A Terrible Beauty

The title to this entry is a line from a poem by William Butler Yeats, the nationalist Irish poet writing about the time of the Irish Easter Rebellion in 1916. The uprising happened in Dublin, but had long lasting and wide spread effects over the last 90 years in Ireland. Today I took a tour up to Belfast in Northern Ireland. The guide took us to Shankhill, the Protestant area in Belfast. There are murals that let everyone know whose territory you are in and some of their 'heroes'. Of course, if you are of the Catholic persuasion, the heroes are villains, like Oliver Cromwell, King William of Orange and some newer members of the Loyalist factions. For about 30 years (1968-1998) the Troubles were at their worst and no tourist would set a sane foot there. Belfast is now the second safest city in the world to live, after Tokyo. Go figure. The murals are very interesting. We then went to the 'Peace Line' a wall that essentially separates the Protestant and Catholic areas that stretches from the city center to the mountain range. Only 2 gates are open 24 hours, others are only open 5 days a week for roughly 12 hours a day. Anyway, then we went to the Falls Road, in the Catholic section. They also have murals. They have a couple murals honoring the 8 men who died during a hunger strike in 1981. You may have heard of Bobby Sands. It really seems surreal, all of those events. You drive through and it is clear who is loyalist and who is a Republican. In some areas, the curbs are painted red, white and blue, the colors of the Union Jack. Green is the color of the Republicans. The driver of our bus had suffered a minor assault by some Loyalist teenagers this past summer because the van is a lovely kelly green.

But, if you didn't know about the history, you may very well go about your business. Belfast is a typical European city (Northern Ireland is part of the UK and still uses the Engilsh pound), with lots of shops, etc. They had a market today with lots of food stalls. Yes, I did a thorough investigation of them. 2, count them, 2 cheese stalls (at least) and crepes and pancakes and quiche. Oh, it was a grand day. Northern Ireland is definitely worth exploring more.

Northern Ireland is definitely worth exploring more

Tomorrow is my last full day on this incredible adventure.