Carlingford & Belfast

Sunday April 25, 2010
Carlingford & Belfast

Day #12

We woke up this morning in Carlingford, a lovely border town in the Republic of Ireland. We were surrounded by green hills, lifting fog and blazing yellow flowers. After a light breakfast of toast, tea and cereal, we packed our bags and were in the Belvedere van with Rachel Keogh our navigator & Simon O’Donnell at the helm. We were all ready to roll before 9am. An hour and a half later we were in a parking lot near the Lagan River meeting Billy Black, a larger than life character who described himself as a Protestant taxi driver from a Unionist neighborhood. He immediately shared with us that he is married to a Catholic woman from a Republican background and shared that this was a dubious relationship in the eyes of many in Northern Ireland’s capital city.
Billy spent the next two and a half hours guiding us through the serpentine maze of Belfast’s geography, history, mythology and politics with theatrical flair and deep solemnity. Frank Costello, a former faculty member at BC High who now lives in Belfast recommended Billy as an authentic and trustworthy tour guide. He was true to his word. Mr. Black brought us to Stormont, the seat of power for the Northern Irish Assembly, then to Queen’s University, the Falls & Shankhill Roads, peace walls,
victim’s memorials, and showed us a range of murals depicting the powerful symbolism of Unionist & Republican views.


After an eye opening and deeply challenging tour we had lunch and then took a boat ride up the Lagan River to take in the city and see the significant sites on the Titanic Boat Tour. The Titanic was built in Belfast by the Harland & Wolff shipbuilders. She was launched in 1912 and everyone knows the end of that story. After the tour we packed ourselves back in the van and headed two hours south, returning to Dublin and our waiting host families at 6pm sharp. Big thanks go to Rachel & Simon for their vigilance, care and hospitality on this tremendous weekend excursion.