Day 3 ~ Belfast

This was our first morning in Ireland, and I already have my favorite Irish breakfast: porridge, honey, cream and Irish Whiskey.  That certainly is one way to say “Top of the mornin’ to yee.”

Belfast was a center of the Irish linen, tobacco-processing, rope-making and shipbuilding industries during the industrial revolution. In the early 20th century, Harland and Wolff , which built the RMS Titanic, was the world's biggest and most productive shipyard.

This morning we learned more about The Troubles, the conflict that took place in Northern Ireland between 1968 and 1998. Northern Ireland was created in 1921, when Ireland was partitioned between Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland by an act of the British parliament. Unlike Southern Ireland, which would become the Irish Free State in 1922, the majority of Northern Ireland's population were unionists, who wanted to remain within the United Kingdom, most of whom were the Protestant descendants of colonists from Great Britain; however, a significant minority, mostly Catholics, were nationalists who wanted a united Ireland independent of British rule. I was surprised to learn it was more a political conflict than a religious one.

We drove through both the Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods and viewed the vivid murals which expressed the feelings that still run deep on both sides. On the Catholic side, we saw this mural of Bobby Sands (bottom left) and 9 other Provisional Irish Republican Army political prisoners who died in the 1981 hunger strike.

Below is graffiti on the Peace Wall on the Protestant side. It is repainted every 3-6 months, but messages from famous people are memorialized in metal.  Bill Clinton wrote, “Strength and Wisdom are not opposing values.”

Parliament Buildings, commonly known as Stormont because of its location in the Stormont Estate area of Belfast, is the seat of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Opened in 1932, it previously housed the now defunct Parliament of Northern Ireland.

Queen’s University is a public research university in Belfast. The university was chartered in 1845 and opened in 1849 as Queen's College, Belfast, but has roots going back to 1810 and the Royal Belfast Academical Institution.

Titanic Belfast is a monument to Belfast's maritime heritage on the site of the former Harland & Wolff shipyard in the city's Titanic Quarter where the RMS Titanic was built. The museum tells the stories of the ill-fated Titanic, which hit an iceberg and sank during her maiden voyage in 1912. Not only did I love the architecture of the building, but found it to be one of the most interesting museums I’ve ever visited.

We topped off our day with dinner at Flame.  Our good friends from Santa Rosa, Ruth and Liisa, are joining us on our journey. 

In the morning, we say good bye to Belfast and make our way to two full days in the Derry region.