Looking through the Derry city walls
I can't believe I'm finally writing again — hey, I moved! The school year just started! — no more excuses!
After my week in Donegal, I continued exploring as I traveled to Northern Ireland. Though I'd been to Ireland before, I'd never gone to the North, and I felt that my understanding of the Irish experience was incomplete. My five days in Derry/Londonderry* and Belfast were some of the most incredible travel experiences I've had. The experiences have stayed with me as I've continued to reflect on and pray about everything I learned there.
Even before I came to Ireland, my experiences and relationships over the past year have encouraged me to reflect on identity, community, and commonality. I've asked myself whether embracing my Irish-American identity and celebrating my heritage necessarily mean excluding others. In the U.S., this debate is mostly internal and often abstract. In Northern Ireland, it took on a more immediate nature.
But first, let me tell you all of the wonderful things about Derry! I arrived on a Saturday afternoon, still high on life after my week at Oideas Gael. Another of my classmates was headed to visit Derry, too, so we explored the city together. The sky was dappled with sun and clouds, and the changing light made the city even more intriguing. We headed first to the ancient city walls,1 where we were greeted enthusiastically by a volunteer Derry/Londonderry Ambassador. His welcome was the first of many we would experience in the city from some of the warmest, kindest people I've encountered on my travels.
The Guildhall
As we walked along the walls, we could see the sun glinting off the River Foyle and the Adirondack-green hills of the Republic of Ireland in the distance. There were families walking and cycling by the Guildhall (city hall) and along the river. Colorful posters were up celebrating the city's appointment as the EU City of Culture 2013 and host of the All-Ireland Fleadh.2 When I remember Derry, I think of the pink and coral posters against the grey stone and foggy green.
While I was in Derry, I was able to fill in gaps in my knowledge of the history of Northern Ireland. Although I followed the news about The Troubles while I was growing up, I couldn't have explained the Plantation of Ulster or the Relief of Londonderry,3 or their impact on Northern Ireland today. Three things changed that: touring the city's walls, an excellent exhibit at the Guildhall, and a walking tour with a local guide that my friend and I snuck along behind.
I'll spare you the history lesson because I'm hardly an expert, but I'd definitely encourage you to learn more. (Check out the footnotes below.) But the history lesson I had gave me a lot to reflect on, and it wasn't all easy. And what is this blog if not somewhat uneasy reflections?
Two different views from the Derry city walls
POWER
No one man should have all that power. ...
You got the power to let power go?
I couldn't have said it better than Kanye.
In my limited understanding, I would have said that the British seized Ireland for reasons of greed first and religion second. But I learned that the hundreds of years of conflict were about power and fear. As I read the stories of the characters in the Plantation of Ulster and the uprisings and intrigue that followed, I saw the way they were driven by a fearful desire to hold onto their power and their positions. The British were so keen on holding onto Ireland because strongholds there would protect their access to the Atlantic against encroaching French and Spanish forces and influence. A young earl, only 14, made a deal with the British because he felt threatened by a powerful uncle who opposed them. And while I'd always thought of the conflict in terms of Catholic and Protestant, the reality was more nuanced. Dissenters (Presbyterians) faced the same discriminations as Catholics; the issue wasn't theology, it was loyalty to the Crown. Penal laws punished both Catholics and Dissenters in order to weed out those who weren't loyal to the Church of England4 and its Supreme Governor.
The fear of losing power is so central to the human experience that I'm sure you could name a dozen other examples out of hand. In this case, as in so many others, the fear of losing power has disastrous consequences. Here, it created centuries of conflict and bred an environment of distrust. In notorious dictatorships like North Korea and Zimbabwe, it leads to starvation. In our personal lives, the scale is smaller, but the results can be heartbreaking: ruptured relationships and dreams not followed. One of the least proud moments in my life was when, as a somewhat unpopular middle school student, I joined in making fun of girls who were even less popular than me because I wanted to cement my status as only somewhat unpopular. To me, the saddest consequence of Northern Ireland's power plays is the hate that was fostered between ordinary people who had more in common than not - ordinary, working and middle class families who happen to be Irish, British, or Ulster-Scots.
Two peak-roofed buildings
I also thought about my own family history. As a partly-Irish-American Catholic with melting-pot roots, I've always identified with the native Irish. But hearing about the settlers of the Plantation of Ulster, I thought about my own Dutch ancestors who came to New Netherlands to settle. I wondered how they were like the Scottish and English settlers of Ulster. What stories and motivations did they have in common? How did my ancestors perceive the Mohawk and Algonquin people they encountered? How did they treat and, presumably, mistreat them?
Mural of the Bloody Sunday massacre
Irish language mural in the Brandywell neighborhood.
At the Guildhall exhibit, tv screens displayed interviews with Derry residents. I slipped on the headset for the final interveiw question, "What is the legacy of the Plantation of Ulster?" I'll never forget the answer given by a woman named Janet:
"The legacy is that we're both still here. Both communities are still here and we have to live with one another." She went on to say that living together meant listening to one another, and that her sincere efforts to listen to her neighbors from the other side of the divide had forever changed her perspective and allowed her to understand things she never thought she'd understand.
Hands Across the Divide sculpture at the foot of the Craigavon bridge, over the River Foyle.
I was surprised at how much the legacy of the Troubles is immediate and present in Derry. I didn't get the impression that the people of Derry wanted to ignore them or pretend they didn't happen. It seemed that everyone that I met had lost someone in the Troubles. But in acknowledging the Troubles, it seemed to me, the community was acknowledging their hope for peace.
The Peace Bridge is a new footbridge that connects the Protestant Waterside neighborhood to the rest of the city; as the sun set on my first day in Derry I saw teenagers dashing and skateboarding across the bridge between the two places. The St. Columba trail is a network of important sites from the life of St. Columba, who ministered to the people of Derry in the 6th Century; it included Catholic, Church of Ireland, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches. The keystone of the trail was a sculpture of St. Columba releasing doves and a beautiful prayer for peace. It left me with a feeling of hope for peace, and reassurance that the world is full of so many people of goodwill.
More reflections on Belfast to come!
Footnotes:
* The name of the city is hotly contested. Derry is the original name of the city; it was renamed Londonderry to honor the contribution of trade guilds from the City of London during the Plantation of Ulster. Today, you can reveal your loyalties by calling the city Derry or Londonderry; its name in official publications is Derry/Londonderry. While I was there, I ended up deciding to refer to the city as Derry because 1) it's simpler than saying Derry/Londonderry and 2) it's the original name of the city.
1. Derry is the only completely walled city in Ireland. The walls were built in the 17th century.
2. The All-Ireland Fleadh is an annual gathering and competition of musicians, dancers, and so on.
3. Ulster is one of the four traditional provinces of Ireland. During the Plantation of Ulster, the British Monarchy secured its hold on Ireland by granting land to English and Scottish people and "planting" settlers there. For easy to understand information, read more at www.plantationofulster.org. It's published by the Ulster-Scots Agency.
4. Churches in the Anglican Communion are called "Church of England" in England and "Church of Ireland" in Ireland.
