Day 4 ~ On the Way to Derry

As we left Belfast this morning, we encountered the beautiful countryside of Northern Ireland.  The white blossoms of the hawthorn and yellow blossoms of the Scotch broom contrasted with the green grasses on the hillsides where sheep were grazing. There were also stunning views of the sea; and at one point, we could even see Scotland in the distance.

Carrickfergus Castle is a Norman Irish castle built in 1177 on the northern shore of Belfast Lough. The castle played an important military role until 1928 and remains one of the best preserved medieval structures in Northern Ireland.

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge is a famous rope bridge near Ballintoy in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The bridge spans 65 ft. and links the mainland to the tiny island of Carrickarede.

The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption 50 to 60 million years ago.  The name of this site refers to the legendary Irish giant, Finn MacCool, who attempted to meet a Scottish giant in battle to determine who was the stronger giant. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. The columns below are called the Organ because they looks like a pipe organ.

Not all the notable basalt is in columnar form.  Below is the Giant’s Boot. If it were the actually boot of a giant, he would be about 50 feet tall. 

Dunluce Castle is a now-ruined medieval castle in Northern Ireland built in the 13th century. It is located on the edge of a basalt outcropping surrounded by extremely steep drops on either side. This may have been an important factor to the early Christians and Vikings who were drawn to this place where an early Irish fort once stood.

Once in Derry, we learned more about the conflict between the Protestant Unionist and the Catholic Nationalists. Catholics were discriminated against under Unionist government in Northern Ireland, both politically and economically. Inspired by the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association began organizing demonstrations in the late 60’s,  In August, 1969, in the Battle of the Bogside, Catholic rioters fought the police, leading to widespread civil disorder in Derry and is often considered the starting point of the Troubles (see Day 3). The slogan below was first painted in January 1969 by John Casey. It is said that is was inspired by the sit-in protests of UC Berkeley.

Tomorrow we will learn more about the history of Derry.

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. 

Days 1 & 2 ~ Flight & Afternoon in Belfast

We have been up for over 30 hours now and are fading quickly.  We had a good and uneventful 10 1/2 hour flight from SFO to Heathrow, then another 90 minutes onto Belfast. We are staying at the beautiful Europa Hotel in the heart of the city. This hotel is famously known as “Europe's most bombed hotel.” Between 1970 and 1994, it was damaged 33 times by IRA bombs. President Bill Clinton stayed here during his two visits to Belfast in 1995 and 1998.

After meeting our program director, Rory, we took a short walk to explore the neighborhood.  Across the street from the hotel is the Grand Opera House which opened in 1895.

A half block down the street is the Presbyterian Church Assembly Buildings Conference Centre.  It was built in 1905 as the headquarters of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and  is one of the most impressive buildings in Belfast’s city center.

Tomorrow we will continue to explore Belfast and learn more about its troubled past.

Finding My Roots

Tomorrow, we are leaving for Ireland for a 19 day tour of the Emerald Isle. Our first five days, will be spent in Northern Ireland (see pre-trip extension below), and we will end our journey in Galway. With my maternal grandfather named Francis Patrick Flaherty, this trip is extra special to me. I sent my DNA sample to Ancestry.com to see how Irish I really am. The results arrived just in time; however, I’m not quite as Irish as I thought, only 27%.  I can trace those roots to County Kerry all the way back to the late 1700’s. Join us on this adventure as you have time and interest . (Ancestry has since revised my DNA results, and now they report that  56% of my Ancesters came from Ireland & Scotland.)