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Published: August 29th 2009
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Get back to work
A merchant plays solitaire on his computer at St. George's Market. Today, it was time for another long run in my marathon training schedule. I woke up around 7:30 and was planning on doing the first part of my run with a few chippies I met at the hostel who also were thinking of going for a run. I went; they bailed.
In total I ran 16 miles and covered pretty much all parts of Belfast. I started out by going through the Botanic Gardens to the River Lagan, up along the river, across and back some bridges, through the city centre, down Falls Road (see below) and all the way off the western part of the map to where Caffrey’s is supposed to be brewed. After seeing inBev Ireland (where Bass is brewed in Ireland) I decided I had run around enough looking for the brewery. I turned back and reversed my course.
The weather was much more fitting to a run than it has been back in the US. The nice cool day with a breeze kept me moving at a much better pace than I had been running over the past couple months.
Up until the end I had no trouble in recognizing where I was.
Regeneration or education
This protest statement along Shankill Road showed the need for a little education to go along with the regeneration request. The spelling mishap was made elsewhere, too. But around mile 15 I took a turn south when I should have headed north. Not only did that put me in the wrong direction at a critical point but it also took me through some semi-steep rolling hills which were not pleasant, to say the least. It’s a good thing I wasn’t in the Cathedral district at that point as I may have offended some folks.
Once I got back, I checked again for the brewery location. It turns out the data was stale and the inBev sight is where Caffrey’s once was brewed. Caffrey’s had sold this sight in 2004. I have no idea where it is brewed today. This is saddening.
When I got back to the hostel, I took a hot shower, which was immensely refreshing, and got set to tour more of Belfast. My first stop was St. George’s Market, just east of City Centre. On Saturdays, the market is a large food market with freshly baked goods, fruits, vegetables, meats and many different types of prepared foods. The prepared foods ranged included Indian, Mexican, Japanese, British, American, French… almost any type of cuisine imaginable. Since it was my day to pig out
The more intimidating murals
The Shankill Road murals were definitely more intimidating with their violent undertones, even as they promote their side being the 'good guys'. - a reward I give myself after long runs - I went with the paella AND some tikka masala. Both were quite good, especially the tikka masala which I haven’t had in years.
After the market, I went to St. Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast’s Ecclesiastical Cathedral. Much like Christ Church in Dublin, St. Anne’s is much less ornate than most Catholic Cathedrals.
From there I went to see the murals on Shanskill Road and Falls Road, each a major district for either side in the dispute over Ireland’s sovereignty. Shanskill Road was originally a major industrial sector where many of Belfast’s seafaring businesses had their facilities. Since that time, the area has developed as an Irish Protestant stronghold. The area was the sight of many bombings by the IRA in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. To counter these attacks, the locals formed the paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Many of the murals are dedicated to civilian and UVF fighter lives lost and to calm locals’ fears by demonstrating military fortitude.
Contrastingly, the Irish Catholic district on Falls Road (the only Irish Catholic district in Belfast) had murals which, ironically, depicted a number of recent leaders mainly from groups
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass makes an appearance on one of the murals on Falls Road. who promoted peace.
Following Art History, I turned to sports and watched the Manchester United vs Arsenal ‘footbball’ match at a pub. More importantly, I knocked back a Smithwicks and a few pints of Guinness. After my incident with a car bomb a few years ago, I’m just now getting back on the Guinness wagon. I’m glad to be back. But no more mixing in Jameson’s. That’s deadly.
I’m getting to bed early tonight. After some rough nights of sleep, a long run and lots of touring on foot, I need the rest. Tomorrow I leave Belfast early and fly down to London where I catch the train out to Bath.
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