Back To The Future

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Tourism in Northern Ireland has a lot to offer and has come on in leaps and bounds in the last few years. The natural splendours of the North Antrim Coast – Giants Causeway, Dunluce Castle et al – take some beating in the scenery stakes. However, I probably won’t be the first to comment that some of the highlights of any trip to Belfast are based on the less obvious attractions of a ship that hit an iceberg and sunk and 30 odd years of civil unrest. If you look at a map of Belfast, you see division. I say that specifically in terms of the road geography. The M1 motorway sweeps in from one direction and the M2 from another. They are linked by what is known as the Westlink, which physically cuts off West Belfast from the city centre. The options to cross are pretty much limited to the Crumlin Road, Shankhill Road, Grosvenor Road and the Divis Street / Falls Road. In days gone by, many would give all a cautious wide berth. Today particularly, the Divis Street access is pretty much tourist central. There is a thriving business in taxi tours, walking tours and the obligatory transport for any modern city – the hop on, hop off bus. The new Glider bus even has a route here. I opted against the expensive options and caught the very regular Service 10 from Queen Street round the corner from City Hall. The West LInk was invariably busy with standing traffic in both directions, as we crossed over heading towards the Divis Street flats. You can’t miss them. A big tower block on the left, just over the bridge. The tower was built in 1966 as part of the complex of new housing here. The panoramic view they have over the city centre and the surrounding area made them a look-out tower for the security forces, who took over the top 2 floors during the “Troubles”. The observations post on top was only accessible by helicopter. A sign on the wall just before the building simply states, “PSNI. British Army. MI5. Not Welcome”. There is another advocating the end of British Political Policing. The post box at the foot of the tower block is painted green. There are faint traces of red showing underneath. In case you were in any doubt, you have arrived in Nationalist West Belfast. Where the road crosses Northumberland Street, a highly decorated wall with multiple murals is known as the International Wall. A sequence of murals mainly shows solidarity with other causes around the world, including that of Catalonia. A tour bus pulled up and a group of students were led along the line of artworks. You are never on your own for long in this high profile location, so any nerves that you might have been experiencing about your trip into the area are soon dismissed. We nipped through the alley into the housing behind and took a peek in the St Peters Cathedral. It was built in 1866 and the two spires added in 1885. A plaque outside explains that it only received cathedral status in 1986. We carried on walking up the Falls Road, which has had something of a makeover since my last visit. I never ventured out of the car at that time. The new businesses were looking quite swish and had even been joined by mainstream brands from across the water. A branch of Greigs had even opened, so your Falls Road residents can join in the current craze for vegan sausage rolls sweeping the mainland. The route is periodically supplemented by the information boards that have sprung up everywhere in the city, detailing a bit of the history of the area where you were and the Other Half was particularly impressed by this development. The Sinn Fein party headquarters was covered in scaffolding, but the main reason for venturing here was the mural on gable end in Sevastopol Street. The mural of Bobby Sands is one of the more widely photographed. The inscription beneath states "Poet, Gaeilgeoir, Revolutionary, IRA Volunteer". There are others who would probably have a different description, but whatever the standpoint it is a name of an individual that is still remembered from the “Troubles” when others have faded. The mural is pristine. We caught a bus 2 stops down to Northumberland Street and turned up towards the Shankhill. The wall is completely decorated on the right hand side. A number of these would be included in any search you did on the internet, but the most photographed is possibly the pop art piece. We arrived at the No Mans Land. The 2 brightly decorated gates are open and we cross to the other side. There are many who are suprised to still see this physical barrier in place. The murals as we move towards the Shankhill Road are less prolific with just 2 main pieces near to gates. A small statue stands at the junction with the Shankhill Road. It commemorates, Wlliam Conor. Peoples Painter. He is best known for his studies of working class life in Ulster and particularly, portrayals of soldiers and munitions workers in World War 1. A number of his works decorate the adjacent wall. We turned up the Shankhill away from the city centre. A memorial garden has numerous photos of victims of the "Troubles" and various narratives seeking to highlight the volience inflicted on the Unionist community. We passed the scene of Frizzell's Fish Shop, where 9 people were killed in a bomb in 1993. The shop was underneath the UDA headquarters. I can vividly remember driving down the Shankhill just after and seeing the destruction. A series of murals were added on each gable end for the next couple of hundred yards. I didn't get the sense of the new development that I had on the Falls. We waited for a Service 11 bus back to the city centre.

