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Published: March 23rd 2008
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Kev wanted a passport stamp!
We had expected to pass through an official border between the Republic and Northern Ireland - but there wasn't even a notice! We left the cosy warmth of Margaret’s B&B in Kilsallagh,on a bleak blustery Good Friday. The next town Murrisk, has a haunting memorial to the Famine years 1845-50, where hundreds of thousands of Irish were sent to the USA in what amounted to floating coffins. The memorial is a brilliantly sculptured bronze with ghostly skeletons clinging desperately to its rigging.
We decide to push on quickly to Northern Ireland and Derry and spend some time in that city catching up with its political and social history. We were surprised that there were no border requirements as we passed from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland, however almost immediately the towns and countryside took on the look of England in a way it’s hard to put one’s finger on.
On the way, we passed through a small village whose contribution to the English Language is all but forgotten save a few purists in South Australia. One them, Professor Dixie, has been heard to use the word “Todger” on occasions in reference to a gentleman’s wedding tackle. Professor Dixie first came across this word in the small village of Baile an Tochair in County Sligo. Apparently, the publican of The Brewer’s Droop
The Todger derivation
For Professor Dixie, this village is the birthplace of your favourite word. ,a small nuggetty man explained to the Professor how the town name, had become corrupted by the English ( as seemingly some things are) and fell into a lax form of slang used by the ill educated and those who set out to upset the gentry of the world. So the word “Todger” entered the English lexicon.
We saw many more new houses, a bit like driving through Lego land, those in the photo attached to this blog are from around Donnegal. The building industry is booming beyond belief, where all the money comes from is not quite clear.
Derry is great - we went on a guided walk around the top of the town walls (9m wide, sometimes 8m high, built in 1608-12). There is controversy about the name - any sign with “Londonderry” written on it has been shortened to “Derry”. Our guide, John, was very informative, describing events in history at the place they occurred - no better way to learn! So we “experienced” from the siege of Derry in 1688-89 when the 13 apprentices locked the gates to the city to keep out the forces of the Catholic James II of England and coined the term
“no surrender” which is still evident, to the Troubles post 1969 and in particular the Battle of the Bogside. We walked along Rossville St to see the People’s Gallery - 11 murals painted on the side of two storey houses commemorating the events in the Troubles. The Bogside artists, Tom and Will Kelly, and Kevin Hassan grew up during that period. Our experience of Derry was very confronting - given that many of the people in the street would have been around during the terrible quite recent events that we were hearing about. During that time 70% of buildings within the town wall (ie the commercial centre) were destroyed or damaged. Since then, the part of Derry on that side of the river has become almost entirely Catholic (about 97%) while the part of the city across the River Foyle is about 50:50 Catholic:Protestant. Our guide, John, said on a number of occasions that he sees many signs that the troubles are truly over and that Derry can now move forward to fulfil its potential. There’s no doubt that hearing social and political history from a well informed local guide is a fantastic way to learn while travelling.
And so
Derry Wall Bishop's Gate
Part of an amazing 17th Century fortification. from Derry to Portstewart - on the far northern coast of Northern Ireland. Our hostel is about 100m max from the Atlantic Ocean which is booming in with a ferocious wind, huge seas and white foam flying through the air. It takes some effort to hold the car door open long enough to get out!! Today we drove along the Causeway Coast road, to Giant’s Causeway - an ancient rock formation that is the centre of the story of Finn MacCool. The rocks are all hexagonal in shape - tall columns like organ pipes and a tesslated “causeway” heading into the ocean. The cliffs surrounding are made of limestone with a basalt overlay - very dramatic. The wind did not abate!! (Keith Gray - there was a golf course right on the seaside - with people playing and their golf balls going everywhichway - see attached photo!!). We also went on a short steam train journey to Bushmill - very jolty but great views of the coast.
And tomorrow....to Belfast!!
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