Saturday June 29th was the last full day myself and my peers had in the beautiful city of Belfast. Many of us went to St. George’s Market early in the morning to look for some last-minute souvenirs or gifts for the family. Later in the day, I went to the market with David where I bought a few beautiful prints. One of Queen’s University, the Botanic Gardens, and Maggie May’s made by a local artist. I also got a decorative tea towel of the Carrick-A-Rede bridge.

We then explored more of the city center together. We went to Carroll’s Irish Gifts for more touristy knick knacks for ourselves and our families. Then, feeling hungry we stopped for some food. I got a traditional Irish steak and Guinness pie. The pie came with a beautiful flaky pastry on top of it with sides of mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. David got two starters, one being nachos and the other being barbeque chicken wings. We both enjoyed the food and left with very full stomachs.

After eating, we made our way back to Elms Village. We needed to work on packing up our stuff to prepare to leave the accommodation. A friend I have made in Belfast, Joe, came to help me pack my things up. I am staying in Belfast with Joe for a week and a half after most of my peers are leaving. After I packed my things, I gave my key to the security desk and checked out of Elms Village. Joe and I worked together hauling my things across Belfast, trying to move quickly as I felt sick. After getting to his place and dropping my things off, Joe and I went our separate ways. I had to hustle to the Student Union Bar to meet everyone for our goodbye celebration.

Arriving at the Student Union bar, I was spotted before I could see anyone else. I heard my name being called, but could not identify where the sound was coming from. I turned around until I found the table of the girls; Makayla, Maddie, and Paige greeted me and I sat with them for a bit having a pleasant conversation. They complimented the Guinness sweater I was wearing that I had gotten from Carrol’s earlier in the day. Makayla and I then got up to order some drinks. I separated to find the rest of the group in the outside seating area.

As I was walking out looking for them, they all walked by me, not noticing me. They were headed to the bar, and I followed as if I had been with them the whole time. I found an open space next to David, poked him, and said hello. He seemed surprised and happy to see me. Then the two groups merged into one at a bigger table. The night went by too quickly as we talked and laughed. We reminisced on our time spent together and some of us made plans for when we are back home. My night ended with long hugs between Jesse, Jack, David, and myself. We all agreed we would see each other again back home. I look forward to seeing that promise through. 

This study-abroad has completely changed me as an individual. I went into this experience not knowing what to expect. Even still, the things I have experienced, learned, and witnessed have blown me away. This seems to be a common feeling between my peers and myself from what I have gathered. We all went into this experience very differently than how we are leaving. We have been in unique circumstances that have allowed us to live, experience new things, and thrive on our terms for the first time. Each of us was dropped into this scenario not knowing anyone else in the group. This helped a lot as we were all looking to make friends and get along. Some genuine friendships have formed throughout this experience, like the one between David and myself, or Makayla and Jesse. We all worked together to navigate our surroundings, get through school, and have fun.

What this experience meant for everyone individually is, of course, very personal. My time in Belfast has shown me that I can get by on my own, and build a life for myself independently of my old life and support system back home. This realization has been incredibly empowering, inspiring me to stay back in Belfast longer. I hope that the rest of my peers have had similarly thrilling realizations about themselves as a result of their time in Belfast. I wish everyone I had the pleasure of going on this journey with nothing but the best moving forward, and a future full of many similarly-fulfilling travels.

This Wednesday gave us amazing lectures, a beautiful movie, and great views that brought us closer to Northern Ireland and its culture.

Lectures

At the start of our day, we began with two lectures on the history of Ireland and Northern Ireland, ‘Politics & History of Northern Ireland: 103 Years On’ and ‘Contemporary Europe – at the Edge of the Union / Brexit’. Doctor McLoughlin and Professor Hayward were great speakers, helping illustrate the complexities of the history of the troubles as well as Northern Ireland and Ireland’s place within Europe over time. I found the history of the peace efforts very interesting, as between different leaders one group was always unhappy anytime civil rights or power-sharing efforts were attempted to be established. These lectures have helped establish a better understanding of Irish and UK history, which helped elevate my experience in Northern Ireland. 

Good Vibrations

The highlight of the day was watching the movie ‘Good Vibrations’ by Glenn Leyburn by Lisa Barros D’Sa in the student theater. The theater itself was beautiful and great for students with cheap food and drinks as well as discounted tickets for students, in contrast with the United States approach to student finances.

