Tag: Belfast

The Murals of Northern Ireland

When you go to Ireland, as I am certain you shall, be sure to take a guided walking tour of the murals in Belfast. Now, what you need to worry about most isn’t the convicted criminal giving you the tour, it is the particular spin that they are putting on the story. In my experience, they don’t lie outright, but they give these tours often enough to be very good at strategically withholding information. This, along with their inherent bias, can be as or even more educational than the information that they are conveying primarily. This is why these walking tours should not be the first event on your trip unless you are already familiar with the basics of the troubles.

Now, the murals are also quite important. These are images made to convey to the public a specific narrative, and both communities have them.

In general, it seems that the Protestants have benefited from the world hearing the narrative of the IRA being the sole paramilitary organization operating in Ireland during the troubles. Most Americans won’t have even heard about them, but I can assure you that even fewer have heard about the Ulster Volunteer Force. Perhaps it is because of this that they do not have to try so hard with their murals. Those were all present in Belfast in May of 2019, depending on when you come across this, they may have been repainted, as happens periodically.

I did not spend nearly so much time with the murals in Derry, but here are the two three most important ones.

My captions speak for themselves! Oh, but the far right is the mural painted during the Battle of the Bogside, during which part of the city of Derry temporarily declared autonomy and demanded concessions from the British government. It used to be on a building, but now it is just a wall of the same shape, which is odd once you think about it.

I’d normally call this a sidenote, but I think it is important so while I think of what to call it, you go ahead and read it. Derry Girls is a very good show. You should watch it.

Something Something More About Belfast

When visiting Ireland, don’t bother going to see any of the gaols. The most notable thing about them is that they have somehow been allowed to retain their ridiculous “gaol” spelling. Even when one is studying say, the hunger strike or the Easter Rising, it is not important to go to see the location. You can imagine what a gaol looks like, or if you are imaginatively disinclined, I suppose you could simply find pictures. What you get when you go to a gaol is rather a long walking tour and somewhat dubious history lesson. (and possibly depression)

The Peace Walls are some of the better-known legacies of the Troubles. They are not as interesting as the murals, or as impressive as the seats of power. This is to say they are somewhat unnecessary as far as stops go. Well, you will probably want to go just so you don’t have to explain to everyone that you meet that you made an actual decision based on what some sarcastic blogger said, but you will be underwhelmed. The Peace Walls are, as far as walls go…poorly constructed? Uninteresting? Perhaps this will show you why;

PANO_20190518_104728.vr

Apologies if the panorama doesn’t work for you, but this is what I understand to be one of the more visited sections of peace wall. It isn’t very… anything is it? The images on this aren’t as good as the murals that can be found elsewhere. So I hate to say it, but this is just another stop that isn’t entirely necessary.

I understand why we were given a campus tour of Queen’s University. I really do. It’s just… did we have to have a tour of Queen’s University? Again, Victoria was great, but it’s going to take more than just a name to get me to care about a tour. I have never really appreciated campus tours, they are made for people who are not me. I have absolutely no use for them, even if I am going to spend time on that campus. If someone points out something I might want to do, I probably still won’t do it. I think this is exceedingly clear at this point, but I keep to myself whenever possible. That said, it did make me feel as though my school’s architecture was…lacking. Perhaps this will show you why.

I will let you try and figure out which one is named after Victoria and which one is named after of some random town in southern Illinois.

 

Getting Settled in Belfast

I am generally uncertain of the proper order of things, but here I can boldly state that to not be the case. Springboard was the right choice for a first event. The entire issue can be found summarized there, and the most important part of solving the continuing crisis can be found as well. We gained insights that would help us contextualize everything we heard from then on out, specifically insights into the different paramilitary groups and the micro level effects the continuing sectarianism had on young people in Belfast. It is much easier to avoid choosing sides once one hears stories about what had previously been their mutual hobby; murder.

Being able to evade this compulsion to choose sides is especially important for Americans, as we are so good at tribalism that we have created divides between people who see the same image as a different color and whether people hear different sounds in the same audio clip. Americans, though it is perhaps people in general, love defining themselves in opposition to others and taking labels.

On a vaguely more ehm…upbeat & positive note… I did have an amusingly uncomfortable “conversation” with one of the people at Springboard. I can’t really describe it apart from that, its been a while and my memory is slightly worse than abysmal. I just wanted to write something that says that I actually had a conversation with a random person because even I won’t believe that in a year. 

Sidenote about Iceland: Has anyone noticed how many excellent Icelandic bands there are? The population of Iceland is under 350,000. That's fewer people than Wyoming. Do you have any idea how many bands have ever come out of Wyoming? None. Not one. I like to think that it is because they don't seem to have internal problems. I mean, if they do they aren't the same ones that other countries face. Their power is more or less 100% renewable, their gender inequity is nonexistent, and both their average and median income are well above $45,000 in US dollars. What I'm saying is that if it weren't so blasted cold and devoid of necessity for people with Political Science degrees, I'd totally move there.

Before you say anything, I am aware that I may end up looking confused having a random sidenote about Iceland in a blog about travelling to Ireland. This isn’t Atlantis, there was no mistranslation of the Rune on a shield. (or was it a mistransliteration?) 

Another sidenote: Has anyone watched Atlantis: The Lost Empire? I like it waaay too much. With all honesty it isn't even that good. The plot is used in about a dozen books and movies a year and their animation could have used a lot more time. That said the soundtrack is the best that you will find in any Disney movie. And they've got a few impressive scenes where the dubiously animation gets wholly overwhelmed by the sheer spectacle of awesome. (Launching the Sub & the Crystal Chamber)

Omg, it was a mistransliteration, not a mistranslation like they say in the movie. (I swear, Milo is the worst linguist ever...and yet he is able to learn that language in all of fifteen minutes...plot contrivances abound)

Anyways! Springboard – Good starting point. Belfast City Hall on the other hand…

Ok, look. I loved Victoria. She was short, she was willful, and she had great hair. That said, it takes more to win my approval of a building than placing in front of it her statue.

I think the most important outcome of going to Belfast City Hall was hearing the tour guide talk about history and politics. We got to hear exactly what someone who felt a little more British (the guy works in a building with a statue of Victoria in front of it (also…come on, listen to his accent)) thinks that a group of American tourists should hear, and perhaps think about the situation in Ireland. Aside from the building being made out of what I, quite frankly, wish all buildings were made out of, (Marble) it is roughly what one expects from a 19th century seat of power. I don’t really seem to ‘get’ much out of going to buildings, unless the building itself served a role that meant it couldn’t have been substituted for a middle school gymnasium.

More interesting than that is that once I was no longer being dragged around to see monuments to a long-fallen empire (Sorry Britain) or hear people talk about things that I honestly think could have been summed up in five minutes and yet seemed to last for five hours, (Sorry PSNI) I rather began to enjoy myself. Of course that wasn’t until a while after I was settled in Belfast that things began to turn around.