2024 Ireland Adventures - Northern Island Tour Part 4

If Giant's Causeway is the jewel of Northern Ireland, I would call Belfast the scar. There is so much unrest in its history. We were only there for part of the day and in one section of the city, but that was enough for me. 

We took the Black Cab Tour but M & I were a little disappointed that we actually rode in a gray van. Our group split into 2 with the family getting the cab and the rest of us being in the van. I would highly recommend this tour if you find yourself in Belfast. One of our guides was Protestant, the other Catholic. Each talked on his respective side of the wall. Okay, first off...I had no idea Belfast had a wall to separate the Protestants from the Catholics. 

A vote was taken on whether or not to dismantle the Peace Wall. The people voted to keep it because they felt safer with it intact.

The gates still close during the night. If you're on the other side of where you need to be, you can still get through by finding locations without gates, but it's not as convenient.

We gathered around a "sculpture" depicting the change of the Shankill area in 1920 and 2012 while the guide talked about various things that happened in that area during The Troubles.

Mural from STARS (Striving Towards a Restorative Society) to promote peace and unity

Mural dedicated to Stevie "Top Gun" McKeag, who killed at least a dozen "ordinary" Catholics in the 1990's. The mural had a picture of him in the middle of the circle but appears to have been taken off. As I researched the pictures, this one made me a little nauseous that this man was being honored for targeting people. He was named the "top assassin" of the 1990's. He eventually fell out of favor with those in command, had a motorcycle accident that left him addicted to drugs, and died alone due to a suspected drug overdose. 

Women's Quilt Mural

View from the other side of the street of the Peace Wall on the Protestant Side

The guides did an excellent job of presenting the facts and not trying to sway us one way or the other. They both said this was not about religion, but politics. But it just so happens that the Protestants wanted to be under Great Britain's Rule while the Catholics wanted a united Ireland. 

On the Catholic side, I was surprised at how close the wall is to people's residences. It's very easy to see how "things" tossed across the wall could catch a house on fire or do serious damage. In fact, you can see how the top of the wall was added to in order to protect the houses and people. The houses on the Catholic side are protected with bars and fencing. Bombay Street was hit hard; it was burnt down in August, 1969. There is a memorial to those who lost their lives where we spent our time in this section.

You can get an idea of how close housing is to the Wall in this picture

One thing that struck me, and it may just be the section of the city we were in, but the housing on the Catholic side is right up against the Wall; on the Protestant side there is a lot of space between housing and the Wall. I wish I had thought to ask the guides about it, but I didn't.

A couple of other pictures from Belfast:

The Titanic Experience was another option we were given instead of the Black Cab Tour. It is built to scale of the Titanic. Inside are shops, a couple of places to eat, and the "experience". The decision was a no-brainer for me since I visited a couple of different Titanic Museums before. 

The Angel of Thanksgiving, a.k.a. Nuala with the Hula and Beacon of Hope. Myrtle Smyth's idea of bringing a gift of gratitude and hope to the people of Belfast is based on Thanksgiving Square in Dallas. 

The weather in Belfast definitely added to the ominous atmosphere. The show "Say Nothing" was recommended to learn more about the unrest in the 1970's. I was surprised to learn that "Orange Marches" and bonfires still happen. This began to commemorate England's victory over the 1690 Battle of the Boyne when King William III (Protestant) defeated King James II (Catholic). From what we were told, the bonfires can get a bit out of hand, with people burning furniture along with pallets and tires. My guess is that the Catholic residents don't take part in these activities. In fact (and this is purely my opinion), these could serve to rile people up, since some of the marches take place very close to Catholic areas. All in all, it appears to me that Belfast continues to be a very divided city. On the one hand, I don't understand why people didn't leave when they knew they weren't wanted, but on the other hand, this was their home. Why would/should they have to leave? Our cab guides said that things are much better and the government is working hard to keep the peace. 

After that emotional visit, I needed something peaceful. Hillsborough Castle is the residence of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. It didn't look much like a castle:

We weren't allowed to take pictures in any of the 6 rooms we visited. Our tour ended in the room where the Royal Family relaxes when visiting. All of the pictures/paintings were from Irish artists. There were also pictures of the Royal Family on tables, but we noticed there weren't many of Harry and I don't recall seeing any of Harry & Meghan. As we made our way out to the gardens, M & I had to use the facilities. We were escorted to some public restrooms but weren't told how to get back to meet up with the group. And there are very few signs. So we had a nice stroll through the gardens on our own before we found the van. 

We could imagine William & Kate's kids running through the gardens having a grand time!

We ended the day in Strangford, a lovely village on Strangford Lough. Colorful row houses greeted us, as well as a castle. The castle wasn't open when we were there, so we just strolled around the village and found a hiking trail to explore. If I ever have the desire to go back to Northern Ireland, this would be one of the places to revisit.

