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 10th 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 12th 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.