Off to The North I Go
“In your head, in
your head,
Zombie, zombie, zombie,
Hey, hey, hey. What's in your head,
In your head,
Zombie, zombie, zombie?
Hey, hey, hey, hey, oh, oh, oh,
Oh, oh, oh, oh, hey, oh, ya, ya-a..”
Zombie, zombie, zombie,
Hey, hey, hey. What's in your head,
In your head,
Zombie, zombie, zombie?
Hey, hey, hey, hey, oh, oh, oh,
Oh, oh, oh, oh, hey, oh, ya, ya-a..”
~Zombie, The
Cranberries
 | ||
| "Elvis" Walking the Streets of Belfast |
As the early bird gets the warm, I set out on my adventure
at 7AM from the famous Gresham Hotel on O’Connor Street in the heart of Dublin.
I decided to go with Wild Rover Tours.
The receptionist at Generator Hostel
over in Smithfield recommended that I go with this company. I was sold on the
fact that it included a famous Black Taxi Tour of Belfast to see the famous political murals. Awesome
is my words for this tour, I must admit that this is amazing. The taxi drivers
are superb; they know their stuff to the nines & will talk your ear off. I
quite enjoyed myself with Jerry this morning learning the history of both
sides. The Troubles were right in my face. The murals were amazing. I’m so
happy to have visited them The murals are a great reminder of the importance
that there that peace can be achieve in this beautiful world. Apparently they
are changed every two years & they promote equal rights, civil rights &
civil liberties, not to forget the world peace aspect as well. I learned that
the peace gate still gets closed at 7PM each night. I was blessed to have
signed the Peace Wall & I was
very happy to do so. I had John
Lennon’s lyrics of “Give Peace a Chance”
going threw my head. Also, it was nice to know that Bill Clinton & the Dali
Lama also signed the wall with a few other famous celebrities. The cool thing
about the Peace Wall is that some
sections of it are made up of pieces of the Berlin
Wall. There was also mention of George Mitchell & signing of the Good Friday Agreement back in the 90’s
that ended The Troubles. It’s sad to hear that some of the people of Belfast
want the Peace Wall to be torn down,
but honestly it’s a wonderful reminder to the world about peace & the act
of being peaceful amongst yourselves first so it can radiate throughout all
other parts.There's so much rich history to experience in these parts.
 |
| Peace Wall, Belfast |
But you must remember that the city did suffer greatly
during the period of the Troubles where extreme violence prevailed between the
Protestants & Catholics communities that call Belfast home. Historically
Ireland was part of the United Kingdom & didn’t get their independence
until 1922. William of Orange defeated the army of the Catholic King James II
at the Battle of the Boyne back in 1690. The roots of the troubles can be
traced back to this time. The Orange Order or Orange Men is strongly linked to
unionism to the United Kingdom where as Sinn Fein is linked to Irish
sovereignty movement as creating a unified Ireland that is included with
Northern Ireland. Today, Ulster or Northern Ireland is part of the United
Kingdom & Munster, Leinster & Connacht make up the Republic of Ireland.
Basically a long story short it
has to do with religious affiliation on what they have been fighting for tied
into civil rights & equality issues. Sadly to say that the concept of
“oneness” has been lost threw out the ages of the conflict. War shouldn’t be
the answer, but peace should, get rid of the hatred inside of yourself &
increase your love for thy neighbor.
Crossing from the South or the Republic into the North or
Northern Ireland you will almost spontaneously will see a difference between
the two. Perhaps noticing that the road signs are in miles with well maintained
roads will be a surprise to you, with a slightly different accent, going from
the Euro to the Pound Sterling & now in the UK for as long as your
expedition to the North takes you. But you got to remember that the scars of
the Troubles are not necessarily healed. It might not be the proper
conversation to bring up in one of those just as spontaneously conversation
with a local. If a local brings it up, just listen & be open minded about
what is being said. Largely The Troubles started in the 60’s over civil rights
& civil liberties. Martin Luther King, Jr. & many other American civil
rights leaders like Rosa Parks inspired the movement. It’s quite the piece of
history that can’t be forgotten about in these parts & the whole movement
is now a big tourist attraction for the city of Belfast. Hopefully, the Middle East could make
their wars into a tourist attraction to promote peace & understanding of
both sides. I had the pleasure of visiting both Protestant & Catholic
neighborhoods & it’s a real eye opener to the reality of the conflict.
The afternoon was spent listing to Irish pop, listing about
the fate of the Irish State as a hole, the possibility of Northern Ireland
joining the Republic of Ireland & enjoying the breath taking views looking
over to neighboring Scotland. I wanted to scream a big hello to my friends over
there, but opted not to & only thought about it. The coastline is beautiful
& it’s only 9 miles to Scotland, I could easily see it in the
distance.
 |
| The Giant Causeway |
I had an awesome time at the Causeway. I ended up hiking
along the rim before making my way down to the shore. It was blowing a gale out
there & almost got swept away into the sea. The winds reminded me of being
back in Antarctica. The sea
sprayed me too, the surf was lively & it felt amazing to be one with
nature! The volcanic cost was beautiful to see. On my way back to Dublin, I had
the opportunity to drive threw the town of Bushmills which is home to the
oldest whiskey distillery & it is Ireland’s oldest distillery. It’s a small
town, sadly to say that the towns in Ireland are loosing their charm cos a lot
of people are moving out of them for better economical opportunities.
I enjoyed my day in the North. I had the Cranberries in my
head all day long. The accent in the North didn’t bother me & I could
easily understand it, they just talk a lot faster than the South, but was used
to it from a friend of mine who is from Belfast. I ended the night by having a
lovely pint of Bulmers & a lovely veggie curry over a Slatterys. The pub is known to be Dublin’s earliest
public house opening up at 7AM where you can get a drink & a fully Irish
Breakfast or Fry Up as it is known as. The pub is also home to a wall dedicated
to the Easter Rebellion memorabilia. I had the pleasure of seeing a framed
jacket of Michael Collins along with many photos of the great revolutionary
leader. Good night Dublin it has been another fab day! Peace can be achieve in this world!
“Heaven on Earth
We need it now
I'm sick of all of this
Hanging around
Sick of sorrow
I'm sick of the pain
I'm sick of hearing
Again and again
That there's gonna be
Peace on Earth”
We need it now
I'm sick of all of this
Hanging around
Sick of sorrow
I'm sick of the pain
I'm sick of hearing
Again and again
That there's gonna be
Peace on Earth”
~Peace on Earth, U2
