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.

 

NORTHERN IRELAND: THE GIANT'S CAUSEWAY

 July 10, 2024

The Giant's Causeway is a geologic rock formation formed by an erupting volcano 50 or 60 million years ago. The molten basalt seeped through chalk beds to form a volcanic plateau, and as the lava cooled, it cracked, much as mud does when it dries, leaving about 40,000 mostly hexagonal interlocking stones.

According to legend, these columns are the remains of a land bridge, or causeway, built by the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhail and the Scottish giant Benandonner so that they could meet in the middle and fight it out.  The Scottish end, which supposedly looks like the Northern Irish end, is called Fingal's Cave.

This early-19th century poem presents a slightly different motive behind building the causeway:

THE GIANT'S CAUSEWAY

They met beside the stormy sea, those giant kings of old,
And on each awful brow was set, a crown of burning gold.
No ray the yet unrisen stars, or the wan moonbeams, gave,
But far and bright, the meteor light shone over cloud and wave.

"I have been over earth to-day," exclaimed one mighty king,
"The toil of half the human race, it is a foolish thing;
For I have seen on Egypt's land, an abject million slave,
To build a lofty pyramid above their monarch's grave.

"Now let us put their works to scorn, and in a single night
Rear what would take them centuries, and nations' banded might,"
Then up arose each giant king, and took a mighty stone,
They laid the quay; they piled the rocks—ere morn the work was done.

Vain fable this! yet not so vain as it may seem to be,
Methinks that now too much we live to cold reality;
The selfish and the trading world clips man so closely round,
No bold or fair imaginings within our hearts are found.

So vortex-like doth wealth now draw, all other feelings in,
Too much we calculate, and wealth, becomes almost a sin;
We look upon the lovely earth, and think what it may yield;
We only ask for crops, not flowers, from every summer field.

The mind grows coarse, the soul confined, while thus from day to day
We let the merely common-place eat phantasie away:
Aye, better to believe, I trow, the legends framed of old—
Aught—anything to snatch one thought, from selfishness and gold.

-Leticia Elizabeth Landon (1802-1838)

The Giant's Causeway was declared a World Heritage Site in 1986. In 2005, a poll named the Giant's Causeway the fourth-greatest natural wonder in the United Kingdom.

We arrived at the visitor center and left our car in the parking lot, for which we had prepaid about $40. That included access to the visitors center (and the bathroom, which made it worth every penny). 

NORTHERN IRELAND: DERRY/LONDONDERRY, PART II (THE BOGSIDE)

 July 9, 2024

We met our guide, whom Bob had booked through Derry Blue Badge Guide, at Guild Hall, a beautiful building originally used for tax collecting and as a town hall and now the seat of local government. The current building was erected in 1912 after the previous one burned down. During "The Troubles," which I'll explain in a minute, this building suffered damage in multiple terror attacks. When Bill Clinton visited Derry in 1995, he gave a speech in the large square in front of the Guildhall.

 

Our guide was excellent. When "The Troubles" began in the late 1960s, he left the country in order to escape being embroiled in the conflict. He returned when it all ended. Though he was not present, he was well-informed. He knew and was passionate about Derry's and Ireland's history, particularly from the time "The Troubles" began in the 1960s to 1998 when they ended.

So, what are "The Troubles"? On the surface, it was a civil war between the Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, which is how most people see it--a religious war. In reality, the conflict really centered more around who would rule that section of the country--Great Britain or the Irish. It is just that the pro-British Rule side tended to be Protestant and the Irish Nationalists were overwhelmingly Catholic. But it went even deeper than that. We learned that a central issue was voting rights, which were given only to landowners, e.g., Protestants. The majority of Catholics had no rights.

We began by walking through the Catholic neighborhood that had been the scene of so much bloodshed and terror, and where our guide grew up as one of eleven children in a Catholic family. He told us that his dad was part of the civil rights protestors. This area is outside the city walls and is known as The Bogside. It got its name from the marshland that used to be here.

A three-day altercation in this neighborhood in August 1969, known as the Battle of the Bogside and fought between the Catholic/Irish Nationalists and the Royal Ulster Constabulary/Loyalists, led to more violence in other Northern Ireland locations and is generally seen as the beginning of The Troubles.

A picture from the same neighborhood shows a scene from the battle.

NORTHERN IRELAND: DERRY/LONDONDERRY, PART I (CITY WALLS, ST. COLUMB'S CATHEDRAL, AND MORE)

 July 9, 2024

We drove from Drumcliffe Church outside of Sligo to Londonderry/Derry, Northern Ireland, actually part of the United Kingdom and therefore a different country than the Republic of Ireland. Brits call the city Londonderry and Irish Republicans call it Derry. From here on out, I will refer to it as Derry for ease of typing.

There was no indication that we had left Ireland and entered Northern Ireland--no signs that said  "Leaving the Republic of Ireland" or "Welcome to the United Kingdom" or even "Change your euros to pounds here." We made it into Derry and parked the car near an interesting series of photos on the city walls near the Heritage Tower. 

"The Wall Museum Project" presents the words of local women who endured "The Troubles," a 30-year period of religious and nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland in the 1960s through 1990s. It's worth your time to click on the picture below and read the background of these photos as well as the thoughts of the women who lived through them.

Then take the time to read the childhood memories of the survivors. I can't imagine growing up in this environment.