While unassuming from the outside, the lobby is a well decorated venue with seating and a bar. This was very interesting, as in the United States many movie theaters have the same concessions but incentivize you to move towards the theater itself instead of letting you enjoy some time before the movie, making it a more social experience. 

The movie followed the story of Terri Hooley, who was instrumental in the punk scene in Belfast during the troubles. I found the movie to be incredibly informative, as I didn’t understand how important punk was to Belfast. While focused heavily on the comedy of Terri’s life, it wasn’t afraid to shed light on the horrors of the world around them. However, they aren’t dramatized or idolized, they show the events in a way that illustrates the horrors of war, but also the reality that living in wartime often isn’t just a sudden event. It becomes a way of life, a new normal for those living there. For example, During the film Terri narrates where different members of the teenage band ‘The Outcasts’ ended up, showing two members who led successful lives, before cutting to the scene of a car bomb explosion, showing the remains of the other two band members, illustrating the horrific actions committed by both the IRA and the UVF. In contrast, the Harp bar is a central place to the story of Terri, where he met his wife, gave starts to many bands, and where he originally Dj’d. Every time someone entered the bar, they focus on the fact that the entrance is caged off with a gate, with the owner needing to verify their identity through a camera to let them in, which helps illustrate how people have to change their lives during the war.  

While I did love the cinematography and general plot of the movie, I had personal issues with Terri Hooley. I understood the message of not wanting to be owned and wanting to be a free spirit, but when you have a wife and child I feel you have a responsibility to provide for them. Regardless, he inspired and helped an entire generation struggling with growing up who were alienated by the adults around them, and that alone is a great act. 

General thoughts on my time in Belfast

In general, I found Belfast to be a very welcoming city and a pleasure to visit. The city itself is very walkable, and I’ve felt a lot more active while exploring Northern Ireland in contrast to driving everywhere in the States. The people are very friendly and are happy for you to be visiting the country and learning about their history. The weather is also very interesting, mostly tinges of gray and white with near-constant rain. However, this adds a great atmosphere to studying here and providing some of the best sleep I’ve had in recent times. Beyond the city, I found exploring the hills and varying parts of nature in Belfast to be especially enriching, Dilis and Black Mountain. 

While not as tall or steep as the mountains in New Hampshire, it gave a different experience as it is very scenic and an easy walk. I managed to get lucky and go when the weather for clear, providing great views while being able to see a bit of Scotland in the distance. All in all, my experience here has helped me better understand the troubles and history of the Island as well as the beauty of nature and culture. 

Taking a day trip to Scotland was planned quite early on during our time in Europe. The plan was simply to take a ferry from Belfast to Cairnryan, organize a ride from there to a popular city or landmark, then explore for a while and come back. In practice, however, that became much more of a challenge than we ever could’ve properly anticipated.

To begin, this was the earliest in the morning I have needed to wake up for any of our plans so far during the entire trip. I was awake around 4:30 and spend the next twenty minutes or so battling myself to actually stand up. From there, the ferry was just a taxi ride away and it was very simple to board for the beginning of our trip. I was genuinely excited for the ferry itself; I had been on one before from Boston to Cape Cod and it can be a lot of fun to spend time with the right people in that setting. This ferry ended up being several times larger than I anticipated, but some exploration of the boat was limited by the desire to play Uno with the other boys on the trip.

Upon arriving, the girls managed to get a hold of a taxi pretty quickly and set off to visit Castle Kennedy. Unfortunately for us, the same taxi company as well as two others told us that they were either fully booked or simply would not help us. Over the course of at least thirty minutes, we were doing everything in our power to organize a ride to meet the girls at the castle. The use of ride share apps is virtually nonexistent there, and we had no luck with any company we contacted. Finally, after speaking to staff members at the port, we learned a bus would likely be able to bring us if we just kept waiting. Not ideal, but doable. To our surprise, we walked outside to find a bus to Stranraer, driven by a man who was absolutely not allowed to let us get on since we had not organized a ticket ahead of time. Regardless, after speaking to us and hearing our situation, he allowed us to board for free and called his friend who would drive us back on a different bus in the evening. The man who organized all of this for us was named Tucker, and he genuinely became our hero for the day.

Finally reaching Stranraer, which was much closer to Castle Kennedy than we initially were, we ran into the same problem. We had no ride to Castle Kennedy, which was roughly an hour and ten minute walk away. Being already sick of trying to organize rides, the five of us decided to get over it and walk the distance. To our surprise, the highway we walked along had a fully completed and usable sidewalk with beautiful scenery of Scotland to keep us amused. We had also been filled with a new sense of motivation after the kindness Tucker had shown us, so the hour walk really was no issue at all.

