N. Ireland - August 5 - Belfast

Our first ever trip to Northern Ireland started in Belfast. After an early morning flight and arrival, we walked (of course) around Center City Belfast and visited St. Anne’s Cathedral (very cool) and Craft NI, a maker workshop and gallery where we chatted with a young luthier. (A luthier is someone who makes stringed instruments.) He was working on his latest guitar and had a couple of examples of his amazing craftsmanship on hand. In the afternoon, we went on a Political Walking Tour where we learned about the history of The Troubles in Northern Ireland and the street war between the Protestants and the Catholics. It is interesting to note that the clash was really about politics and civil rights, and really had nothing to do with religion - other than that religion was a clear dividing line. In one sentence, the essence of the conflict is that the British (Protestants) had invaded and conquered Northern Ireland and had been suppressing the original inhabitants the Irish (Catholics) for hundreds of years - and the Catholics had finally said, “Enough is enough!” The tour itself primarily consisted of walking from one mural/monument to the next and learning about for whom, what, when and why the mural was created. It was fascinating. Things are clearly MUCH better than they were just a couple of decades ago, but there is still some tension in the air in Belfast. Hopefully, peace will continue to prevail. On Wednesday evening, we attended the Fleadh (pronounced “flah”) at Belfast City Hall, which is a massive music festival that happens every year in Ireland. This is the first time that it was hosted in Belfast. There were performers literally playing all over Belfast with the “main event” going on all day at City Hall. One of the coolest things to see where young children with their flutes, fiddles, banjos, accordions and voices busking for tips on every street corner. It was wild.