The Vastly Differing Faces of Belfast.
We have just returned from a trip to Belfast. I have been in Belfast for
fleeting trips a short number of times down the years. So this time I gave it
more time. In summary it is a city which is emerging from a long bleak period
of convulsion. However that is now dissolving at least on the surface. It will
take quite a while yet for the scars to heal but for a visitor it has a
lot to offer. The reason for the visit at this time was to attend TG4’s Gradam
Ceoil Awards. A friend of ours, a notable Roscommon musician and personality,
Patsy Hanley was receiving a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ and a hard core
of Roscommon traditional music followers were in attendance to applaud Patsy
and show their support. It meant forsaking the ‘Trip to Thurles’ and the
late match drama there!
The Waterfront and T.G. 4 Gradam
Awards
We arrived in Belfast in the early afternoon. The city does not bustle
on Sundays but it means that one can get ones bearings more readily in that
environment. Accidentally we wandered into the City Hall Museum. Its exhibition
showcased the city’s journey with different zones. It is hugely impressive with
a catalogue of famous personalities who have been born in the city including
writers, musicians, inventors and especially sports people. While I will not list
that many here as I was not taking any notes the musicians included Van
Morrison and James Galway; the sports icons were George Best, Alex
Hurricane Higgins, Mike Gibson and boxers Freddie Gilroy, Johnny Caldwell and
Rinty Monaghan, the poet Longley and many more. All other areas of
endeavour were treated similarly and it needed much more time to absorb
appropriately.
We met some friends and had a lovely meal in the ‘Coppie Restaurant’ in
St. Anne’s Square. That night it was to Belfast Waterfront Theatre for the
Gradams event. There we met John Wynne, John Carty, John Carlos and Tommy
Guihan and Matt Molloy and the talk was not of music at this stage but of the
drama in Thurles. The Waterfront is obviously a very new and modern centre and
was crowded with a happy bustling crowd, there to celebrate the achievements of
their friends and immerse in the best of traditional fare. The award to
Patsy was presented by Matt Molloy, actor Stephen Rae to Colin Dunne and
President Michael D. Higgins to Frankie Gavin. The whole show was being
recorded and transmitted live by TG 4. The President received a great
welcome and it was obvious the event itself, being in Belfast for the first
time of four, was seen as a landmark event for the traditional community and
the city. A little like the All-Ireland Fleadh when in Derry a few short years
ago.
There was an after show party where people socialised and were happy
until late hours.
The Shankhill and Falls Road Murals
Monday broke bright and dry and we set off on a ‘Black Taxi’ tour with
guide Joe who had vivid experience of ‘The Troubles’. He laid his colours to
the mast by saying that he was telling it as HE saw it and that became very
obvious in a short time. We were taken to the Shankhill and stopped in front of
a mural of King William on his white horse and raised sword as he advanced in
the Battle of the Boyne. Joe shot down the idea of a white horse, the raised
sword and the impressive figure. It was an extended history lesson and as a
former history teacher I was aware of a good deal of it. We were encouraged to
walk around the block to view a number of other gable murals such as Lt. Col.
Bucky McCullough and the more sinister Stevie ‘Top Gun’ Mc Keag. The ‘Top Gun’
title was as a tribute to the fact that he was ‘credited’ as having killed more
Catholic/nationalists than any other Loyalist gunman! The ‘Top Gun’ and name
appendage seems to have been photo-shopped from some representations on the
internet.
If one had the odd inclination to view these murals on the internet they
are a chilling reminder of those terrible years when such appalling acts were
regular.
After the Shankhill we were taken to the ‘Peace Walls’ as they are
euphemistically called. These divide the two opposing communities. And to our
surprise our guide told us that some were still being built! They consist of
say 30 foot high concrete which were not able to defend from missiles being
thrown over them so they added say 15 foot sheets of corrugated iron to which
they had later to add say 10 feet of mesh fence. Even at that some houses close
to the wall had to have their own meshed defence. There are still gates that
are opened in the morning and closed in the evening.
After the Shankhill we were taken to The Falls area and the murals here were
dominated by Republican imagery and especially the Hunger Strikers. Top of the
league here is Bobby Sands with the signature ‘Poet, Gaeilgeoir, Revolutionary,
IRA Volunteer’. The fact that he was also an M.P. is not used.
Our next stop was at the Bombay Street and Clonard Memorial Garden to
dead Republican Volunteers and interestingly extends to the names of civilians
killed by opposing forces of varying hues during the troubles. Bombay Street
was a street gutted by Loyalists in the early days while Clonard Monastery was
the home of Father Reid who was a very early peacemaker. There is so much
history in these streets. We were told that there are many of these ‘Memorial
Gardens’ throughout the
city.
It is only as I write that the, despair, hatred and cruelty of what
happened in many parts of Northern Ireland casts its depressing shadow. We here
in Southern Ireland have no idea of what went on in places like The Falls Road
and The Shankhill two areas so close to each other. An irony as well that it
was mainly working class people who got caught up in the maelstrom. Progress
might be mirrored by how long these murals-relics to wholescale killing- remain
and that could be quite a while. It was good though that when I asked the
guide if it could possibly reignite he was very confident that it would not.
The new generation who basically know only peace now would not countenance it
as a new mind-set and a new prospering environment shows Belfast in the
positive light of prosperity and optimism. This is enriched by the huge growth
in tourism and an outward perspective.
The Titanic Exhibition
The attraction which has the tourists flocking to Belfast is ‘The
Titanic Experience’. It really is a magnificently presented exhibition.
All facets of the great liner's short life are shown in detail by a varying array
of modern technology. It is ironic I suppose that a city’s rebirth owes a great
deal of emerging life to the death of its most famous ship. We were there
for three hours but one could roster for another visit. It is divided into 9
segments; such as Boomtown Belfast of the Industrial Age/The Shipyard/ The
Launch/ The Fit Out/ The Maiden Voyage/ The Sinking/ The Aftermath/ Myths and
Reality/ and the Titanic remains on the sea bed. There are visitor stand-out elements
during this such as a short cable- car-type swirl around the furnace and a stop
where one feels like he is moving from one deck to another.
Coming shortly is another experience based on the hugely popular
television series ‘Game of Thrones’ part of which is filmed in Northern Ireland
but with its production headquarters in Belfast.
So I would certainly recommend a visit to Belfast perhaps away from peak
season when cruise liners et all visit. Belfast is not a very large city and
one can get to grips with it pretty quickly. Cost wise as someone I know says
after (Southern) Ireland costs few places come across as very expensive. There
is a boom in hotel building with some eight in the process. There were a number
of things I might have done such as the city tourist bus ride, also the walking
tour and so on. I had been lazy in my prep work so it would be advisable
to research or enquire regarding the sights which would be recommended.
The Murals though kind of haunt me in a negative way.
Errata
Congratulations
Congratulations again to Paul Young and Cartoon Saloon for them
winning at the Annie Awards in Los Angeles last week-end with their Best
Animated Feature — Independent
‘The Breadwinner’.
Boyle Celtic
Fortunes turned a full cycle for Boyle Celtic last week-end at Lecarrow
when they lost 5 to 1 v St. Peter’s Athlone. Boyle had a very impressive
similar win the previous week v Castlerea Celtic. This week there is a very
important game in the Connacht Cup v St. Bernard’s of Galway City.
No comments:
Post a Comment