Across the Irish Sea to Northern Ireland
The Peace Bridge
“One person's Utopia usually means another person's hell. We live in a state of uncertainty, not just in Northern Ireland, but by virtue of being human.” - Eamon Collins
Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom and officially separated from Ireland (or Republic of Ireland) in 1920. For thirty years, Northern Ireland was scarred by a period of deadly sectarian violence known as “the Troubles.” This explosive era was fraught with car bombings, riots and revenge killings seeded by conflict between predominantly Catholic Ireland and Protestant England.
There are signs and symbols of this era in Derry aka Londonderry which we explored both as we drove through the town and subsequently walked the city walls.
But I’m getting a little ahead of myself because we had to first cross the Irish Sea from Scotland and make our way to Derry via the Giant’s causeway. A place where myth and science meet. Was the causeway created by an Irish Giant so he could defeat the Scottish Giant? or was it thanks to the rapid cooling of lava from an underwater volcano? What ever the answer, it’s a spectacular site made even more splendid by the beautiful sunshine that greeted us when we got there.
After an uneventful ferry crossing, we drove along the gorgeous coastline of Antrim and made our way to the Giant’s Causeway which the Irish consider the Eighth wonder of the World; declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986.
The rocks have fanciful shapes like this one looking like a camel with a large hump.
According to legend, these basalt columns are the remains of a causeway created by Finn MacCool so he could fight the Scottish giant Benandonner. Unfortunately each giant released or was tricked into believing that the other was larger and this would be an unwinnable fight, they destroyed the causeway.
While we did not visit the Scottish Island of Staffa where the causeway led, apparently there are similar identical basalt columns which is possibly what gave rise to the legend.
We couldn’t have asked for a better day from a weather perspective and clearly that was reflected in the number of people swarming the area.
My first Irish pub on Irish soil. It was a Friday night and there was live entertainment planned so after dinner I settled myself with a drink and a few friends from our group to enjoy the entertainment. Alas the day had been long and the entertainment destined to start late so we finished our drinks and headed up to bed.
While we enjoyed the beautiful sunshine during the day, this weather was unseasonably warm for this time of year so the warm nights without air-conditioning and fans were not as pleasant. Ah well! lets chalk that down to being a part of the travel experience and soldier on.
The message which says “You are now entering Free Derry” was painted by a local activist in 1969 during the early phases of “the Troubles.”
Beside the wall is a memorial for the victims of the Irish Hunger Strike.
The Bogside Murals in this neighborhood mark Bloody Saturday and consist of a series of 12 paintings championing civil rights. These serve both as a tourist attraction as well as a stark reminder of Northern Ireland’s difficult past.
The Walls of Derry is one of the most iconic spots in Londonderry. After all, these walls made the city known as the only walled city in Ireland that survived through time. These diamond-shaped defensive walls were built in the 1610s to protect the city from the English and Scottish colonists.
Now one can walk the walls and look down upon the city from a high vantage point. I was a bit concerned that they might be steep but in the end it was a nice walk with a history lesson from a wonderful guide.
The Apprentice Boys of Derry is a protestant fraternal society. Every year they march twice a year through Derry to commemorate the Shutting of the Gates in December and the Relief of Londonderry in August. As it turned out we happened to be visiting on the second Saturday in August and watched them assemble as we walked along the walls and then watched the parade from a distance.
At one time, these events were fraught with violence but now it’s a peaceful parade that we got to watch from a distance.
The Guildhall is a beautiful neo-gothic style building located just outside the city walls and near the Peace Bridge.
Originally built in 1887 by the Honourable Irish Society, the Guildhall is embellished with a beautiful stained glass window, a grand staircase, the main hall organ, and a corridor which altogether adds up to the building’s alluring charm. It’s free to visit the inside and definitely worth a visit.
As you can see the architecture has changed significantly as we’ve moved from England to Scotland and now to Ireland. While these homes did not have the traditional thatched roof it was clear that we were not in Scotland anymore.
To the sound of Irish melodies, clapping to the words of the Irish Rover we made our way across the beautiful Irish towns and villages.