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

After long journeys by each group member, we now find ourselves safely tucked into Stranmillis University College in Belfast.  And as luck would have it, enjoying sunny days too!  The only hiccup in weather occured this morning, while having coffee under an outdoor awning, as we were asked ever so politely to move or be drenched by the water that gathered and then began to drip through the middle seam.  A very surprised passerby received two wet feet when the baristas pushed the middle of the awning up and the water splashed and gushed above the rim to the concrete sidewalk.

The first evening of the trip went as well as the weather.  After a lovely dinner in the College’s cafeteria, including a dessert liberally spiced with nutmeg, the entire group and guests, Eamon Phoenix and Louie Edmondson, met in a very well-appointed conference room of picturesque windows that allowed that rare sun to stream through.  The first wonderful guest speaker, Mr. Phoenix, is a local teacher at Stranmillis (a college of Queen’s University Belfast) and a rather extraordinary, encyclopedic historian.  Without notes, Mr. Phoenix proceeded to succinctly provide an immensely engaging overview of the history leading up the beginning of the conflict in Northern Ireland. 

Our speaker began with a reminder that 2008 is the 40th anniversary of the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland, one that echoed the movement occuring in Washington D.C. and utilized the principles of civil disobedience and nonviolent protest.  Mr. Phoenix then proceeded to discuss the concepts so important in leading to the “troubles” period from 1969-1994, including home rule opposition, “change without change” in terms of social services provided by the liberal British government under Gladstone that did not address the needs for political changes, and the ongoing failure of each group to see or hear their opposition.  As students scrambled to take notes, Mr. Phoenix connected these concepts to our current location in Stranmillis and those places the group will visit over the next two weeks.  What a fantastic way to begin a week of study in Belfast!

To end the discussion, Mr. Phoenix discussed why the people of this country feel certain that, though there may be differences, this will be a lasting peace.  His example being that next Tuesday, Paisley and Ahern, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland leaders respectively will meet next to the Boyne and renew their vow of friendship in their finals acts as leaders of their countries.  A very hopeful example, one might believe.

Quote of the Evening: “Grass soon grows quickly over a battlefield but never over a scaffold.” -Sir Winston Churchill   

Dr. Tony Novosel, the faculty member leading this study trip, sent the following in an e-mail to students in his class last year.  The video is quite powerful, especially when paired with the The Shins’ song, “New Slang.”

“A young guy from Portrush put this up on YouTube.  I’ve contacted him and congratulated him. He put this together to illustrate the positive changes over there.”

  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDiMI6pqB08

 

The University of Pittsburgh’s College of General Studies is preparing for an amazing trip to Northern Ireland.  This study abroad opportunity was designed for our nontraditional students, a population underrepresented in study abroad.  We are so pleased and excited about this study trip and hope to have many wonderful experiences to share in this space!