  
• Nationalist: Generally one who seeks (greater) independence of Ireland from Great Britain, including since 1921 the goal of a United Ireland; Catholic.
  
• Republican: A supporter of a united Irish Republic, incorporating Northern Ireland; the militant wing of the Nationalists; Catholic.
  

He's an expert on the murals, too, so I got this great book he wrote about them because it has pictures of some of the best murals from the last few years here. I really liked him because he didn't pretend to be unbiased, which he told us himself; he didn't say which side he was on, but it was obvious was that he's on the side of the Catholics. But what's great is that he's built up trust with people on both sides of the disagreement, and so after years of trying, he can call up people on both sides to get information for his books. He's also been locked down in prisons every so often for a day so that he can speak with prisoners. So BA!

We also took a bus tour of the whole city and got to see some of the murals and the segregation for ourselves. We saw the Falls Road (Catholic) and Shankill Road (Protestant) and the murals on each of them. I have to say, the Loyalist murals are way more disturbing...a good chunk of the time they like to feature men in black masks pointing and using their guns, and it's seriously disturbing. They've gotten a little less militant since the Good Friday agreement in 1998, but they're still pretty scary. The Republican murals tend to memorialize those who have died and they also try to equate themselves with other groups around the world that they feel are marginalized: Palestinians, those in the Basque country, etc.

The two sides are separated by a "peace" wall...putting that in quotes because they make it feel like the least peaceful places ever. As good old Wikipedia puts it, "The barriers themselves consist of iron, brick, and steel walls up to 25 feet high, topped with metal netting, or simply a white line painted on the ground similar to a road marking. Some have gates in them occasionally manned by police, which allow passage by day, and which are closed at night." Certain areas of the city, like around the main roads, are still highly segregated--100% Catholic on one side, 100% Protestant on the other. Our tour guide even pointed out a school on the Catholic side that's going to be closing this year because it's for Protestants and its losing more and more children each year. That's not to say that things aren't a lot better--a lot of the paramilitary groups are disbanded, they have the peace agreement, etc., but it seems like most of the differences and tensions between the two groups are there, just without the outright violence. The guide pointed out a couple different Protestant churches on one intersections, and made the great comment, "Too many churches, and not enough Christianity." As he was pointing out all of the universities and their hospitals, he also said, "As you can see, we're well equipped with hospitals. Then again, we've had great need for them." I think those are really telling statements.

We also saw some great architecture in the city on the tour. Queen's University Belfast was really gorgeous, as was a lot of the buildings in the city centre. It's part of what makes Belfast feel more like it's in Britain than in Ireland--it's all in the really pretty Victorian style architecture. The only city that has more of the architecture like that is Glasgow, Scotland.

I know I got a little long-winded on the whole Belfast tour and murals thing, but as someone who is an Irish-American Catholic, I found the whole thing super interesting, and important to know (also since I'm studying in Ireland). It's just surreal to see these fences and know that this stuff isn't just happening in the past, there is still tension and discrimination going on today. The paper I just wrote for one of my Turning Points in History class was also on the similarities and differences between the civil rights movement in the US and Northern Ireland, so it fit in really well. I loved the tour so much that you all will get twice as many pictures as usual- a set from the causeway, and some from the tour of the city! Enjoy!

Next up: weekend trip to Scotland!

Mitchelstown Caves and the Rock of Cashel

The rock formation above the entrance to the caves. We went about 100 feet straight underground from here!

Entrance to the Rock of Cashel--you can see both the natural and the man-made parts in this shot!

The fresco in Cormac's Chapel.

Part of the Cathedral.

What's left of the original St. Patrick's Cross. Some believe that the stone here that it sits on was a coronation stone.

Arcadia's Day Trip!

This weekend was another day trip for us! This time, Arcadia (the program I came on) organised the whole day for us. Our first stop was the Mitchelstown Caves, in Mitchelstown (Baile Mhistéala), Co Cork. After a short tour there, we moved onto the Rock of Cashel (Carraig Phadraig), in Cashel, Co Tipperary.

The Mitchelstown Caves were really cool to visit! The only disappointing part was that we couldn't take pictures inside the caves, but oh well! These caves are supposed to be some of the best in Europe, and they have some of the best formations in Europe, too. They were discovered when some guy dropped his crowbar and found the entrance to the caves when he went to find it. But it's really cool because apparently they have concerts in the caves because the acoustics are so good (we tested them out by having one of the guys on the program sing). Electricity was only brought into the caves for lighting and such in 1974, so our tour guide turned all the lights off in the caves for a few minutes for us to see what it was like--it's the first time I can ever remember not being able to see my hand in front of my face. Even when I had my hand touching my nose, I couldn't see a thing! I can't imagine going into the caves with only a torch or some candles!