Portaferry is across the lough

Repurposed phone booth as a library

The castle dates back to the late 16th century

We found the beginning of the trail right before the yellow house. The gate is between 2 buildings; you go through "Squeeze Gut" (a narrow space) to begin the trail.

The beginning of Sarah's Woods

Looking back at "Squeeze Gut"

Sarah's Well. When Sarah was a child, she fell into the well and drowned (as the story goes).

Llamas!

Steps on the side of Sarah's Well

The Cuan. Our lodging for our last night of the tour. Very quaint...I'd definitely stay here again.

Our last dinner was as a group at the hotel. I kept seeing "Pornstar Martini" on drink menus so I went for it. M ordered a pomegranate martini. 

"Winterfell Castle" from Game of Thrones is nearby and Quintin Castle is across the lough. Portaferry Castle can be seen on the hill in this picture:

It was a perfect ending to an emotional day. Strangford was very peaceful and a great place to decompress after Belfast.

2024 Ireland Adventures - Northern Island Tour Part 3

Day 2 of being in Northern Ireland was jam-packed. So, not so different than the previous days! Although we fit so much in a day, I never felt rushed or that I wish I had more time in a place. The pace was excellent; we had just the right amount of time before moving on. 

Giant's Causeway is what I would call the jewel of Northern Ireland. We arrived relatively early; the parking lot wasn't very busy but by the time we left it was filling up. Remember Finn McCool from Part 1 of the Northern Island Tour? He plays a big role in Giant's Causeway. The story Tomás told us was that there were 2 giants: Finn and Benandonner, a much larger Scottish giant. Benandonner threatened Ireland, so Finn tore up the Irish coastline to make a path to Scotland to confront Benandonner. When he got there, he found the Scottish giant fast asleep. He was amazed at how big he was, so he quickly went back to Ireland and told his wife what he saw. They came up with a plan: Finn's wife dressed him like a baby so that when Benandonner came looking for Finn, he would find a baby. That happened, and when Benandonner saw the baby, he thought if the baby was that big, how big the father must be! He hastily made his way back to Scotland, tearing away at the path Finn made, creating Giant's Causeway. In reality, volcanic lava cooled and made these hexagonal columns over 60 million years ago. The result is breathtaking.

Finn McCool's Organ

The Chimney Stack

What a way to start the day! We had a lovely drive on the Causeway Coast Road to Portaneevey.

From Portaneevey we were able to see several islands as well as the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. 

The famous Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge connects to the small island.

The ruins of Dunseverick Castle were only a couple of stones but the scenery was beautiful. The original castle is believed to have been constructed in the 5th century, or earlier. St. Patrick is said to have visited here and baptized a future Bishop. The site is reported to have been attacked by the Vikings a couple of times; the final blow came from Cromwell in the 1650's. We didn't stay here long, just long enough to admire the beautiful scenery and take a couple of pictures. 

The next place made up for Dunsverick. If you watched Game of Thrones, you may remember seeing this castle as the Seat of the House of Greyjoy. Dunluce was a 1600's town originally built in the 1300's. Walking through the remains, you can imagine how grand it must have been.

Our stop for the night was a town on the coast of the Irish Sea. Ballygally Castle Hotel is the most interesting place I've ever stayed. There is a lot of history associated with the hotel, including a resident ghost. The opening page to the hotel states that it is a 17th-century castle "overlooking the golden sands of  Ballygally Bay with uninterrupted views of the Irish Sea." One site indicates that in discussions about the most haunted places in the north, Ballygally is quite often mentioned. Here's the story as I heard it: Lady Isabella Shaw gave birth to a girl; however, her husband was not happy that the baby wasn't a boy, so he banished her to the tower...without the baby. Distraught, Isabella heard the baby's cries and tried to escape to get her. The end result was that she fell to her death. Supposedly, she wanders through the hotel, knocking on doors to find the baby. 

On the lighter side, Ballygally is the site of one of the ten Game of Thrones Doors. It has the crest of the Houses of Stark and Bolton, as well as Winterfell Castle. 

Game of Thrones door. There are 10 in the area.

Before dinner, M & I had a chance to walk along the seashore, as well as take a stroll around the beautiful grounds and explore the old part of the castle.

Ballygally

The door to the original part of the castle.

After supper, we had the opportunity to go up to the "Ghost Room". When I went up the family that was in the group was in there, but they left me! I didn't linger...I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up so I hightailed it down the stairs.

M didn't care to venture up the stairs, and when I showed her the next picture and what I thought I saw, it spooked both of us! But, I told her that Isabella knew how ticked off we were at her husband and would leave us alone. 

Maybe I have a great imagination, but I think if you look in the circle just above the rail you can make out a face. 

At breakfast the next morning, this sign made me smile. I did just as it suggested, and had the most wonderful porridge I've ever had! How could this not have been mentioned before?