Northern Ireland

Hello! Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve blogged last. Be prepared, this will be a long one!

This past weekend was spent in Northern Ireland! Last Wednesday, after our Theology and History classes, we left in the afternoon and drove towards Derry/Londonderry (it’s mostly called Londonderry in Northern Ireland, and Derry in the Republic). After a brief stop at W.B. Yeats’ grave in a small graveyard on the way, we arrived in Derry after about a 4.5 hour drive. There was no distinct border or any major sign indicating that we had crossed over into the UK. Some of the differences I noticed was that signs said miles per hour instead of kilometers per hour, we paid using the pound instead of the euro, and overall things seemed more modern and British and little less typically Irish, especially the architecture.

After checking in at the Derry Independent Hostel, we walked a ways to a restaurant where our dinner was already paid for by our program fee, and we had delicious beef and Guinness stew and Bailey’s cheesecake. It was nice to walk around after the long bus ride and get acquainted with Derry for the first time. It was fun being in a bigger city than any of the towns we’ve visited recently. That night, some of the group checked out a couple of pubs, and one of them, O’Donnell’s, was the quintessential Irish pub that I would picture in my head before coming to Ireland. It was loud and packed full of people, there was a wide range of ages present, and there was traditional Irish music being played by a couple of men in the front corner of the pub.

The next day at the Derry Tower Museum, we were given a great tour form “Gerry from Derry”. It was a good overview of general Irish history that we have been learning so far, and also more specifically about the history of Derry.  I most enjoyed the last part of the museum, which focused on the events leading up to the Troubles. It amazes me how I can hear about these things all weekend, but still feel confused about how exactly these conflicts came to be because the issue is complex and goes back so far into Irish history it seems. In the afternoon we visited the Free Derry Museum, which was one of my favorite stops on the trip because there was so much information packed into a tiny, simple museum, and it was very moving. Being so close to where events like Bloody Sunday actually happened made it even more meaningful. One of the most shocking things I learned was how long the British government denied the stories of the victims of Bloody Sundays and lied about what actually happened, and how it was just in 2010 that the official statement was released stating the fault of the government in those events. Following the exhibit, we were given a walking tour of the Free Derry area and the walls of the city by a man named Martin, who was an excellent tour guide. His stories about the different murals depicting the events of the Troubles were very moving, and he is a great example of an Irish storyteller. These events are something the people of Northern Ireland are so passionate about and that clearly affect their lives a great deal even today. The fact that people like Martin have so much hope for a peaceful future despite the times of violence that they have just recently lived through is really inspiring to see.

That day, September 22nd, is “Arthur’s Day”, celebrating the birthday of Arthur Guiness (and also David Simmet’s birthday too!) Following our tour, the whole group went to a pub to celebrate with a Guinness.

Friday morning, we moved on from Derry to the capital city of Belfast. On the way we stopped at the Bushmills Distillery, were we got a tour and saw how whisky is made. At the end of the tour we got a sample, and it was not my favorite, but it’s cool to see how things are made so we all enjoyed the tour. Our next stop was the beautiful Giants Causeway, and area along the coast composed of 40,000 basalt columns packed closely together forming a sort of stepping stone path out to the sea. They were formed by a volcanic eruption over 60 million years ago. 

After walking around the main area, a smaller group of us decided to walk further down the path to see a few more sights. We took a different path back to the bus, and it was much steeper and we climbed a ton of steps to reach the top of the path, where there was an amazing view. 

As I was standing sort of near the edge of a cliff, one of the guys came up behind me and grabbed me to scare me. I was really not too close to the edge so I wasn't in danger at all of actually falling off, but in my fright I reached out to steady myself and planted my hand in a thorn bush. My hand started bleeding and I have about 10 little slivers in my fingers, but it feels fine now! When we neared the end of the path, we found out that due to high fences and construction of the new visitors center there, we couldn’t actually reach the bus. We were running late, and our program director walked out to find us trapped up on a cliff behind this fence, yelling for us to hurry up. We though we would have to go all the way back around the way we came, which would have probably taken 45 minutes, with our whole group waiting on the bus. Luckily, we found a break in the fence, and this is what followed:

One of the guys so kindly documented our near-death experience for us

After only a few falls and many grass stains, we made it back to the bus in under 10 minutes.

We finally arrived in Belfast early Friday evening.  The next morning we were given a bus tour of the city, with our guide named Collin. We saw Belfast Castle, City Hall, the Parliament building, the childhood home of C.S. Lewis, the shipyard where the Titanic was built, and some other interesting sites.

Belfast Castle

Belfast City Hall

The most educational part of this tour was when we were stopped outside of the wall of murals and Collin was talking to a group of us about Belfast, the Troubles, and how things was changed over the years. It was shocking when he said that not long ago, it would not have been safe to drive our bus down that very street we were standing on. I knew that the Troubles were called “the Troubles” for a reason, but I didn’t realize how violent of a time those thirty years really were until this excursion. It was cool when he said we are here currently in Ireland’s most peaceful time ever, since it has basically always had some sort of conflict going on throughout history. The “peace wall” between the Protestant and Catholic communities was also amazing to me. I couldn’t believe how tall the wall is, and that it is still there today. It will be really interesting to see if any plans move forward to bring the wall down in the future. Overall, I learned a lot in Derry and Belfast, and actually being there in the areas where so much conflict occurred, talking to the people, and seeing the murals and memorials made it all more meaningful.

The peace wall 

We had a long day on the bus on Sunday, and after stopping at the National Irish Famine Museum on the way, and our weekly grocery-shopping trip, we arrived back in Spiddal around 6pm. As fun as all of these excursions have been, I’m so happy to be staying put in Spiddal/Galway for over two weeks now.

This past week has been busy with class, a paper due, walks into town, a traditional Irish music and dance show called Trad on the Prom on Monday night which was a lot of fun, and last night our cottage was invited to a delicious dinner at our program directors’ cottage. Two and a half hours were spent at the immigration office in Galway this morning, getting approval to stay in Ireland past the end of this month, which is when our passports were originally stamped for. The boys of cottage 5 have invited over our cottage for dinner tonight, and we’ve heard this is the first time they’re cooking a real meal in the time we’ve been here, so it should be interesting. Luckily, one of my roommates is currently baking apple crisp to bring along, so we know at least we’ll have that!

Tomorrow marks the end of our first month in Ireland. I can’t believe how much we’ve done in a month, and how quickly we have gotten used to our new home. Anytime anyone brings up the end of the semester we have to quickly change the subject because it’s already too sad thinking about the end. Luckily there is a long time still before then! I hope things are good with all of you at home, and thank you for the all of the nice comments I’ve received through my parents or by email about the blog!