Northern Ireland, UK
In Northern Ireland, the past is not merely the past. From the late 1960s to the early 1990s, the northern part of the island of Ireland was plagued by what became known as ‘the Troubles’. The trigger for this went back decades.
Itinerary
Belfast – Giant’s Causeway – Carrick-a-Rede – Glenariff Forest Park – Belfast
In 1921, the island of Ireland was partitioned: catholic Ireland left the United Kingdom and became an independent republic, while the protestant-dominated north of the island (Ulster) remained part of the United Kingdom. The protestant majority of Northern Ireland, loyal to the British King, took control, while the catholic minority was discriminated against and their voting rights were restricted. In 1967, the continued discrimination against catholics by protestants led to the first peaceful protests. These were brutally suppressed by the (protestant-dominated) police. The government in London initially forced the Northern Irish government to lift the discriminatory measures, but protestant loyalists, in turn, resisted this with violence.
In 1969, the ‘Provisional IRA’ was founded on the catholic side to achieve reunification with Ireland by force if necessary. Two years later, the loyalist Ulster Defense Association was founded on the protestant side. Escalating violence on both sides led to military intervention by the British army in 1972. On January 30 of that year, the army shot and killed fourteen unarmed demonstrators at a human rights demonstration in Derry (Londonderry). Shortly after this massacre, which became known as Bloody Sunday, London took over the administration of Northern Ireland. But that did not mean the end of the violence.
After nearly three decades of violence and bombings, the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998. This established the basis for a shared and equal administration of Northern Ireland by protestants and catholics jointly. But the division that characterized ‘the Troubles’, that between the protestant unionists and the catholic nationalists, is still visible almost thirty years later, and although no longer as fierce as it was then, the struggle continues to this day; the most recent bombing was in April of this year, and another was thwarted just a few weeks before my visit to Northern Ireland.
Belfast
After a flight of less than an hour and a half, I land at the small George Best Belfast City Airport, which is located just a few kilometers from the center of Belfast. Since the United Kingdom left the European Union, passport controls have been reinstated, and nowadays you even need an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) to be admitted as a visitor. Nevertheless, the passport check is quick, and afterwards I take the Translink Airport Express (bus 600) to the city center.
Belfast is an old industrial city situated on the River Lagan. In 1603, a castle was built for the first time on the site that is now the city center. In 1613, Belfast was granted borough status, followed by city rights in 1888. During the Victorian Era, Belfast experienced a period of great prosperity thanks to shipbuilding and the textile industry. Belfast City Hall, which stands prominently in the middle of the city center, dates from that prosperous Victorian Era. The City Hall, built in the classical Renaissance style, was constructed between 1898 and 1906. The coat of arms of Belfast adorns the entrance gate, and a statue of Queen Victoria stands centrally in front of the City Hall entrance. The ground floor is freely accessible, and the rotunda and stained-glass windows depicting historical scenes are well worth a visit.
The City Hall is surrounded by lawns featuring various statues, and two memorial gardens have been laid out on either side: on one side, the victims of the First and Second World Wars are commemorated, while on the other is the Titanic Memorial Garden, in memory of the victims of the sinking of the Titanic. City Hall overlooks Donegall Square, which is surrounded by a number of fine old buildings with Victorian architecture, including the Robinson & Cleaver Building from 1888 and the Scottish Provident Building. You will also find the Linen Hall Library here, Belfast’s oldest library, founded in 1788.
As I walk from City Hall towards the River Lagan, I pass St. George’s Market. The building housing this market every Friday through Sunday dates back to 1896, but St. George’s Market has existed since 1604, making it the oldest still-existing market on the Irish island. Once at the River Lagan, two works of art stand out. Bigfish is a ten-meter-long salmon, also known as the ‘Salmon of Knowledge’. The sculpture is covered with white and blue tiles depicting scenes from Belfast’s history. The other artwork is the nineteen-meter-high sculpture Beacon of Hope from 2007, a stainless steel female figure holding a large ring, standing on a bronze globe.
The Beacon of Hope stands at the entrance to the Queen’s Bridge over the River Lagan, built in 1844. The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge lies next to it. Both bridges connect the city centre to the Titanic Quarter on the east bank of the river. This was once the site of Belfast’s shipyards, where perhaps the most famous ship in history was built: the RMS Titanic. The ‘unsinkable’ Titanic sank during its maiden voyage on April 14, 1912, after striking an iceberg; 2,228 passengers lost their lives, while 705 survived the disaster. The Titanic Quarter now houses, among other things, the modern Titanic Belfast Museum.
On the north side of the city centre lies the Cathedral Quarter, so named because Belfast Cathedral is located here. Here you will find plenty of street art, such as the Dual of Belfast mural on Hill Street, and various traditional pubs, such as the Duke of York on the photogenic Commercial Ct, and White’s Tavern, Belfast’s oldest pub, on Wine Cellar Entry. Belfast’s own leaning tower is also located in the Cathedral Quarter: on the east side of High Street, you will find the Albert Memorial Clock Tower, built in honor of Queen Victoria’s husband. The clock tower was probably erected upright in 1865, but now clearly leans in a southerly direction.