Once finally meeting up with the girls and arriving at the castle, we were presented with so many incredible views of old architecture and the nature of Scotland. The grass was green and vibrant, the garden nearby was well maintained and colorful, even the trees were fascinating to look at. There were lakes and ponds as well as paths leading to remarkable sights of hills with sheep and cows in the distance. As exhausted as I had already become, the views were absolute worth it. All of the people in the group were also very fun to hang around and I wouldn’t want to do a trip like that again without them.

When we finished with the castle, all of us together now took the hour long back to Stranraer, enduring the pain for the sake of the experience. The town itself was small but the houses were still amusing to look at given how different they were from American architecture. There was also a rocky coastline we could walk across where many of us got busy searching for sea glass and shells. We eventually got on the bus driven by Tucker’s friend Jim and boarded our ferry back to Belfast, exhausted but still with high spirits. And all of the bonds strengthened by that trip were immediately tainted by some more merciless (and very fun) games of Uno.

Early Friday morning all the students and professors were expected to meet outside of “treehouse” building on campus, bright and early, at 8am to leave on our day trip to Derry/Londonderry. Having gotten about 4 hours of sleep the night before, in hopes of being able to take in all that Belfast has to offer, I woke up at 7:50am. I ran to the treehouse at 7:55 to make it on the bus just in time. Once everyone was on the bus and situated, we began our trip to the highly discussed town of LondonDerry. I learned through conversations with locals and through our tours of the Free Derry and the Siege Museum, that even the name of the town itself is controversial. In the 1600’s, the Native Irish referred to the town as “Dioré” which was pronounced as Derry and translates to oak grove in English. After King James II in 1613 was granted a legal charter to the city the official name was changed to Londonderry and that is how it is officially recognized to this day. 

The bus ride to Derry/Londonderry was beautiful, we passed lush green scenery, stunning mountain sides, spotted cows, and white goats as well as small cottage core looking towns in between. It was truly exactly as I would have imagined Northern Ireland to look. Once we arrived into the city our groups first stop was at the Free Derry museum. Here, we were provided an information packed tour about the history of the town of Derry. We learned so much information that further solidified my understanding of the deep history and trauma that underscores the experience of the people who lived there over the years. What struck a chord with me was being able to hear the story of Kevin McElhinney’s tragic death by the perspective of his sister. Hearing her story was heartbreaking and truly a privilege to listen to. 

During our walk-though, we learned that American civil rights movement greatly inspired the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland in the late 1960’s. Many murals depict figures such as Martin Luther king jr., Rosa Parks, Bob Dylan, and other prominent American figures. From what I noticed from speaking to locals is that they very much view America in a great light in terms of civil rights progress and economic development. In one conversion I had with a local cab driver, he told me and a few other students that many Irish would love to live in the States, however, many end up in Australia because it is easier to get a visa there. Which also explained to me why in many of the Irish novels I have read that the characters end up moving to or from Australia.

Lastly, during the Free Derry Museum tour we learned that Queens university students held a nonviolent march all the way from Belfast to Derry in early October of 1968. This stuck out to me as Martin Luther king Jr. methods of nonviolent protesting may have inspired it. As well as the fact that Queens had such a close connection to the Civil Rights Association in Northern Ireland.

After grabbing fish and chips at a local pub for lunch our tour continued to the Derry walls, which are such a monumental piece of history. It was truly an extraordinary experience to be stepping across the only remaining completely walled city in all of Ireland. As we walked along the walled route we passed many substantial landmarks. Such as the Bloody Sunday memorial or on a lighter note, the Derry girls mural. 

Finally, we concluded our day at The Siege Museum in which we were able to gain greater perspective on the history of the Siege of Londonderry and why it is such important piece of history within Irish and British history. 

The story of Ireland is that of deep trauma and even greater resilience, after spending two weeks here I have found that Belfast is a beautiful town with an incredible community. Every local that I have had candid conversations with here are extremely friendly, welcoming, and wanting to discuss their history and experiences with me and other students in this program. All of them have been very excited to find out that we are studying the history of Northern Ireland. I have not met one Irish local that hasn’t welcomed me and my peers with great interest, openness, and genuine conversation. Overall, my experience studying at Queens University Belfast has felt like a dream. Studying at such a remarkable school has allowed me to gain greater understanding of Irish history as well as given me an experience of a lifetime. The valuable memories I have gained here in Northern Ireland are those that I will remember forever. 

