Northen Ireland

We began our trip North at 9am on Friday morning. We got on our bus, which was the nicest bus I’ve ever been on. There were leather seats, televisions that showed the view from the front of the bus, and our bus driver Tommy was great. We drove for about two hours through beautiful Irish countryside. It felt like we were in a movie or one of those Ireland calendars.

We pulled off the road at the Cooley peninsula to see the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Kevin suggested we get off the bus to “stretch our legs” then he proceeded to climb straight up a mountain. It was a worse hike than Arthur’s Seat in Scotland, and we were told we were not hiking that day so all of the girls were wearing cute flats. The view from the top was breathtaking, but the hike up and down was awful. Kevin mentioned that we were standing in a place where the IRA sat watching below and detonated bombs, which was creepy.

After that we drove for a little while longer, and then stopped at the Carrickdale Hotel for tea and scones. It was delicious and made us all feel more Irish.

Next we drove to Stormont, the big Parliament building in Northern Ireland. The first thing we did there was have lunch, which was amazing. They said we could get whatever we want and keep going back, and our bill was ridiculous.

Next we had a presentation on the political history and current constitutional arrangements in Northern Ireland, followed by a Q&A with Democratic Unionist Party member Mervyn Storey. That was an interesting experience to say the least. He is a unionist, so he is for Northern Ireland being a part of the United Kingdom. When we asked him about it, he said that he considers himself to be British, not Irish. That was really strange to hear.

After Stormont we drove to Portrush for dinner at the Ramore Wine Bar. It was a really swanky place and the food was delicious. Then we drove to Sheep Island View Hostel in Ballintoy where we spent the night. Across from the hostel was literally a field full of sheep and an island. We walked down to the harbor that night and had a little moment on the beach where we sang the Alma Mater and Victory March as well as Happy Birthday to Courtney. Then we went to a Nationalist pub in the town.

The next morning we went to Giant’s Causeway, which was amazing. It’s an area of about 40,000 interlocking hexagonal columns. It was declared a World Heritage Site and the fourth greatest natural wonder in the United Kingdom. The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. When we were there Kevin gave a really moving speech about our heritages and connection to history that almost made us cry. After that we tried to spell “Ireland” out of rocks with a monogram ND for the 10th anniversary book that they’re making.

After that we drove to Belfast, where we were given a tour by a man named Peter who grew up there during the troubles. He took us to Falls Road, Shankill Road, and concentrated on the murals on the sides of the houses in the different neighborhoods. He told us stories about his grandfather and uncle being killed, and how he was beaten several times. The whole experience was very moving. I couldn’t believe that there are still “peace walls” dividing the Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods to this day. One quote on a Protestant mural really stuck out to me, it said “Catholicism is more than a religion it is a political power. Therefore I’m led to believe there will be no peace in Ireland until the Catholic Church is crushed.” When kids in Protestant neighborhoods grow up reading this, it’s understandable why things are still not right.

I really loved the trip. It seems that we aren’t learning a lot in our UCD classes, but all of the experiences and hands on learning we have been doing is absolutely amazing.