From the Cathedral Quarter, I walk towards West Belfast. Here stands the Crumlin Road Gaol, the prison that opened in 1846 and was in use until 1996. During ‘the Troubles’, many political prisoners were incarcerated here. A tunnel led from the prison under Crumlin Road to the courthouse across the street. This building is now severely dilapidated.
West Belfast is a residential area with many simple row houses. Everywhere I see British flags hanging from the facades, a sign that I am walking through a protestant, Unionist neighborhood. Large murals have been painted on the gable ends of various row houses, some in memory of fallen Unionists, others militaristic in nature and making it clear that the struggle is still ongoing. On Shankill Road sits Rex Bar, where Unionists signed the Ulster Covenant in 1912, thereby declaring their opposition to Irish self-government.
And then I come to Cupar Way. Along this street stands the Peace Line or Peace Wall, the euphemistic name for an eight (!) meter high fence that separates the protestant/unionist neighborhood from the catholic/nationalist one. The fence is intended to prevent violence between the two communities as much as possible, even nearly thirty years after ‘the Troubles’. The gates in the fence are still locked every evening. If there is one place where you not only see ‘the Troubles’ but also feel it, it is here. I find it quite shocking to see that such an enormous dividing wall still proves to be necessary today.
On the catholic/nationalist side of the Peace Line, there is less flag-waving than on the unionist side, and there are also fewer murals, although the Bobby Sands Mural on Falls Road is unmissable. The Conway Mill, a nineteenth-century flax mill where linens were made, serves as a reminder of a time long before ‘the Troubles’.
Causeway Coast and Glenariff Forest Park
On my second day in Northern Ireland, I pick up my rental car and drive to the north coast of the Irish island in just over an hour. Northern Ireland has no national parks or regional parks, but it does have a number of areas officially designated as ‘Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty’ (AONB). Undoubtedly the most famous of these is the Causeway Coast, where the waves of the Atlantic Ocean crash against steep cliffs. The north coast of Ireland is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful coastlines in Ireland.
First, I visit the Giant’s Causeway. At this site, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, you find densely packed five- and six-sided black columns of basalt along the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The columns were formed about sixty million years ago by a thick layer of lava that contracted as it hardened (just as dry soil contracts and takes on a five- and six-sided pattern). From the Visitor’s Centre, I walk the Clifftop Trail, offering beautiful views of the spectacular cliffs and rocks. You then walk down via Shephard’s Steps, where you can continue a little further towards the Amphitheatre Viewpoint, and then back towards the Giant’s Causeway itself, which is extremely busy with visitors. The basalt columns look as if someone placed them there on purpose.
A few minutes’ drive from the Giant’s Causeway stands the ruin of Dunluce Castle. This castle was built in the fifteenth century on the edge of a steep cliff that drops vertically. From the Magheracross car park a little further on, you have a beautiful view of the ruin (which you can also visit if you wish).
My next stop is the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. The small rocky island of Carrick-a-Rede is connected to the mainland (a relative term, since Ireland itself is also an island) by a twenty-meter-long and one-meter-wide rope bridge that hangs thirty meters above the water. The first rope bridge at this location was built in 1755 by fishermen who went to the island to catch salmon. A path runs one kilometer from the car park along the rocky coast to the rope bridge, and once on the other side, you can enjoy the peace and the sweeping views, with the western islands of Scotland in the distance.
After an overnight stay in Ballycastle, the next day I drive through another ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’: the Antrim Coast and Glenns. Glenn is the Old Irish word for valley, and the route runs through a hilly landscape with green valleys and small villages. Halfway through, I visit Glenariff Forest Park. A walking trail here runs through the forest into a deep gorge, past a series of beautiful waterfalls.
Belfast
On my last day in Northern Ireland, I am back in Belfast. Just like my hometown of Leiden, Belfast once had a thriving textile industry. Where Belfast City Hall now stands, the Old White Linen Hall stood in those days. The district just behind City Hall is still called the Linen Quarter, featuring many old buildings from that era, which served as warehouses and factories. Here you will also find the Grand Opera House, dating from 1895, and a little further on, the Crown Liquor Saloon, Belfast’s most famous pub, opened in 1885, with a facade full of coloured tiles. Inside the mahogany interior, it seems as if time has stood still.
From here, it is a short walk to Queen’s Quarter (Belfast is a very walkable city). This district is named after the university located here, founded in 1845. On University Road stands the impressive main building of the university, the Lanyon Building from 1849. A little further on stands a statue of Lord Kelvin (who devised the Kelvin scale). Kelvin stands at the entrance to the Botanical Gardens, opened in 1828, and free to enter. The eye-catcher here is the Palm House, made of glass and white steel with a large dome, built between 1839 and 1852. The Ulster Museum is also located at the Botanical Gardens. This museum is also free to enter and has a collection covering just about everything from natural history to modern art. On the ground floor, the permanent exhibition on ‘the Troubles’ is well worth a visit.
By late afternoon, my four-day trip to Northern Ireland is over. I didn’t need the umbrella I had brought along because of the climate in Northern Ireland; on the contrary, the weather was fine for four days to explore Belfast and the Causeway Coast, which are both well worth a visit.