Waking up

Even though I had gone to sleep at 1:00 the night before, I woke up at 7:30 on Sunday. Half awake, with half opened eyes and ears, I heard the sounds of the outside world through my opened window. The night before it had been dead quiet, but the sounds of the seagulls and a cat’s meow came with the morning sun. I stood up, shut my window, checked my phone, and got back in bed. I had walked around Dublin for hours the day before. I needed more sleep.

Tattoo Festival Pt 1

She sat down for her tattoo when we got there and I looked around at the artists’ booths. People were already getting tattooed. They wore all black, and had piercings and tattoos. I was wearing my Nautica sweater, and my corduroy pants. I felt out of place. I hadn’t felt out of place since the first few days after arriving in Belfast. I’ve found that the Irish are very welcoming, and like to share about their lives and culture. 

I was about to leave when Makayla, Jesse, and Paige showed up. I walked around with them, and it was nice to have people to talk to when going around the festival.

Lunch?/Fathers Day in Belfast

After we were done looking we went out to get lunch, and I called my dad for fathers day while the rest were waiting in line for Maggie May’s. We talked about how my time in Belfast has been, and how I miss them and wish I could be there for Father’s Day. I told him I pitched in one hundred dollars for his birthday present. The call was 17 minutes and cost four dollars and twenty-five cents. I had never had to call my father for fathers day before since I had always been there. 

 I decided to skip Maggie May’s and went back to move into my new dorm.

Moving In (Again)

It started to rain after I got my new key from the treehouse, but by the time I packed up it was clear. It took me two trips to get everything to my new dorm, and cost me a carton of eggs, which I cracked, and a sack of potatoes, which I threw away because there was no room in my backpack. I realized I forgot to get the pierogies out of my fridge, but it was too late to go back and get them because my key fob would no longer open my old room’s door. My new room was bigger, but the bed was the same size. Now I had a personal toilet and shower. I unpacked a bit and decided to go back to the tattoo festival.

Tattoo Festival Pt 2

When I got back to the tattoo festival I went around eating the candies that the artist put out. They were all Irish candies which I had never seen in America. To be honest they were almost all bad. Only one chewy candy, and one hard candy were good. I saw Riley and her friend Eva who is from the Netherlands.

Walk Around City Center

 Me and Eva walked around Belfast city center looking for a snack while Riley got her second tattoo of the day. We talked about accents and politics and she recited a monologue from her drama classes in an American accent. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoy talking to people from other countries and learning what their life is like. Erin, who was on my floor at the first accommodation we had in Belfast, is from Galway and had told me all about what that is like and all about Ireland. She taught me how the Irish language used to be illegal to teach, and how people had to learn it in secret. I also learned that in Ireland they don’t have Reese’s puffs.

While walking around I saw all the beautiful Irish buildings, like Belfast city hall. The city center reminded me of Boston, while the outskirts of the city reminded me more of Salem. I loved to see the seagulls and the pigeons because they remind me of Boston and Salem as well.

Pizza and Guinness

Eva and I went back to the tattoo festival. Riley’s tattoo was close to being finished so we waited for her and then went to Giuseppe’s pizza. After that we went to the Post House for drinks and soon after Jack and Declan came in.

Tuesday, June 18th, 2024

Ireland: A History of Division (or ‘3000 years of history in an hour’) Prof. Peter Gray.

At 9:30 we met at the Bell Lecture Theatre for Ireland: A History of Division which was taught by Prof. Peter Gray where we learned about the history of the Island of Ireland from the prehistoric time with the introduction of the intro of the first settlement Palaeolithic in c. 10,500 BCE up to the 1940’s with the creation of the Republic of Ireland in about an hour. When learning about the history of Ireland we learned that there has always been conflict or division in every moment of the history the Ireland from the politically divided kingdoms/providences of the 10^th century up to the Irish Civil War of 1922-23. The history of Ireland was a fascinating one as seeing all the conflicts that the Island has seen is crazy seeing how Ireland is not that big of a country but the number of conflicts they have been a part of is surreal, but learning about the other parts of how Ireland was a booming agriculture country and how it has been inhabited and influenced by multiple nations from the Romans, Vikings, Saxons, and others allowing Ireland to have a rich history.  

Situating Belfast Prof. Dominic Bryan.

