Yesterday I got back to London after a five-day trip to Northern Ireland. And even though it was a short one, it was definitely one of the best trips I have ever been on. Much of it was focused on my academic and intellectual interests as I'm writing my dissertation on Northern Ireland and I've always had an interest in the conflict there, but other than being informative and intellectually-stimulating, the trip was also enormously fun and refreshing in itself. Plus, the group I was with was fantastic--we had some excellent political discussions but also a lot of really fun moments. Since there was a lot that happened, I'll split it in two posts. This one will cover our time in Belfast and the next post will talk about our drive to and our time in Derry/Londonderry.
We were in Belfast for three days and in that time we visited a number of museums/historical attractions, met with Unionist politicians at Stormont, took tours with ex-paramilitary and military members, walked around the city, and had a lot of political discussions, mostly over a pint or two in the local pubs. I really enjoyed seeing the history of the city and hearing firsthand from people who were involved in or affected by the Troubles. The visit to Stormont was extremely interesting and we were able to speak with three Unionist politicians and ask them whatever we wanted for over an hour. Definitely a unique experience. We also had a great reception at the City Hall by a city council member who greeted us with fresh scones, tea, and biscuits and gave us some fascinating info about the current political climate and flag protests. While there, we also took a tour of the City Hall, but this was pretty terrible; so bad, in fact, that it was actually quite funny. That poor tour guide was trying so hard, but hearing how long it takes to hoover the carpet in the great hall is not exactly riveting.
The tours we took the next day were far more engaging--one was with an ex-IRA paramilitary through the Catholic neighbourhoods and the other was with an ex-British Army soldier through the Protestant areas. They definitely had opposing viewpoints on many things, but hearing both sides of the story, so to speak, was invaluable. Seeing the 'peace walls' separating the two communities in person was somewhat shocking because of the size and span of them and the murals detailing events from each side's history was also fascinating. If anyone out there goes to Northern Ireland, even if you don't necessarily have a vested interest in the conflict, I would recommend one of these tours.
The rest of our time in Belfast was spent walking the city (sometimes getting a bit lost) and eating and drinking (always a highlight). We had pints a few nights in the Duke of York pub, which was pretty popular, and we were able to have some great political discussions with locals. (And have our fill of Guinness.) We also became regulars at Maggie May's Cafe where they have delicious cheap food (such as milkshakes with espresso and Irish whiskey as well as Bailey's cheesecake--priorities). All in all, Belfast is interesting on a lot of different levels. Next post I'll cover the fantastic drive we took along the northern coast and our very brief stay in Derry/Londonderry.
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