Friday, May 16, 2025
Today saw the first day in a while that I slept in and didn’t run around first thing. It was pleasant to get a more leisurely morning. I woke up around 8:45 AM (although I did happen to wake up naturally an hour earlier, but decided to go back to bed), made breakfast (sausage rolls and scrambled eggs), and mentally prepared myself for today, because today I was going to get a tattoo!
It was always a part of my plan to get tattoos from every significant place that I’ve traveled. This trip, being my first, I felt like it was only right to get a tattoo, and I knew I would regret it if I didn’t.
So, at 12:30 PM, myself and Alex, went to Sphynx Tattoo and started the process of getting our tattoos. His, a 4-leaf clover behind his ear, and mine: Ireland’s national symbol, a harp, on the back of my arm. Little Irish mementos of our trip to the Emerald Isle. To my surprise, it actually didn’t hurt much at all.
What was unfortunate however, was that I was running behind on time. At 4:00 PM, we had a guest lecture at the Centre, and my tattoo wasn’t fully completed. Thankfully, my gracious artist said I could come back after the lecture to get it finished. So she wrapped me up and sent me on my way.
Our lecture was with Dr. Niall Gilmartin of Ulster University, who gave a presentation of media during the Troubles in Northern Ireland between 1968 to 1998. The lecture was dense, as the Troubles are a hefty topic of discussion. Dr. Gilmartin gave a rundown of the history of the Troubles and covered the violence – specifically the media’s role during the Troubles and the consequences they had on media, like the 1988 Broadcasting Ban and other forms of self-censorship that arose.
Something that I found myself was what was the catalyst to the beginning of the “Troubles”? Which Dr. Gilmartin answered with television (which as someone who got a degree in broadcasting and cares deeply about television production, this piqued my interest). Basically, television transformed Northern Ireland’s politics. With violence now caught on camera and broadcasted for the world to see, people in Northern Ireland and around the world began to see and question what was happening. This is also comparable to the marches that took place in places like Selma and Montgomery in the United States during the 1960s. With more eyes seeing real-time violence, it was the catalyst to creating a meaningful change.
Dr. Gilmartin’s presentation was a preparative measure for understanding our tour of Belfast the next day (which you can read more about in the next blog post).
But after the presentation, it was time for me to run back to Sphynx Tattoo and get my arm finished. I won’t lie, because my arm was given two hours of rest, it began to heal, so when my artist started the shading, it definitely felt worse than before. But we overcame the pain, and here is the final result:
And yes, it is the national symbol of Ireland, not the Guinness Harp, I checked. In case you didn’t know, the Guinness harp was first, and when Ireland became a national state, they wanted to use a harp too, but to avoid copyright issues, they just flipped the symbols, so it’s the same thing backwards.
Proof below: National Symbol of Ireland (left), Guinness logo (right).
Anyway, I am so excited! Now I have a forever memento to remember this life changing trip with!
Also, here is a picture of me and Alex (taken at later date) with our final products. His four leaf clover behind his ear, and my harp on my arm. What a fun little adventure!
