Golden sun and “Colorado” blue skies made our weekend in Belfast glorious—a little relaxed with more opportunities for learning and exploration.
Saturday morning found our group enjoying yet another sunny day as we all prepared to depart for Derry on Sunday. Students took some time to walk around the Belfast city centre, take care of laundry, and pack up luggage for our next stop on the study trip.
The afternoon brought everyone to the Somme Heritage Center in Bangor, approximately 13 miles outside of Belfast. Dr. Novosel’s acquaintances from Wildwood helped drive the group over to the center, where students found themselves in a wonderfully interactive museum dedicated to understanding the Battle of the Somme. As the Center indicates in their community relations bulletin, it is dedicated to helping all understand this important time in Northern Irish history for both Republican and Unionist communities. The significant impact of the 36th Ulster division and the 16th Irish division on this historical battle and their fighting side by side offers a clear example of the shared history of these communities. It is a shared history that must be highlighted so that the parents and children of Northern Ireland can be proud of their heritage while understanding the connection it makes between each community.
With the sun peeking through scattered clouds, the group gathered on Sunday morning for a ride up to Derry on the “Paddywagon.” Beginning with our driver and his penchant for singing between his narratives on Irish history, we knew it would be a fantastic day. Indeed, by the end we were all out of appropriate adjectives to describe the beauty. In this same vein, one must look at the pictures to really understand how we spent the day.
Our first stop was the Carrick-on-Rede rope bridge, which began with a short trek out to the bridge and its connecting island. One would have thought the group transplanted to the Caribbean isles— turquoise water and white sandy beaches are quite unexpected in this part of the world. Most of the students made their way across the bridge and managed to take pictures of each other pointing to the just visible tip of Scotland in the distance.
Then it was another twenty minutes along the Northern coast to Giant’s Causeway, a site so beautiful and surreal that one begins to believe in the legend of Finn McCool. Sheer cliffs of green and more turquoise water surround a stacked cluster of pillars alleged to have led directly to Scotland and still mirrored there in its own stepping stone rocks. The group had a marvelous time walking along this natural wonder, exploring the tide pools of shellfish, and enjoying the serene beauty of gently lapping waves on a cloudless, bright day. As the bus pulled away, we sat in silence listening to the strains of our driver singing “Caledonia.”
After a quick pause to take in the view of Dunluce Castle from the bus, it was on to Derry. Once arrived, we found ourselves in a tri-colored hostel, unpacking and settling in to the rooms. Before heading off to dinner, the group met with Jon McCourt to review the scheduled activities and discuss his expectations for us in regards to the next three days. A local Derryman and an immensely impressive individual, John will be our guide and leader over the next days in this pastoral northern city.
Quote of the Day:
I don’t know if you can see the changes that have come over me.
In these last few days I’ve been afraid that I might drift away.
I’ve been telling old stories, singing songs that make me think about where I come from.
That’s the reason why I seem so far away today…
Now I have moved and kept on moving, proved the points that I needed proving,
Lost the friends that I needed losing, found others on the way.
I have kissed the lads and left them crying, stolen dreams, yes there’s no denying,
I have travelled hard sometimes with conscience flying, somewhere in the wind.
-from “Caledonia”