IRELAND, DAY 6: SLIGO'S YEATS TRAIL

July 9, 2024

After I spent a few minutes with the statue of Yeats in Sligo, we got on the "Yeats Trail," which takes visitors to several sites around Sligo that are somehow connected to the famous author.

Our first stop was Sligo Abbey, now in ruins but once a flourishing Dominican convent founded in 1253 and operating until 1760.

The Abbey is the setting for two short stories by Yeats: "The Curse of the Fire and of the Shadows" and "The Crucifixion of the Outcast."

Unfortunately, we arrived at 9:10 AM and it didn't open for tourists until 10:00--too long to wait.

IRELAND, DAY 5: SLIGO

 July 8, 2024

Sligo, population 20,000, is located on the coast just west of Northern Ireland.

As we drove into town, I spotted this mural, which I have since identified as the 1916 Easter Rising Mural. We would learn more about the Easter Rising, an armed insurrection by Irish nationalists against British rule that took place during Easter week in April 1916, when we got to Northern Ireland. The large figures of seven men and one woman at the bottom of the mural were key figures in the revolt.

This mural, known as "Sligo, Set your Spirit Free," pays tribute to the big waves that have made this area a surfing hotspot.

Sligo has what looks like a classic small town American Main Street:

IRELAND, DAY 5: CLIFFS OF MOHER

 July 8, 2024

A 2.25 hour drive got us from our hotel in Castleisland to the Cliffs of Moher, the #2 attraction in Ireland after the #1 Guiness Brewery Tour (which was not on our itinerary). In 2022, the Cliffs got about 1.1 million visitors, 41% of whom were from the United States.

There are two ways to see the cliffs: tourists can 1) walk along the top of the cliffs, or 2) take a sightseeing cruise. We thought we'd see more from the water than from the top, so before we left home, Bob purchased tickets (€26 each) for a boat tour. 

While we waited to board the boat, we walked around on the shore. Rather than sand, there was a rocky surface with interesting cracks filled with tiny flowers.

We boarded at about 11:45 and departed at noon for a "drive by" that took about 50 minutes.

The Cliffs of Moher run for about nine miles and rise between 390 feet and 702 feet above the ocean. At first we weren't very impressed. The cliffs were in shadow and we were very far away from them as we motored the nine miles to the far end. 

Here is a photo that I tried to edit to show the cliff details.

IRELAND, DAY 4: THE SKELLIG RING AND RING OF KERRY SCENIC DRIVES

 July 7, 2024

It was 1:00 and we were hungry. We had bought some snacks at our last gas station stop and were ready to eat them.

Bob found a grassy knoll where we could sit down and enjoy the cool weather and a few treats.

What a view! It was the perfect background for eating gingersnaps dipped in milk.

Our next stop was Ballinskelligs Beach (aka Ladies' Beach), a secluded beach with fine white sand hidden beyond some rugged black rocks.

Further on, we stopped at another viewpoint. Gorgeous, right?

Our longest stop was at Derrynane Beach, which had a sandy beach on a cove with gently lapping waves and quite a few people in and out of the water. It almost felt like California.

We hiked up a road to where we could see a cemetery. 

All kinds of kitsch decorates the graves.

The Irish really know how to treat their dead--and the survivors who visit the graves. This is the view from the cemetery. What a beautiful place.

A little further on, and on its own little island accessible from the beach when the tide is out (which it was), we came across the ruins of the 6th century Derrynane Abbey, built on a monastic site founded by St. Finnian of Clonard (one of the fathers of Irish monasticism) during the 5th century.

The abbey is in ruins now, but at one time there was a Romanesque church with two connected structures here

The abbey has its own graveyard, with some markers being very old . . . 

. . . and others more recent. These two are from 2009:

I'm always intrigued by what people leave on graves. It's part of the mourning process, I guess. 

Many of the markers mentioned several people. This one has four.

Mary O'Connell (d. 1836), wife of "The Liberator" Daniel O'Connell, is buried here. In fact, Daniel O'Connell's ancestral home is just up the road, but we didn't stop there.

Photo from here

We couldn't dawdle too long as the tide might close off our passage back to the parking lot.

Every now and then we would pass through a small town or village. This florist shop is in Sneem, a village with fewer than 400 people. They must buy a lot of flowers. Either that or this wonderful florist serves a much wider range than this village.

More soul-touching vistas.

Coming up, "Ladies View," but ladies, please don't leave your purse in your car!

According to The Irish Times, this is one of the most photographed places in Ireland, and the Daily Edge says it is one of Ireland's finest Instagram spots. The name Ladies View stems from the admiration of the view by Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting during the queen's visit to Ireland in 1861.

Back on the road. Gotta love the tunnels. They look like something out of The Hobbit.

We ended up in Killarney, a beautiful town of about 14,000 inhabitants located in County Kerry on the edge of Killarney National Park. Apparently they had a Fourth of July parade in honor of their friendship with the U.S., but we missed it!

However, we were there in time for our reservation at The Tan Yard. On the outside it looked like a sports bar, but inside it was all elegance.  We started off with a plate of breads, cheeses, and tepanade:

Our waitress suggested the locally-sourced tempura vegetables, which were delicious. I had a side of gruyere mashed potatoes to go along with . . . 

. . . what I described in my journal as "the best duck I have ever had." Bob had rib-eye, which was good, but not as good as my duck.

I really liked the looks of Killarney and wish we could have spent a day there. We'll have to go back, right, Bob?

We drove another 13 or 14 miles north to Castleisland, where we spent the night in the River Island Hotel.