After a short break we returned to the Bell Lecture Theatre for Situating Belfast which was led by Professor Dominic Bryan where we went over the context of the situations of Belfast and what its history can tell us about the area and country. Here we learned about the multiple provinces and communities across both Belfast and Northern Ireland and how most of the provinces are made up of mixture of both Catholics and Protestants and in other provinces one dominates and the other in a separate province and how there is a threat of violence for wondering into a different province which may believe things differently and get hostile when another brings up a different view.

Northern Ireland Culture, Identity, Space, Symbols Prof. Dominic Bryan.

After our lunch break, we returned to the Bell Lecture Theatre at 2 P.M. to meet with Professor Dominic Bryan again for our last lecture of the day Northern Ireland Culture, Identity, Space, Symbols. Here we learned about the diverse cultures in Northern Ireland and Ireland and how the communities react to one event compared to another such as in some neighborhood’s flags being flown that the others in the community will take down in fear of it lowering their property value as the Prof. Bryan had an experience with a situation like that. We also learned about how in some areas that there is a gate that splits the community between their different beliefs and how its taboo for one to go into another area and blast their beliefs to others which could end in violence, we also learned that on July 12^th the people or Northern Ireland and Ireland build bonfires with items of the other communities to burn in their bonfire with the other doing the same thing with such as flags political posters and many other things.

Welcome Dinner.

To Cap off the night our group and the rest of the students studying abroad went to the Great Hall located in Lanyon building to have a welcome dinner for all of those involved in the upcoming events. Here we were giving various dinner options with foods like rice, mashed potatoes, pork, coleslaw, and bread. After we had our meal, we were presented with dessert which we were given a plate with a variety of different items such as gelato, fruit, jam, marshmallows, and other types of sweets that lead to a delicious meal. After dinner we all retired to our rooms to rest for the night and prepare for the upcoming days. 

Reflection.

Between the people of Belfast and Queens University of Belfast it has made the time over here a blast as being in such a welcoming community of Professors and people has allowed us to explore Belfast and learn the history of the area while also making it fun to learn about, such as when we took a bus tour around the area and we saw all these different murals and also a peace wall and how it is such a big deal for the communities as it allows one to connect with one another. It was not just today that was a blast when our group first got here, we had a chance to go to the Belfast Book Festival where we got to meet authors from all around the country of Ireland and their experiences with writing and growing up which allowed us to get insight on the lives of people and how they and their communities got through the tough times of dealing with the constant threat and fear of attacks happening across the Island. These events have helped me understand the History of not just Northern Ireland and Ireland but also what the people are like and how they react to these different conflict and divisions and how them come together to deal with it. Thanks to Queens University of Belfast for allowing us this study abroad trip and setting up these events has made it a blast to be here and has made it a fun time learning about the history of another Country that has a rich history. 

Today was the first day of organized classes at the Queens University of Belfast. To start the day off, my cohort and every other cohort met in the morning at the main area of BT9, the cohorts were from UMass Lowell and from other colleges from America and even from other countries. Once we were all gathered, we left as a giant group to head to the school. We all gathered in the Bell lecture theater. We were introduced to all the staff that would be teaching us over the next couple of days. The organizers of the event made around fifteen groups, and made groups of people from different cohorts, to get us to meet some people outside of our cohorts. I was in group fourteen.

In these groups we took four quizzes consisting of ten questions about Irish culture. The first quiz was about general Irish culture, the second question was about identifying Irish pop culture icons, the third quiz was about identifying flags, and the fourth quiz was about Irish history. Of the three quizzes my group was able to score nine and a half out of forty points. After the quizzes were over, we were told a general overview of the day and what was to come in the week. We took a thirty-minute break and returned to the lecture hall. We were placed into larger groups and were then taken on a tour of the school. We were shown various areas of the school like the courtyards, the law school and the different parts of the student union. I was glad to see more of the school because the campus is so old and has such interesting architecture to look at.

After the tour was over everyone went to lunch. I went with some friends to a wing place called wing it. I got the mac and cheese fries; they were very good. We then got on a bus to take a bus tour of Belfast. The bus tour went great. It started off with the bus driving through different neighborhoods of Belfast. It was quite jarring to see the differences between neighborhoods, especially in the more working-class neighborhoods. If the neighborhood was poorer the more, they showed their political and cultural affiliations. In some parts of Belfast almost every other block was catholic or protestant in every working-class neighborhood there was at least one Mural that was dedicated to their respective sides, it appears that they would go all out with language used and images portrayed.