After that, we headed over to the Rock of Cashel. Fun fact: it's not just a rock! The Rock of Cashel is a series of buildings that traditionally housed the rulers of the province of Munster, up until the time that the Normans invaded Ireland in the 1100's. Most of the buildings still there date from the 12th and 13th century, actually! The whole complex was eventually turned over to the Church, which established it as the center of the archdiocese. It's made up of Cormac's Chapel, which has one of the few examples of medieval Irish frescoes in it--they're mostly covered up, but they think it's mainly a Nativity scene. There's also an enormous Cathedral in the complex, which housed the main ceremonies. They also built a dormitory/housing area for the 8 men who composed the choir, who were very lucky because they got a nicer place to live in then most people of the time did, plus they got other perks, like land. Below the living/dining area was a small museum-like room that had stone carvings of things like old coats-of-arms and the original St. Patrick's Cross. We walked through the graveyard that's there, and they had these beautiful Celtic crosses. It also had the popular Irish architectural choice of a round watchtower. The whole place had really interesting detailing, and was all set up on the natural part of the Rock of Cashel--the natural limestone. You could see the whole town from where it was--absolutely gorgeous! There were also some sheep just wandering around...got to love Ireland!

Unfortunately, and I hate to disappoint you all, but I have no new rugby scores to report! Tatiana and I are already all pumped to find some pub in Belfast next weekend so we can watch the game versus Scotland, though! I'm really excited about the trip, even though the bus ride is at least 7.5 hours. Maybe I'll get some reading done? It looks like we'll be traveling with a lot of the other Arcadia program kids from all over Ireland, so it's looking like it'll be a lot of us taking over Northern Ireland! It's kind of weird to think that we won't even be leaving the island to get a taste of the UK--I never thought I would go to Northern Ireland, but I'm super pumped to go now! Time is flying by--only 5 weeks until my family comes to visit!

Cobh

Recreation of what a trip out of Ireland might have looked like.

Kennedy Park, complete with the gazebo, right on the harbour.

Shot of Cobh with St. Colman's Cathedral in the background.

St. Colman's.

View of the town from part of the way up the hill!

The Town with Three Names

Saturday was the absolute highlight of the weekend. That morning, Tatiana, Megan, and I headed on the commuter train to Cobh (An Cóbh), a little harbour town. Cobh was the big southern port for immigrants leaving the country. I think they said that around 2.5 million of the 6 million who have left the country immigrated through Cobh.

So we hopped on the train and half an hour later we were in Cobh (pronounced "cove"). We learned at the heritage museum that Cobh has had lots of names--first Cove, then Queenstown (so named because it was the first place that Queen Victoria stepped in Ireland), and then back to the original name of Cobh after Ireland became independent in the 20's. Just another reminder of the influence the British have had on the country! The first place we went was a museum that commemorated all the harbour activity and the people who left Ireland. And it really covered everything--the prisoners who were shipped out to Australia, people who left for America and Canada during hard times like the Great Famine (An Gorta Mór or An Drochshaol), and tragedies like the sinking of the Lusitania. They had lots of cool artifacts like letters, medals, and trinkets that the immigrants would have taken with them.

They also had a pretty big memorial to the Titanic, since Cobh was the ship's last port of call before it headed off for America, and where it picked up most of its third class/steerage passengers. Since the Titanic and Lusitania sinkings were such big deals, they have memorial statues and such everywhere throughout the town. You are supposed to be able to see the anchorage from the Titanic from a certain point on the coast, but since I didn't know which way was north (oops), I couldn't figure it out. Apparently, the town also took in a lot of the survivors of the Lusitania sinking, so it seemed like a pretty big deal. I was hoping to go to another museum next (since they have lists of immigrants who left the country through Cobh), but it's only open from May to October without appointments. So, who knows, maybe I'll go back in May to see if any relatives are listed there!

The rest of the town was really adorable, too. There are all this little shops, a beautiful cathedral (St. Colman's), and a cute little park right on the water, complete with a gazebo. It's named Kennedy Park...they sure do like people with Irish roots over here! And everything is set on these extremely narrow, winding streets that twist up and down the hills that Cobh is set on. It was a little bit of a workout to walk around, but there were great views, and the town definitely had a unique feel! Part of it reminded me of the little towns on the beach we would stay at on vacation in the summer, since a lot of the houses had names and stuff like that. Even though it was cloudy and a little bit cold, it was definitely a day trip worth taking!

We got back to Cork around 4 PM, which meant that it was time for rugby! Ireland is in the middle of the 6 Nations Rugby Tournament--Ireland, France, Italy, England, Scotland, and Wales. So we ran over to Old Oak to experience watching a live game in the pub, and THE CRAIC WAS MIGHTY! It was SO much fun! Ireland was playing France, and there were enough French people there that both sides were yelling and it was exciting the whole time! The game was really competitive--France dominated the first half, and Ireland dominated the second, but it ended up not being enough and France won the match, 26-21. So Ireland is 1-1 (I forget if I mentioned that they won last week against Italy), and in third place in the tournament. The next game is against Wales during the weekend in Belfast, and I can't wait! I'm also wondering who the people in Northern Ireland cheer for...I still don't understand all the rules in rugby and what's going on, but I have to say that I think I prefer watching rugby over American football. I'm starting to get really into the games--I was happily yelling along with all the Irish in the pub! It's nice to feel like a tiny part of Irish culture.

