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21st March - 24th March
It will always be a battle a day between those who want maximum change and those who want to maintain the status quo. Gerry Adams, Irish Republican Politician for Belfast West
Sunday morning, I decided to go to Kilmainham Gaol which is an old prison that plays an important part in Irish's history because many leaders of Irish rebellions were imprisioned and some executed in the prison by British soldiers. Over the 128 years it served as a prison, its cells held many of the most famous people involved in the campaign for Irish independence (more on the history later). I got to see how the prisoners lived. There was no segregation of prisoners; men, women and children (the youngest being seven) were incarcerated up to 5 in each cell, with only a single candle for light and heat, most of their time was spent in the cold and the dark.
I then took a 45 minute bus ride to Howth. Willie, one of Conor's other flatmates had suggested that I go there. Howth is a harbour town at the end of a regional road from Dublin City and is one of the dominant features of Dublin Bay, with a number of peaks. This area also serves as a cottage town for a number of high profile entertainers; notably the drummer of U2, and members of The Cranberries and The Dubliners. On my way there, I talked to a girl on the bus that was ltrying to learn French. She had an exam in the next week and needed to do an oral presentation. I offered to give her a free tutorial for the remainder of the bus ride.
Howth is situated on a mountain where you have a beautiful view of the Irish sea. I hiked around for a bit before heading back home. I needed to grab some groceries because I offered to make the guys supper tonight as a gester of appreciation for their wonderful hospitaliity. Unfortunetely, I got back pretty late since getting back to Dublin from Howth was a nightmare.
I got back at 8:30pm, and Conor and I enjoyed a wonderful Penne Ariabiata with meatballs along with pears poached in red wine for dessert. Willie and Brian had already eaten so it was just me and Conor. I packed my bag that night because tomorrow, I was on my way to Belfast to learn about the political history of Ireland.
I left for Belfast early in the morning. When I arrived, I had a wonderful conversation with the owner of the place, Kurt. He was an Irish traveller who had been all around the world. I then went to walk around the city. Downtown Belfast is very small and easily walkable, but there was so much history here that I knew very little about. I stopped in a tourist office and was helped by one of the staff for a very long time. He showed me all of the places that are less explored by tourists; namely a bar called The Rock where only Republicans can be found.
I took a taxibus to get to the bar. Here taxibuses are cheaper than normal buses because during the Troubles, buses were being hijacked and bombed. Okay, I think that was a good introduction to a little political history:
When the whole island of Ireland was part of the UK, some Irish groups would talk about independance. many small wars broke out, but the British were just too strong. Things seemed to have been up for the Irish when the Irish Republic party read the proclamation of independence of 1916. However, the English were not going to let go of Ireland that easily and promised to declare Irreland a free state at the end of the Great War as long as they helped out in the war.
When the Irish were losing hope in weither England was going to keep its word, they went to war in 1916, known as the Easter Rising. A treaty and truce was eventually signed in 1921 that gave Ireland independence in all but six counties (Northern Ireland). Violence and hostility still remained in Northern Ireland between the Republicans and Loyalists.
Move to the 1960s, known as the Troubles, which was at the height of this violence in Belfast. The IRA (Irish Republican Army), an activist/terrorist/political group was part of the Irish-Republican-Catholic group, and the RUC, UDR and UVF were part of the Unionist-Protestant group. There were many deaths up until the Belfast Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Violence nonetheless continues on a sporadic basis.
Around 5pm, I decided to take a Black Taxi Cab tour. These tours are done by people that have lived through the Troubles. First, the cab took me through the many murals of Shankill Road, which was where the Unionists lived. Then, he took me through Falls Road, where the Republicans lived. You could have felt the emotion through every explanation and remarks on the history he lived through. All he wanted was to be free from Brisitsh rule and to have peace for his children. I felt empathetic towards his cause because all Quebec wanted was to be free from British rule (Canada) as well. It was a very intense two hours, but this was the reason why I travel: to learn about other cultures, passions, and reasons for living.
When I got back to the hostel, I had a supper with a bunch of French people and two Germans (who were the staff). We then went out to a few pubs until closing time (midnight).
The next day, I was off to the oldest building in the world (yes, older than the pyramids and Stonehenge). It was called Newgrange. Newgrange is a passage tomb and is one of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world. Newgrange was built in such a way that at dawn on the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice, a narrow beam of sunlight for a very short time illuminates the floor of the chamber at the end of the long passageway. What makes it even more mysterious is that it contains artwork that can be found around the world from Italy to the Incas in Peru.
On my way there, I met this Canadian from Toronto named Anna. She was studying Medicine in Leeds and was on a break to travel a bit around Europe. She was your typical princess that was dressed fashionable and had a lot of rich friends. She was really fun to talk to though and it was great to have some company all the way back to Dublin.
When I got back to Dublin, I spent the night at the apartment and took a day tour the next morning to Glendalough in the Wicklow County. Wicklow county was known as the "Gardens of Ireland" and was where many famous films were made such as Braveheart and PS I Love You. Glendalough is renowned for its early medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St-Kevin, a hermit priest, and destroyed in 1398 by English troops. I took a beautiful two hour hike in the mountains before returning back to Dublin. Tomorrow, I was finally going to leave Dublin and venture off to the west coast. Next stop: Galway.
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