After some driving around we came to our first stop. The first stop was the peace wall. The peace wall is found in west Belfast. The peace wall is covered in murals. When you are there, it feels as though the wall could go on forever. The wall is covered in these beautiful murals that are painted on the wall from the very bottom of the wall to the very top of the wall. They are not all painted on. Some of them are giant plastic screens that have images and messages printed on them. The messages on the wall were usually political. A large chunk of the wall was dedicated to the crisis in Gaza between Israel and Palestine. Many of the murals even shoved imagery of Palestinians and Irish people holding hands. Some of them show the Palestinians and Irish people going through similar situations. There was a poem that was written along the wall on a red ribbon. That went down much of the wall. A lot of the wall was also commemorating Irish figures that supported Irish republicanism. What was most jarring about the wall was when we went over to the unionist side. We only got to see a small portion of the other side. What we saw was the commemoration of figures and groups that wanted to keep Northern Ireland British. They were also murals that were dedicated to the Israeli state and its soldiers. It was interesting to see how the different neighborhoods oriented themselves with the conflict.

We then went to a different section of the peace wall that had a memorial on it. The memorial was dedicated to peace, a rule was put in place not to draw on the wall, it was covered in graffiti and peoples’ names. We then were brought to one Protistan working class neighborhood. The neighborhood was covered in murals and memorials that were dedicated to different groups and people that fought to keep Northern Ireland British. We were then brought to a working-class catholic neighborhood, The neighborhood had murals and memorials that were dedicated to the people who fought for Northern Ireland to be separate from Northern Ireland. It is still so interesting to see how different both sides of the conflict, that was supposedly resolved decades ago, are from each other. Today was a day that was full of sights to see and things to learn. I feel that today was a great way to set the group up for what is to come on the following days of the week.

Hello from Belfast! It is the fourth full day (June 12th) of our first week here, and amongst the exciting events of the Book Festival, I decided to take a detour for a trip to the Ulster Museum. Nestled on the edge of the Botanic Gardens and park, the grand building is a mix of modern glass walls and imposing stone carved architecture. As a general rule, I choose to explore local museums in any destination I visit as a window into the culture and history of the area. With our trip’s focus being on Northern Ireland’s literary tradition, interwoven with political and cultural history, the museum is an ideal place to explore the intersection of all of these topics! 

Museum Offerings

Once inside, you are greeted by a large, airy atrium, with rooms centered around in a spiral, gradually moving you up the five floors of exhibits. Unlike any museum I have explored before, you are taken on a journey through the history of settlement in Ireland in reverse order, beginning with “The Troubles and Beyond”. This sensitive, comprehensive exhibit thoroughly explores the major timeline of events (from political, to cultural, and geographical) across the entirety of the Irish island. With scores of printed media, artworks, physical artifacts, and audio visual components to help the visitor fully grasp the story being relayed, this exhibit is absolutely a must-visit. I was especially struck by the peaceful group movements established throughout the Troubles in an attempt to unify marginalized Irish people across the island, such as women’s groups, pacifist groups, and (especially relevant in Pride month), LGBTQ+ groups. 

This case in “The Troubles and Beyond” details several LGBTQ+ spaces, events, and organizations developed or started either within, or shortly thereafter, the Troubles. Belfast’s first Gay Pride event, attended by just over a hundred people, was held in 1991. 

After this exhibit, you begin to follow a backwards path through history, first exploring early twentieth century Belfast, eventually making it all the way to the beginnings of civilization in Ireland. Each room displays the history occurring within specific bubbles of time, with a notable emphasis on explaining how the diverse array of artifacts came to be held in the museum. There is a particular focus on reflecting the voices of Northern Ireland: many first person stories are featured either in audio or video formats, allowing you to hear retellings of events, stories, and anecdotes from a vast array of the region’s inhabitants. I found this to be especially poignant within the Troubles exhibit, as you could clearly hear the raw emotions of the conflict in the voices of those who lived it.

As you arrive on the third and fourth levels, you are greeted with strikingly colorful and busy displays of natural history, from chemistry and climate science, to the nature and biology of Ireland as a whole. I absolutely marveled at the variety of preserved specimens (check out the extinct thylacine in the glass case by the stairs)! Finally, as you move to the fifth floor, you reach the museum’s collection of fine art, with representations from many Irish artists and creators, such as the painter John Lavery. Currently on display on this floor are several paintings by the famed Italian painter Caravaggio, which are quite morbidly grand in person. As the museum holds such a wide variety of artifacts, representing a huge range of cultures from Ireland and beyond, I would suggest all who visit the city explore it: I can guarantee there will be something that piques your interest.

