Amy Meche, a student studying with Tisch School of the Arts in Dublin this semester, shares her weekend in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland.
Photo courtesy of Amy Meche
Crossing the BorderAwakening in the morning perhaps earlier than many of us were accustomed to, we boarded a bus and traveled for two and a half hours to cross an international border. As a city, Belfast differs from Dublin in a variety of ways. Although I expected to encounter a number of these variations, I was struck by how strongly I felt their presence within the city’s borders, even though our group spent only a day’s time there. Belfast boasts a number of visual features that add to its distinction.
Hills and CranesA range of large hills flanks the city, and from certain points in Belfast our group was treated to the sight of the city’s buildings rising up in front these masses of green, brown, and gray, a striking image of urban life contrasted with the countryside. Belfast also serves as home to Samson and Goliath, two titanic cranes that stand proudly against the city’s skyline. And yes, my having chosen the word titanic to describe these two giants was indeed an attempt at a pun – Samson and Goliath reside in the Harland and Wolff shipyard, the birthplace of the doomed Titanic.
Peace Lines
The group kicked off our Saturday with a tour led by History teacher Tommy Graham of Belfast’s political murals. All of these large-scale wall paintings possessed distinctive voices, although some conveyed an overt political message while the implications of others lay couched behind symbolism. Observing the meaning of these murals brought to light in a very tangible way the divide between the ideals of Belfast’s Unionists, those in favor of maintaining a strong relationship with the UK – and its Nationalists, those who support an independent Irish Republic. Through the windows of our bus, we also caught a glimpse of the barriers referred to as “peace lines,” walls that separate Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods. I think it’s fair to say that this physical partition, which marks an ideological division, was a fairly strange and alien concept to us.
One Fine Evening
After having viewed a series of murals and breaking for lunch, our group visited the Ulster Transport Museum, which contained an exhibition devoted to the Titanic. Despite the fact that the supposedly unsinkable vessel did in fact sink, it has remained an icon of sorts in Belfast. Our group made a quick stop at Stormont, the grandiose meeting-place of the Northern Ireland Assembly, and then made its way to our hostel. We quickly recharged before embarking on our evening adventures, which included attending a production of Brian Friel’s The Home Place, sitting down to a relaxing and much-anticipated dinner, and tearing up the dance floor alongside our very own Tommy Graham before collapsing into our beds.
Thanks Amy!
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