The plan for the afternoon was to head up to Stormont, the seat of Government in Northern Ireland. There was a free tour at 2 pm. We caught the 20a bus, which goes directly through the grounds and saves walking a mile up the Prince of Wales Avenue from the main entrance. When Home Rule becaime a reality in Ireland after World War 1, a grand building was designed to hold the seat of Parliament. Alas, it was too expensive and the designs were scaled back to what is the current building. The first sittings of the new body took place in Belfast City Hall. The new Parliament Buildings were finally opened on this commanding hillside in 1932. The 6 columns represent the 6 counties on the Greek ne classical exterior. The Stormont Castle residence sits in the wooded area just below. The entrance avenue is dominated by a 12 foot statue of Edward Carson, who was the key player in Unionist politics in the run up the establishment of Northern Ireland. We went through the airport style security and checked in for the tour. There was time to kill, so we sat in the small Speakers Corner cafe. There are 2 paintings in the corridor that were originally housed in the Upper House. The actual Northern ireland Assembly hasn't sat for over 2 years for reasons on which I won't dwell, even if I could remember the exact details. There is therefore a perception that the building is running on empty and there is no activity. However there were lots of folk about and a few TV crews, participating in or reporting on a hearing on the impact of the "Troubles" on a number of families. I recognised some from the photographs in that morning's Belfast Telegraph. I subsequently read that it was a European Day to remember the families affected by violence and terrorism. We lose track on the mainland, just how much the past dominates the present and possibly the future here. There seem to be page after page in the local press about the continued impact of the previous 40 years. Brexit only gets a nominal mention and then the rest is devoted to sport. The Cheltenham Festival and St Patricks Day was fast approaching, so there was a major distraction with the horses and the various parades. The building itself is quite splendid. The interior has a grand hall with the Lower House leading off to the left and the Upper House to the right. Marble is dominant. The very art deco style ceiling is mirrored in the marble on the floor. A centrepiece chandelier was said to have come as a cast off from Windsor Castle after World War 1, when it was rumoured to have been a gift from a German Kaiser and therefore no longer suitable to hang in a British royal house. A flight of stairs leads up to the upper balcony. A statue of Lord Craigavon - first Prime Minister - sits half way up observing proceedings. Craigavon's tomb is in the grounds. The elevated position of Stormont gave cause for concern when World War 2 approached. A big white building of shiny Portland stone, with a driveway that looked like an arrow pointing at it, sitting on high ground and not far away from a big docks complex, would make it an attractive proposition for the Luftwaffe. There was a perception that Belfast was out of range, but nobody told the Germans they weren't allowed to send bombers on a short route from Norway. The risk was mitigated by covering the building in manure and bitumen. The nice, white shiney exterior blended in with the hillside, but even after 7 years post war scrubbing it never regained the proper colour. It was a good tour and well recommended. There are great views from Stormont across the city too.

We caught the bus back down towards the Newtonards Road. The immediate area surrounding Stormont is very attractive and full of aspirational houses with nice price tags by mainland standards. The Dundela area had become coffee shop central and if there is a finer piece of art deco architecture than the 1935 Strand Cinema, I would like to see it. We alighted by Dee Street, where we had ventured to see Glentoran a couple of days previously. I was on another photography mission. The local shopping features a union jack shop, so it isn't hard to recognise the loyalties. The murals are a mix of Harland & Wolf inspired pieces and the former armed struggle. A big black car pulled back out of the way to allow me an unhindered shot of one of the latter, which was very considerate. On the edge of Dr Pitt Memorial Park, 3 figures celebrating the former shipyard workers of the area stride forward. The shadows of Samson & Goliath loom over the streets and all around. We ventured back to base. A couple of final pints for the road in Hatfield House - a traditional old pub on the Ormeau Road - a trip to the off licence across the road and we rounded off our evening in the highly commended Bo Tree Kitchen. It is a Thai BYO, so make sure you have that bottle of wine with you. I would also suggest booking particularly on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday, as the close proximity to Queens makes it highly popular. It was a convenient 3 minute walk base to our base.



We headed out on our final morning and cut through the grounds of Queens University - ranked in their own publicity as in the top 180 global universities. It is Northern Ireland's equivalent of Trinity College, Dublin. Alas, scaffolding covered the main building. We moved on to the Botanic Gardens next door. It opened as a private park in 1828, before letting in the rank and file in 1895. The centrepiece is the Palm House, which pre-dates that in Kew. The foundation stones was laid in 1839. The later Tropical Ravine House from 1889 is another indoor climate displaying an array of rare ferns and other plants. Victorians were apparently big on colecting ferns. One of the final stops in Belfast was the Ulster Museum. A few weeks ago we were in Derby looking at an exhibition of Leonardo Da Vinci drawings that have found their way into the UK royal family collections. A few drawings are scattered in different locations and the Northern Ireland section is on display here at the Ulster Museum. I look at them and find it difficult to believe that the woks are from the 1500s. A lot of the visitors are drawn into the museum as part of the Game of Thrones tours, which are big business here. I can honestly say I have never seen one episode of any of the series, but word is that it is one of the more popular TV series throughout the world. Northern Ireland has provided many of the settings and locations. The museum houses a Game of Thrones Tapestry. If you think Bayeux Tapestry with scenes of the TV series, it stretches around a room on the top floor of the museum. I deduce that there is a fair bit of medieval violence and various panels show scenes of slaughter and execution. One panel in particular took my eye. A man is staked out, tied by his ankles and wrists. The wording beside it states: If You Think This Has A Happy Ending, You Haven't Been Paying Attention" . When you look at some of the content of the murals in the other photographs I have taken, the words give you food for thought!

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Photos

Botanic Gardens
Palm House

Belfast
C S Lewis Postbox

Botanic Gardens
Palm House

Comments

[Dancing Dave]

Culture threatens no one
Beautifully crafted pic that is a skilful layering with backgrounds.to create an evocative effect. Hope that is what you have sought to do! Let me know.

[John Miranda]

Belfast
It is exactly what I tried to achieve. The crane looks like a toy, but is very real. Thanks for the positive feedback.

[Dancing Dave]

Stormont
Great building...great pic

[Dancing Dave]

Under the arches
Fascinating collage of images that captures an undercurrent soul of Belfast. I have posted some in 'Signs, Signs & more Signs' thread in the Photography Forum. Check 'em out.

[Rainyb]

That's clear! :;o)

[Rainyb]

Thanks for sharing. What a sad history. My family doctor came from Belfast