In visiting the museum, I felt that I was able to gain deeper insight into the key theme of our trip: understanding the history and culture of Northern Ireland. You can truly experience the rich, varied story of the region, in a thoughtfully, purposefully curated environment, allowing you to learn, play, and think carefully about what you see. I have already returned since my initial visit, as there is so much to take in (especially if you, like me, are a big museum fan, who feels the need to read every placard), and foresee myself returning again, to enjoy a lovely cup of tea and take in the culture even more!

When entering Ireland, the majority of flights land in Dublin, the capital and largest city in Ireland. Many people had asked if that was where I was studying abroad when I told them I was studying in Ireland for the summer and they were pleasantly surprised when I told them I was staying in Belfast. However, even though we are not studying there, the majority of our group wanted to visit Dublin, and we decided to go on a day trip to see what all the fuss was about. Dublin did not disappoint; with loads of Irish pubs and other restaurants, interesting architecture, history, shops, tattoo parlors, and gelato spots, Dublin had piqued our interest.

After about a three hour train ride, due to some delays, we were all excited to stretch our legs and explore Dublin. The small group I was with decided to go to Dublin Castle first to see the beautiful stonework and learn about its place in Dublin’s history. When you arrive at the castle, you enter through the courtyard, which is meant to give you just enough of a view to make you want to see the rest of the castle. So, we went inside to buy tickets for the guided tour at 2:00. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and she took the lead with some pep in her step. First, we saw the remnants of the original castle that had been built there when the vikings had first settled. We were led into a basement type area where you could see what was left of one of the four original towers that were connected by the outer wall of the castle. Our guide explained that this tower, the powder tower, had held ammunition and that the vikings had chosen to protect it and the record tower when a fire had taken over the rest of the castle. We were able to see part of the original moat, which water was still flowing into, and a set of servant’s stairs that had been a part of the outer wall. While I enjoyed hearing the tour guide explain the history of the viking settlement, the part that had rang out to me was that their settlement had been named Divlin, which is where the name Dublin was originally derived. 

Next on the tour we saw the inside of the chapel which had been completed in 1814. The chapel was breathtaking with deep red velvet pews, stunning stained glass windows, and an ornately decorated organ. The names of past viceroys, or Lord Lieutenants, had been painted on the upper pews. These viceroys had served as representatives of the English king while England had ruled Ireland, and there had been many over this long time period. The main stained glass window over the altar depicted multiple scenes but what I found most interesting were the words Ecceh Homo underneath the images of Jesus. I asked the tour guide what they meant and she said they were Latin for “behold the man”, which had been said when Jesus had been brought out on the crucifix. Despite these other details, the massive organ at the back of the chapel stole the show. Hand painted with tedious gold finery, the organ loomed massively over the rest of the church and I could only imagine the powerful music it once produced. The rest of the new castle was interesting to see but about what you would expect. There was lots of red velvet with gold trim and detailed architecture, and the paintings were amazing. The room that stood out to me was the ballroom, where the majority of the ceiling was covered in a massive, gorgeous painting. 

Another fascinating find in Dublin was the archeology branch of the National Museum of Ireland. Three exhibits stood out: Kingship and Sacrifice, Viking Ireland, and Ancient Egypt. Kingship and Sacrifice was an exhibit that held artifacts that had been preserved in bogs for centuries and exhumed. Many of the artifacts were attached to preserved human bodies which allowed scientists further understanding of older time periods. The Viking Ireland exhibit consisted of remains that had been found during excavations of medieval viking settlements. Among the unique of these findings were human remains, a range of weapons, and different jewels and finery. The plaques stated that scientists were able to determine the social status of the person buried by their range of belongings. The Ancient Egypt exhibit held an array of bright colored artifacts and a series of very well preserved statuettes. 

