NORTHERN IRELAND, BELFAST: THE TITANIC MUSEUM

 July 10, 2024

After our two-part tour of Belfast, we decided to squeeze in a quick trip to the Titanic Museum. We only had an hour before it closed, but we had already been to the Titanic Museum and the Titanic Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, so we thought it would be okay to zip through.

The recovery effort after the sinking of the Titanic was based in Halifax, and that is where 150 of the recovered bodies from the ship were buried. 

Belfast is where the ship was built, and the museum there focuses on the ship's construction as well as on the disaster.

The heart of the museum is this large room surrounded by and audio-visual extravaganza.

A pathway leads visitors through the museum displays, and our first stop was to learn about the building of the ship, especially about its enormous size and its surprising power.

The shipyard where the Titanic was built can be viewed from the upper windows of the museum. It would have filled this entire dock.

A scale model is on display.

NORTHERN IRELAND: BELFAST CITY TOUR - TWO SIDES

 July 10, 2024

Friends who visited Northern Ireland a year or two ago recommended a tour they took in Belfast that was split into two parts. Half was led by an Irish Nationalist on the Catholic side of Belfast, and the other half was led by a British Loyalist on the Protestant side of the city. There are several of these tours offered by different companies, and Bob reserved a spot in one that looked good.

We started on the Catholic/Nationalist side near this sign commemorating the 1969 riots that mark the beginning of the 30-year conflict known as "The Troubles."  The conflict began with the three-day Battle of the Bogside in Derry, and it wasn't long before riots and violence broke out in Belfast. The British Army intervened on August 14, and official Catholic and Protestant districts were subsequently outlined.

Our guide on the Catholic side had been part of the IRA and had spent many years in prison for his role in the fighting. It was crazy because he looked at sounded like a sweet grandpa. Note that he is wearing an Irish-green version of the keffiyeh, which has become a symbol of Palestinian resistance.  We learned that the Irish Nationalists identify with the Palestinians as a repressed people and are very anti-Israel.

We walked down one of the main streets, passing this series of large murals that links the Irish and Palestinian struggles.

A script runs through the paintings that reads, "If I must die, you must live to tell my story, to sell my things, to buy a piece of cloth and some strings (make it white with a long tail) so that a child somewhere, while looking heaven in the eye . . .

. . . awaiting his dad who was left in a blaze--and bid no one farewell, not even to his flesh, not even to himself--sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above, and thinks for a moment an angel is there bringing back love. If I must die, let it bring hope, let it be a tale."

This poem was written by Palestinian Refaat Alareer before he was killed in an airstrike by the Israeli military. 

NORTHERN IRELAND: BELFAST - C. S. LEWIS SQUARE AND CITY HALL

 July 10, 2024

I was quite excited to go to Belfast, which to me--prior to this trip--had been the center of all the conflict that occurred in Northern Ireland. I remembered the terrible fighting that defined the city during my teen years and well into my 30s. I remember when my mother, a first grade teacher, attended the International Reading Conference in Belfast when I was in my late 20s or early 30s, and how scary that was for me! I was sure she would be blown up!

But from everything we read, Belfast was now a lovely, peaceful city. That turned out to be mostly true, but not completely.

Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland and has a population of about 350,000. As we drove into town, I was struck again by the artistry of the Irish (although here it would be the British).  Murals are everywhere.

This is one of my favorites: My City, My People, My Heart by Dee Crait. I think it honors the laborers, those who keep us fed and housed.

This one is also pretty awesome--the Luminaries and Legends of East Belfast mural, also by Dee Craig, including Van Morrison (musician, top left) and some sports figures, actresses, playwrights, and other musicians.

This mural commemorates 50 years since the formation of The Regimental Band of the Ulster Volunteer Force, and next to it is a World War I Memorial. I especially love the red poppies, which we saw frequently painted into memorials in Belfast.