Belfast Northern Ireland 2004
East Antrim Institute of Further and Higher Education
| In 2004, I was invited to conduct Cisco
Instructor certification courses in Network Security and
Wireless LAN Technologies in Belfast by an instructor,
Michael Kane, who attended my 2001 class in Birmingham
England. I have to admit that much of my awareness about Northern Ireland was framed in the news stories of the past 40 years. Add to that I vaguely remember Michael mentioning in an email years earlier that they routinely have to suspend classes in July out of fear for the student's safety. So Michael told me that the school was in Newtownabbey -- sounds safe enough. He did fail to mention that Newtownabbey is to Belfast much as George Town is to Seattle. So then I think if I just stay away from Ulster, everything will be OK. One of the first things you learn upon arrival is that Ulster is the historic name for Northern Ireland. As it turns out our cottage faces Belfast Bay on one side and the Ulster Highway on the other. We spent the month of August on the shore of Belfast harbor looking back into Belfast or across the straight to Scotland. We had a great time. |
 Carrick Fergus Town just a few miles up the road from our house. |
Dunluce Castle
One of the most extensive ruins of a medieval castle on the island of Ireland. It is located on the edge of a basalt outcropping looking out to the North Sea. It is first documented in 1513 although part looks to be from the 1400s. It was besieged on numerous occasions. At one point, part of the kitchen next to the cliff collapsed into the sea, after which the wife of the owner refused to live in the castle any longer (apparently she hated the place anyway).
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The Belfast Murals
These murals have become symbols of Northern Ireland, depicting the province's past and present divisions. Northern Ireland contains arguably the most famous political murals. Almost 2,000 murals have been documented in Northern Ireland since the 1970s. Although the murals more often than not represent violence or intolerance, they are renowned for their professional nature and the notable level of skill of the artists creating them.
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 For more information: http://peacelinetours.g2gm.com/murals.html |
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Living with history as it unfolds
It is hard to travel in Belfast without being struck by the history, both ancient and recent. It is at once one of the most beautiful and yet disturbing places in the world. The same city center that is virtually empty at dusk out of habit, turned out over 250,000 people to meet and greet Bill Clinton while we were there. A simple train trip to town interrupted by a bomb threat has to be contrasted to the orderly and matter of fact approach of all passengers as they filed off the train, on to a waiting bus, and on again to another train waiting a few miles down the track.
 The peace wall literally separated Catholics and Protestants. |
 Memorials everywhere. |
 Carrick Fergus Square |
 More memorials. The Irish tricolor flying in Northern Ireland. |
 Belfast Courthouse. |
 Ancient cemeteries. |
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