All day we had been on the lookout for traditional Irish places to visit while in Dublin. I had been especially keen to find anything with the name Murphy, given that it is my last name. We decided to try Murphy’s Ice Cream which had traditional Irish flavors such as sea salt, brown bread, honeycomb caramel, and Irish Whiskey. Their recipes had been perfected over the years and you could tell once you tasted the unique, but delicious flavors. For dinner we had to try a real Irish pub, and we found one called Bruxelles. Jesse decided to try her first Guinness, which she felt tasted like most other beers if only slightly more bitter. Makayla and I decided to try one of their fruit ciders which were delicious and tasted like they hardly contained alcohol. And Maddie decided to try a Smithwick’s Irish Ale, which she enjoyed. For our traditional Irish dinners, Makayla had the cottage pie, Jesse and Maddie tried the fish and chips, and I had the pub burger which had a special sauce and onion ring on it. Over all, a wonderful and tasty selection of Irish drinks, entrees and desserts. 

Although this trip into the big city was exciting and we had done loads of fun things, we realized we were missing Belfast. The huge crowds and maze-like streets were exhausting and we longed for the quieter, more green walkways of Belfast. Dublin is a tourist hub and had many American brands and chains, whereas Belfast feels like its own little spec of wonder with plenty of local places to eat and kind people. It’s always interesting to experience new things, but they can make you appreciate where you’ve already been.

            Since before arriving in Belfast, a quick google search will show that some of the best places to visit in the seaside city is City Hall and St. Georges Market.  Luckily today I, along with my classmates and friends, were able to do so on one of our first free days to explore the country however we choose.  We began the day by navigating the U.K.’s public transport system, finding the bus stop on the other side of the street heading into what we hoped was the city center.  In anxieties for getting off at our correct spot, we did not explore the second floor of the double decker bus but planned to do so soon (why don’t we have these in the States?).  Fortunately, we found the beautiful Belfast City Hall as it was not hard to miss with its massive Baroque architecture and got off to explore.  Belfast City Hall is in the heart of the city center, allowing us to travel almost anywhere else of interest in Belfast by a good walk.  There was plenty to see and admire outside the building, but we needed to see more, so we booked passes for a guided tour of the inside and visited St. George’s Marketplace while we waited.

            St. George’s Marketplace is a large indoor market with various local vendors that takes place from the morning to afternoons on weekends.  I was initially shocked to walk into freezers of fish and lines of vegetables but further in it was amazing to see the variety of art and vintage collections that people were selling.  After a walkthrough I was eager to buy Celtic jewelry and locally painted pictures of Northern Ireland’s best spots, as well as highland cow stuffed animals as gift souvenirs.  The most special experience I had at the market, however, was speaking to a local crystal vendor named Pattie.  I joined in to listen to his and Maddie’s conversation and found he had been talking about politics in Northern Ireland as a Catholic man.  He was excited for us to be studying abroad and told us to continue visiting other countries and that ‘the ones you hear the worst about are probably much better than you’d expect’.  It was lovely to hear his perspective and I found it’s been very common in Ireland as a whole for the community to stand in solidarity with Palestine, unlike much of America where it holds controversy.  Many Irish people like him find empathy with their community, suffering under colonialism as the Irish have for many years.  I found it funny as he told us that Northern Ireland elections are taking place on the 4^th of July and he noted that being a special day for us from the States, which is ironic as it celebrates our independence from the British.  Although critical of American politics himself, Pattie was encouraging of us and a gift to speak to.

            Back at Belfast City Hall we began our quick tour of the civic building and learned a great deal of the way the government runs here in Belfast.  They appoint a Lord Mayor who has four-year terms and can choose to have their portrait taken to hang on the walls of the Hall.  There were many portraits of previous Lord Mayors, men and women, in all different styles but with their common Chain of Office, a big and heavy chain of gold to wear around their neck.  The original Chain of Office, of 1787, is in display.  Belfast’s current Lord Mayor just began his term on the 1^st of June and is named Micky Murray.

            As a great surprise to me, we learned that Belfast was the third most bombed sight in the U.K during the WWII Blitz, and City Hall fell victim to the violence as well.  1,000 people died in 1941 due to a bombing of the City Hall and one portrait of a Lord Mayor survived, now framed in the Hall and unmoving.

             Finally, we were taken to the Counsel Chamber and were able to sit in representatives’ pews, all separated by political party and ‘two sword lengths apart’, as inspired by the English parliament’s.  A mace is brought to the chamber before meetings as a symbol of power as they were previously used in battle.  Although it seems a grand gesture for government meetings, our tour guide said they were quite casual and nice to watch when you can’t sleep.

            Overall, today was filled with adventure, splurging money, and learning local history in the inner city of Belfast.  It gave me a wider context in which the government works along with an appreciation for the local art and artists who were so inviting and encouraging to us.  This easily won’t be a one-time excursion into the city center.