Several days later and we are sitting in the Derry B&B digesting our doses of Irish “troubles”. In Belfast we were thoroughly enthralled with our Black cab city tour where we toured Shankhill and Falls Road areas with Tom our “London” cab driver. Just minutes into the tour and we were walking around the “Protestant” enclave in Belfast taking snaps of the wall murals and wondering how and why these things can happen. Next day we spent a little time in the Ulster museum where we followed another exhibition on Irish history and recent issues. Now we have spent a day or so in Derry where the issues seem more in your face. We had just completed a walking tour of the walled city of Derry and were finishing a coffee when a British band struck up a march in the centre of town and the Derry Apprentices came by exercising their “right”” to march. From their we toured the excellent Tower Museum where we had another dose of the story of the city.
Since “Bloody Sunday” in 1972, Derry has further split along “religious” lines with the Protestant community moving to the other side of the river. We are staying on the “Catholic” Bog side of town. If there is one over riding feeling then it is that the English still have a lot to answer for. Just why Ireland, an island, is still divided into two separate countries is beyond our comprehension and it must only be a matter of time now, perhaps in our lifetimes, before Ireland is one again; as it should be.
Imperialism is well past its use by date and military style marches are events that ought to fade away into history if the world is to move on. Our Irish experience has only re-enforced such thinking.
At another level, all locals we meet are only too helpful and interesting to talk to. Here the people are pleased to be moving on having tours of “troubles” places is a positive development in a slowly moving process. We are having another good trip this year.
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