Tuesday 24th July
The Giants Causeway was another thing on our 'to do' list as was the Causeway scenic ocean drive. The start of this was in Londonderry. A wall surrounds the inner city which can be walked so deciding to spend the day that's where we headed for.
Found a great spot to stop near to Columbs Park and quite near to the Peace Bridge. A marvellous design which at first I thought stable but stopping to admire the view the bridge sways ever so slightly.
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| The town square |
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| View from the top of the Tower Museum |
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| The wall |
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| And some of the colourful characters on a route. All part of the Arts Council. We encountered the Suffragettes and George Farquahar a famous poet and writer of the time. |
Away from the wall and murals were painted on the house walls all over the Bogside area. Mostly about the Northern Irelands
Bloody Sunday.
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| Bloody Sunday memorial |
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| When the new road was put in the only thing left standing was this house gable end |
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| St Columb's Cathedral |
Do you know what I find remarkable? None of the murals has been defaced or graffitied. This goes to show the strength of feeling amongst the Northern Irelanders which is still present today. In fact Londonderry is now only known as Derry but was that because of the troubles or of something more recent. Not sure.
Back to the Beast by 3.30pm and it was decided to find somewhere to stop 'out of the way'. To beat the Navar Forest view I said would be a difficult task but this came a very close second.
6 comments:
Irene said... "Do you know what I find remarkable? None of the murals has been defaced or graffitied. This goes to show the strength of feeling amongst the Northern Irelanders which is still present today. In fact Londonderry is now only known as Derry but was that because of the troubles or of something more recent. Not sure."
Kevin said... "My understanding is that the IRA would at the very least knee-cap anyone who dared to think about defacing the murals. As for the Londonderry/Derry name I think you'll find that it'll always be called Londonderry by the Protestants and just Derry by the Catholics. Feelings still run deep on these along with other issues on both sides, sadly it'll remain so for many more years to come too. It's a lovely country Irene but it's just a shame that those who live there can't live with each other in harmony:("
Thank you Kevin for clearing that up. The Irish are a lovely people but you are right, we were told not to call the town Londonderry, just Derry as it would be frowned on.Xx
A very moving post, Irene, thank you.
Kevin may be right that graffitti-ists would be kneecapped. My hunch though is that there is a very high measure of respect and reverence for the people who were killed on Bloody Sunday, and a strong sense that the cover-up and the renunciation of that need to be constantly visible.
I acknowledge that it is difficult for the English (I say English advisedly, rather than British) to view the Northern Ireland situation objectively, i.e. from the point of view of a colonising nation. I recognise that difficulty, as many NZers have the same difficulty.
I could never understand the conflict in Northern Ireland until I read Leon Uris' novel Trinity. A great book, and very enlightening.
Are we going to see you back here in England before too long? You are clearly enjoying your Irish odyssey!
Big hugs, Marilyn and David xxoo
Hi Marylin,
Today on the news an example of how the troubles are still very much on the forefront. A Catholic lady residing in Belfast and whose son had only recently died was visited by the Ulster Freedom fighters (protestant)and ordered to leave. here is the link to that article.
http://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2018/07/30/news/grieving-mother-s-north-belfast-home-attacked-1394017/
As for our return to the UK, we will be back on the 7th of August. All my posts are 4 days behind because we just happened to run out of data in Southern Ireland and it was only as we crossed back into Northern Ireland that our allowance was restored. We start our cruising mid to late August heading North first to meet with friends at Bunbury and then South and onto the Thames. It would be nice to think we may meet up during your time here.
Massive Hugs back. Xxx
Whereas the six counties are known as Northern Ireland. The other twenty- six counties form what is politically known The Republic of Ireland, it is therefore incorrect to label them as Southern Ireland when the most furtherest part of Donegal is further north than any part of Northern Ireland.
Thank you. I stand corrected.
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