On the first full day of the trip, with the sun continuing to peek through the clouds, our group found itself on an informative walking tour of the Belfast City Centre with Henry Bell, a local historian and instructor at Belfast Metropolitan College.
As we made our way through the centre and its various tiny churches, winding side streets, and grand Victorian architecture, we learned about the initial construction of the city and the beginnings of sectarianism in the region with the punishment of dissenters of the Church of Ireland–including Catholics and Presbyterians. Mr. Bell showed us an old map on the wall of one building depicting the city as organized in 1686, pointed out the shipyards in which workers built the Titanic and the Olympic, and highlighted the various linen merchants that allowed the Irish economy to compete with England. Apparently there was some shadiness with a stolen patent for a linen spinning machine and the mysterious burning of a factory for weaving then rebuilt as one of the largest linen makers of the time. Ah, commerce and trade.
Onto the next part of our day, the group hopped a bus for North Belfast, an area of the city where tensions continue to run high and division remains very real. Stepping into Intercomm, an organization devoted to peace building and conflict transformation in Northern Ireland, we were met by Sean Brennan, one of the organization’s program directors. Mr. Brennan proceeded to spend several hours with the group, preparing us for the rest of the week that will include direct presentations from and discussions with ex-prisoners and ex-combatants from both the Catholic/Republican/Nationalist and Protestant/Unionist/Loyalist sides. With many questions from every group member better trying to understand this conflict, the complexity of the situation and its impact on many different groups living in Northern Ireland made for an engaging, informative, and intense discussion.
After this deep and lengthy discussion, Mr. Brennan took to the group around the area directly next to the organization’s building to show us the various interfaces located in the immediate area. These interfaces represent the gray areas in which Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods border each other. The quick tour also included a look at the wall built after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that divides a local park along sectarian lines. The poverty and tension is quite evident throughout both neighborhoods and the walk was a very sobering reminder that the wounds of this conflict are still very raw for many.
To end the day, the group found itself seated with Brian Rowan, the fomer Northern Ireland security editor for the BBC. After a wonderfully detailed discussion of his experiences as the news/media contact for both the IRA, Sinn Fein, the UVF, and the UDA, Mr. Rowan produced a binder full of original documents containing announcements delivered to him via his contacts on each side of the conflict for him to report via the BBC. These documents showed the various signatures utilized by each organization and included the original announcement of the IRA’s 1994 ceasefire. Mr. Rowan proceeded to answer many student questions and allowed the group to take pictures of a few of the more amazing historical documents.
After all this, the group was then reminded that the next three days will actually be the most intense!
Quote of the Day: “If you can see the hills, it is going to rain. If you can’t see the hills, it is raining.” -Henry Bell, regarding Northern Ireland’s weather
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