Belfast
Late November 2018
Belfast was a pleasant surprise. Knowing a rough outline of The Troubles without being equipped to really comprehend it, I wasn’t sure what to expect – Would it be rough? Dangerous? Welcoming? More like Britain, or Ireland, or its own thing entirely? Would I even like it?
My answers are as follows: slightly (around the edges); not at all (for us); yes (always); possibly all three; and a resounding, yes.
If you aren’t aware, The Troubles was a long period of civil strife, during the 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's, often based around Belfast, broadly over whether Northern Ireland should become a part of a United Ireland, or remain a part of the United Kingdom. Religion and politics were (and are) deeply weaved in to this, which lead to a great deal of violence, conflict, hatred, and eventual segregation – many parts of modern Belfast remain separated by walls and gates. It is a deeply divisive and complicated topic, which would be better explained elsewhere.
So, things are complicated, to say the least. Everyone that we bumped in to seemed to have a slightly different opinion about The Troubles, but an earnest hopefulness about what lay ahead. Opinions also varied wildly and passionately whenever the topic of Brexit came up – awkward for us since we only have opinions as outsiders. One thing for sure though – people love a chat on this island. Where are you from? Where do you stay? Where are you for? I have a cousin in Perth, you know.
Our bed and breakfast host, Morna, typified this. No sooner had we walked in the door had we been offered afternoon tea and a seat. With the fire roaring, we then proceeded to have a long, meandering chat about anything and everything. It was delightful. Before we knew it, the day had turned to dusk – the sky an eerie blue.
As it was getting late, we soon departed for a night out in Belfast central – both Amy and I eager to experience the much touted local pub & traditional (Trad) music scene.
With winter not yet set in and the skies clear, we decided to walk in to town. Our first stop was Kelly’s Cellars, an Irish pub. We both had a craving for Irish stew, and were surprised that since it was the last serve, it was on the house - we dutifully took a seat. Hearty food, soda bread, quality ale, and a welcoming air – perfection. We then made our way to The Dirty Onion & Yardbird, an upmarket barbeque joint, where we had all the good (read: unhealthy) stuff – coleslaw, wings, chips, rotisserie chicken. Americana. We then waddled around the corner to the Duke of York, a wonderful little Irish pub.
The Duke of York completely met my expectations for a night out in Belfast – I was positively ecstatic upon entering the place. Classic publican architecture, old advertising adorning every wall, cheap beer on tap, joyous cheer all-round, and a local musician setting up within minutes of us taking a seat.
We spent several hours absolutely revelling amongst live music, patter and free flowing booze. The musician, a Dubliner named Neil, spent a good few hours playing a riotous set. A number of people in the crowd joined him to perform on stage, everyone sang along if they knew the words and people danced in the aisles if they felt like it. I never really understood the word craic, often used in Ireland, but it certainly makes perfect sense after a good night at the pub.
In Belfast, Christmas seemed to start rather early, with the Christmas market in full swing by Mid-November. The market sat at the foot of the freshly decorated Belfast Town Hall. The produce, location, and music of the market was excellent, but the heaving crowds made it all too difficult, so our time spent here was limited. In any case, we had a hockey game to get to.
So, an interesting topic: Ice hockey in Belfast. Sport can be an easy flash point in Northern Ireland, so Belfast has its own ice hockey team. The choice was made within the last decade that Belfast needed a new sport that had absolutely no baggage – which is how the Belfast Giants came to be. Unfortunately the Giants weren’t playing when we were in town. However, Belfast was hosting the Friendship Four - a rather naff name for a knockout tournament between Boston University, Yale University, University of Connecticut, and Union College. Deciding that this was too novel a thing to miss, we booked tickets to see the grand final between BU and UC.
I had previously seen ice hockey in Mannheim, Germany, and wasn’t taken by it. I can safely say I’m a fan again after this game. Being a grand final, intensity was high – the puck was always contested and the entire game was action packed. Sitting only two rows from the ice, we got to see everything play out and it was brilliant. Boston seemed to buckle under the pressure of being favourites and Union College ground out a tough victory. They even played ‘We Are The Champions’ ala Mighty Ducks. Cliché, yes, but it worked – it rung in my ears on the way home.
The next day we caught the guided red bus tour around town, which was fantastic. Seeing the many murals, memorials, walls, gates, and livery of the separate royalist and unionist boroughs is morbidly fascinating and gave me some insight regarding how differently people within this community can see the world. The history of violence is shocking – stabbings, bombings, shootings, arson – all within normal looking neighbourhoods. I was also taken aback by the startling number of well-painted murals that were dedicated to armed men wearing balaclavas – a sign that those pictured were still alive, with the general rule being that a likeness can only be portrayed if someone dies. The old police trucks are another telling feature of Belfast, leftovers from the 70’s and 80’s, which are reinforced with blast shields, mesh, and window grates. They resemble armoured personnel carriers - roaming around unassumingly, yet menacingly.
During our tour, we visited the Northern Irish Parliament building at Stormont, which is truly stunning. I wanted to spare a paragraph to its unique political structure. To avoid one community overpowering another, the devolved Northern Irish Government requires the cooperation of the Unionist and Royalist parties to govern. I found this to be an interesting and elegant solution to the divided politics of the country. However, I was advised that there hasn’t actually been a government in two years because no one can agree on anything at the moment. Surprisingly, a number of people I spoke to seemed to be ok with this, as it helped to promote cooperation and togetherness within communities, and limited any ideological divisions from spilling back out on to the street.
Presented with the turbulent modern history of Northern Ireland, and reflecting on how it stands today, it is hard to not feel grateful for the kind of life offered in Australia.
Moving on, we then caught the Red Bus to the Titanic exhibition. Unfortunately, I was nonplussed by it...
Completely crowded and lacking any significant personal context, I simply didn’t enjoy it – which was unexpected since everyone made sure to tell me how great it was. I was admittedly interested in the history of Belfast’s shipbuilding industry and the final emergency messages from the sinking titanic, but overall, I can’t give the Titanic Experience the high praise everyone else seems to heap on it.
On our last day, we stopped by the St George’s Market, a wonderful mix of fresh local produce, bric a brac, art. We foolishly had another Ulster Fry for breakfast, so weren’t able to eat any of the wonderful food on offer. Nonetheless, we had a lovely morning looking through the stalls and picked up a small colourist print of the Duke of York, which now adorns our wall in Glasgow.
During the short flight home to Glasgow, I tried to figure out my thoughts regarding Belfast. I really liked it, but it is so complicated and certain aspects of it are starkly confronting. For all of its past and present issues, it remains a great city, filled with people that are reflective of what the region has been through. I would heartily recommend it to anyone. Seeing what the politics of division can do to a country is also a timely reminder of how good we have it back home and the caution we should have moving forward given the current political climate.
I have a much better sense of Northern Ireland now, but I still can’t pretend that I actually get it. 30 years of hateful community conflict doesn’t just disappear. Given how warm and friendly everyone seemed to be throughout our time here, I can only hope things improve.
JC
"All men should strive to learn before they die, what they are running from, and to, and why. "
James Thurber
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