Just got home last night from my trip to Ireland and it is an amazing country. I only got to visit the North (Belfast, Antrim Coast, Derry), Dublin and some spots around Dublin but I had a great time everwhere I went and would love to go back and see the rest of the country. The people are incredibly friendly and will stop and talk to you on the street or in the pub and if you look even a little bit lost or confused about something will stop and try to help you out. The countryside especially the coast is incredibly beautiful with emerald green fields coming down to rugged cliffs studded with ruins of castles. Dublin and Belfast are vibrant modern cities that still have a lot of their historical charms. Most of what I had heard about Belfast was that it was a grimy industrial city racked by the Troubles and while there was that it also was very cosmopolitan with a great night life. One part of Belfast that I had not heard about was Queens University and the Botanic Gardens which have beautiful Gothic buildings. While Belfast and Dublin were great the Derry (Londonderry, make sure you call it that when talking to a Protestant) was probably the best experience. It hasn't developed as much as the other cities and still retains much of its historical charm. It still has its city wall which has been restored and you can walk the whole circuit of the wall in about an hour. In addition to the wall the Bogside neighborhood where the Bloody Sunday Massacre took place is worth stopping by. They have a lot of IRA murals there and you can meet the artists and talk to people who experienced first hand the Troubles. The political situation in Norther Ireland is calm and things are peaceful but there is still a simmering tension going on. I was there during Marching Season and the day I arrived in Belfast saw an Orange Order march (Protestant Irish who commemorate William of Orange's victory over the Catholics in 1690 which cemented Anglo Protestant Dominion of Ireland.) These marches have become major hot button issues and from the Catholic point of view amount to the KKK marching. At the sametime I was in a pub in Derry where they were singing IRA songs at the end of the night. In both Belfast and Derry there are still a lot of murals commemorating and celebrating both the IRA and the UDA (Protestant Paramilitaries) and from what I heard was that splinter factions of both groups were still active but had largely turned from political fighters to being gangsters engaged in crime. At the same time locals of either side said they still had to be careful about what they said and did, so things like whether you called it Derry or Londonderry could get your ass kicked in certain neighborhoods. As an American though I didn't have any problems and people on both sides were genuinely friendly. One thing to note though is that some of the UDA have become neo-Nazis and I did see some swatiskas and "White Power" graffiti in the Protestant neighborhoods of Belfast.
Ireland is cool, though I don't rmember much I use to live in Cork, Ireland briefly when I was a toddler. The pics are amazing and I would like to go back some day.
Would love to visit Ireland, if I can just get that pesky ankle bracelet off.....ERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR DD
I was there a few months ago, and although I didn't see any of Northern Ireland, I drove all around the southern portion of the country. Driving there is flipping trip. It was my first time to drive on "that" side of the road, and I really didn't have much of an issue with it other than I often found myself a bit farther on the left side of the road than I should be (brushed up against a lot of bushes). The weird thing was driving down this roads and having to sometimes back up to let people by (the roads were so narrow). The other weird thing was that we drove through small town after small town after small town.......many with no stop lights whatsoever. Each town would be just a smattering of buildings at place where two roads crossed, and each town would have one small grocery store about the size of a Stop & Go. Each town would have a Paddy Power (a place to bet on.....well, just about anything), and each town would have like half a dozen awesome little pubs. And EVERYONE was so friendly........and a bit drunk often-times. I had so much Guiness, it was ridiculous.
I love Ireland. I went there about 2 years ago and it has been my favorite place I have visited in Europe. I love the small towns, those are the best places to go imo. My favorite was Kilarny. Like you said, the people are incredibly friendly there, its just so much fun.
The one thing that seems to unite all Irish is Guiness and there was plenty of it. In Temple Bar it was also one of the cheapest beers. For anyone going to Dublin check out the Guiness storehouse which is a pretty amazing building with a new bar at the top with a 360 view of the city along with some interesting displays about brewing, history and Guiness ads. http://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en/Index.aspx
I enjoyed reading your take on the visit. Not too many people visit the North and I greatly appreciate reading your view. It's so amazing, just looking at the murals, that a country so revered would have so recently engaged in violence on par with countries that we look down upon. But when you talk to the people, it's clear that with each generation, interest in such violence is fading. Its definitely an isolated few that are holding on to such sentiment. Some of the murals are pretty amazing despite the message, especially in an semi-modern urban setting, but you're right about archaic graffiti -- most of it is pretty horrible (death threats, racisim, etc...) Belfast is one of my favorite cities ever. Great places, great people, not as tourist-y as Dublin but with the same vibe. Great pubs and bars, too. I took down a local in a shot-for-shot Jack Daniels vs Bushmills challenge. That reminds me - did you get an Ulster Fry? I've never had a better breakfast (or hangover cure)... Nice recap!
just got my Irish citizenship by descent. Maybe one day I will move there if things ever get too bad in Texas
Exactly. My dads parents came over from Ireland, so I used my Grandmother to trace back to. Our last name was changed at Ellis Island so thats why I didn't use the Grandfather. Basically, its just a bunch of tracking down birth, marriage, death certificates. My thinking was it was worth doing before in case they decide to close it. I also got an Irish Passport, not sure if I will ever use it, but could be worth having next time I go to Europe. Its not hard so if you can - do it.
I would...I can't. Family has been in Houston, alone, for 4 generations. I can trace back easy...to more than one person on each side of my family...but I have to go back around the time of the Civil War to find the last person who was born in Ireland.
I went with three other people and we did drive from Belfast to Derry. We agreed to let the one guy who had been to Ireland, although only the South, to drive. I know what you mean about the narrow roads and hedges but according to this guy the roads were wider in Northern Ireland than the Republic.
Everywhere I went seemed very peaceful and friendly and from what both Unionists and Republicans told me was that its really only the locals that have to be in trouble. The murals are really amazing and worth seeing. Here's one from Bogside in Derry and one from Shankill in Belfast In Belfast there are taxi tours that people can take of the murals and in Bogside you can meet the artists. Yep had an Ulster fry. I don't know about hangover cure but it fulfilled my grease allotment for about a week. Irish food is definately not healthy. You're a brave man for taking on a shot for shot for challenge with a local. I wasn't about to do anything like that but did take a tour of the Bushmills distillery and got to sample their 12 year old whiskey.
Would love to visit Ireland and Scotland some day. Maybe when my kids are grown and out of the house, we can go.
One of the benefits of being a single childless 40 year old. It makes up for all of the questions about when am I getting married.
