Today we took the day to head to Belfast in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland consists of the six counties that Britain won in the Irish Revolution. The divide of the island of Ireland is something of great note as it has caused a lot of turmoil in communities both in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Troubles were a time of civil dispute in Northern Ireland where Catholic Republicans and Protestant Loyalists fought brutally over the allegiance to Britain. Nowadays, Northern Ireland is somewhat calm, rated one of the safest places to visit in Europe but the shadow of the Troubles is still very evident as it ended just 25 years ago.
Our trip to Belfast began with a long bus ride to the North. Once we arrived we stopped to see the Titanic Museum quickly. We didn’t have time to go into the museum however just seeing the outside architecture of the museum was quite impressive. We also had time to stop in to the Titanic hotel across the street which is housed where the old drawing rooms. These rooms were where dozens of architects and engineers crafted the plans for the Titanic as it was being built. We then went to a lovely market to get lunch quickly. There was tons of shop fronts and stands but we unfortunately only had about 45 mins to get food and eat so it was a very rushed market visit.
After this we drove to begin our tour of Belfast starting in a Catholic neighborhood. On the walk we saw many memorials and murals of prominent Irish Republicans from the times of the Troubles. We learned a lot about the conflict and tensions and saw the Peace walls that were built to loosen tensions and avoid violence. After leaving the Catholic neighborhood we headed to a Protestant neighborhood which held a stark difference in aesthetic. These neighborhoods were filled with union jacks and and intense displays of hate against the IRA and republicans overall. The tour was probably the heaviest of the whole trip because it detailed a lot of intense conflict that caused so much heartbreak and unrest. After the walking tour we had a few minutes to explore city center but this went by quickly before we were whisked away back on the bus and back to home sweet home in Dublin!