On this first day of our vacation, my wife and I received a crash course, not only in the history of the Catholic/Protestant conflict in Northern Ireland, but in the present-day conflict that continues.
A mural depicting Bobby Sands, a member of the IRA who, died in prison in 1981 after a 66-day hunger strike. Less than a month before he died, Sands was elected to the British Parliament. BELFAST , Northern Ireland -- “Do you want to see something?” he asked, lifting the hem of his jeans, revealing a 3-inch scar just above his ankle.
We sought out some of this information, booking a guide to drive us around Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods in Belfast, pointing out the murals and monuments to the dead and to the militants who remain. Turned out our driver, in his 60s, was Catholic. About 25 years before, he married a Protestant. His wife’s family still doesn’t know that his sister is a sister, a nun.
But there are also large murals celebrating King Charles, tributes to the dead, and to our surprise, some Israeli flags, which our driver said began going up in larger numbers after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. We asked our driver what he thought about the chances of reunification with the Republic of Ireland. He paused, sighed, and looked at us in his rearview mirror. “It won’t happen in my lifetime. There’s still too much pain.”
It was also flush with support for Palestine. The opposing neighborhoods of Shankill and Falls Road made it clear which side they supported in the ongoing war in Gaza. Traditional Irish music was softly playing in the background, the smell of burning peat tickled our noses. I stepped away to re-up on the Black Stuff and when I returned, I found my wife seated with a couple. Brian and Sophie were both in their late 30s, and both in the late stages of a busy afternoon of day drinking.
Sophie was not from Belfast, but she was staying there for her own safety. Sophie told us she was mixed up in a murder case and had received threats from neighbors over her involvement. She said she was charged with murder, but her tale was as murky as our Guinness. My wife and I later looked up the news story and learned she was charged with “aiding an offender.”
My wife and I often discuss what we learned, saw, and heard that day in Belfast. We’ve read about The Troubles, watched documentaries about The Troubles and went on a ride through the heart of where a lot of horrific acts were carried out, but we’ll never pretend to understand what it was like to live in Belfast during The Troubles, or even what it is like to live there now.
@Yyy Aer-Lingus Belfast Northern-Ireland The-Troubles
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