Everything else is still going well, too. With school, I have two essays due in a little over a week, so I'm just working on those. Wednesday was our Irish flatmate's birthday, so we cooked dinner and baked a cake for her, and then took her out in Cork, which was tons of fun because we hadn't hung out outside of the flat yet. So, happy 20th to Ashley! And we're also trying to plot out with a little more detail our trips to Italy and Spain for spring break, like trying to figure out how long to stay in each city, and maybe which hostels to use. If anyone who has studied abroad in those countries has any tips, feel free to pass them along!

The Dingle Peninsula

On our driving tour of the peninsula. This spot is the most western edge of Europe. Next stop: Boston! Also, the space in between the yellow lines is a two-way road. God, how I love streets next to cliffs.

One of the beaches that we saw. Straight ahead, dead center way in the distance, is the Sleeping Giant.

This is the Gallarus Oratory, a 2000-year-old church made of dry stone. Pretty amazing!

Megan, Dave, and Tatiana modeling what are perhaps the best looking outfits, EVER. Check out those shoulders!

Our trail ride going back down the mountain. I'm this last one in line here. What an amazing view!

The Most Beautiful Place on Earth

Wow.

That's pretty much all I can say about my weekend. Six of us decided to plan our first weekend away from Cork, and we decided to go about four hours away to the Dingle Peninsula. Around 2005, National Geographic proclaimed that Dingle (An Daingean or Daingean Uí Chúis) and the peninsula were the most beautiful place on earth, and I wanted to see if I would agree.

My friend Megan had class on Friday, so while the rest of the group hopped on the bus pretty early, we took an afternoon bus, meaning that by the time we were an hour away from Dingle, it was already dark, so we didn't see any of the scenery as we were driving in. It was wet and rainy, so once we found the hostel, we just made dinner and hung around there for the night.

On Saturday, we got up really early and went on a driving tour of the peninsula that lasted for about two and a half hours. It's safe to say that it was AMAZING. The tour way exceeded my expectations! Our tour guide, Kevin, didn't say too much other than telling us the names of the places and a few random facts, but the scenery spoke for itself. The peninsula has these steep rocky cliffs that crash into the Atlantic, small beaches that are tucked away (but look awesome if it's warm!), and these amazing old ruins. There were beehives and churches that are over 2000 years old. What's so cool is that they're all made of dry stone, with absolutely no mortar used in making them--and they've never been renovated or remodeled and look like they were built yesterday. Kevin also pointed out the ruins of houses that people just up and left when they moved to America. Dingle is surrounded by these huge rolling hills and mountains, and you can see for what seems like forever. And the fields are all divided the way they've always been divided, with these small stone walls. There were sheep all over the place, too! We drove through a lot of Gaeltachts, or Irish-speaking areas. It was really cool because we were at the most western point of Europe! Our guide pointed out the spot that is the farthest edge of Europe--next stop is Boston! There was also a sweet rock formation called the Sleeping Giant that I was a big fan of. We also saw the Blasket Islands (Na Blascaoidí), which were inhabited up until 1953 or 1954, when the residents were moved to the mainland.

On Sunday, we decided to go for a horseback ride for beginner's. It was the best mixture of ridiculous and breathtaking. Let me just say that we looked RIDICULOUS. When we got there, the horse lady had us put on these huge rubber boots, helmets, and told us that we could take their coats for the ride if we wanted to. Since it was raining at the moment, we decided it would be a good idea. Everyone looked semi-normal except for the three that got stuck with these long khaki trenchcoats (with corduroy!) that went down to their ankles, had pockets big enough to stick a baby in, and were big enough for two people to fit comfortably inside. And they had these wings on their shoulders. We were a good looking group, let me tell you. Being the tallest people on the trip, Kate and I got stuck on the most enormous horses (mine was named Meg!) you could imagine...while the guide rode a pony. The ride was amazing, though. We start off on a little mountain road, but the next thing I know we're forging our own path up the side of a mountain! The view was gorgeous--you could see the land all divided up below us, and there were mountains stretching out all around us, and we were riding through this amazing open field with little streams running beside us. When we got to the top of the hill/mountain and could look down the other side, all you could see was the actual town of Dingle sort of spread out down a rolling hill in the valley, stretching into the Dingle Harbour, which at that moment was perfectly still. And the rain has stopped as soon as we started the actual ride, so the sky was blue, and I've never seen anything so pretty in my life!

The only thing we missed on our trip was a trip out into the harbour to see Fungi the dolphin. Dingle has this (one) dolphin that they will take you out on trips to search for. They tell you he is a wild dolphin, but word is that he is actually an escaped show dolphin, which I happen to think is hilarious.

The weekend, overall, was so much fun! Even the hostel was great--we got to meet people from all over...other counties in Ireland, Germany, and France. I'd also have to say we made some pretty good meals, too! And everyone in town was so nice to us, especially since it was the off-season...they would pretty much make exceptions for us and give us sweet deals. AND Ireland won their first game of the 6 Nations rugby tournament (against Italy, in case you're wondering)--we saw part of the replay of the game at the pub. If you ever have a chance to visit the Dingle Peninsula, DO IT. I can already tell it will be one of my favorite places to have visited!