Coe May Term in Northern Ireland

Home!

2009-06-06T10:30:00.004-05:00

Around 10:00 p.m. CDT on Thursday we arrived back in Cedar Rapids after approximately 20 hours in transit. We started the morning with a four-hour bus ride from Galway to Dublin Airport. Our flight from Dublin to Chicago went smoothly, and everyone seemed to enjoy the wide selection of movies individually available through the in-flight entertainment system. The last leg of our trip was a van ride from O'Hare back to campus. Our arrival back at Coe marked the end of a successful trip and course!

Failte go Galliamh

2009-06-06T09:57:00.003-05:00

The River Corrib winding through Galway.

Sailboats on Galway Bay.

On the beach in Salthill.

Traditional music in Tig Coili.

Curry cheese chips make everyone happy.

On Tuesday morning we travelled to the final desitnation on our itinerary, the bustling city of Galway on Ireland's west coast. Galway is a vibrant university town that serves as a gateway to Connemara, the Burren, the Arann Islands, and the Irish-speaking areas of the west. Galway has historically been an important port (Columbus stopped here before leaving for the Americas) and is currently serving as a stopover for the Volvo Ocean Race.

After a short walking tour of Galway's city centre and cathedral, we headed to the National University of Ireland, Galway, for a roundtable discussion with Anna-Marie and Dr. Shane Darcy. The Darcys - longtime friends of Sara's and mine - are both from the Republic of Ireland but lived for several years in Derry. The provided an interesting perspective on the impact of the conflict on those living on the border or far from the border, as well as the experience of being from "the South" and living and working in "the North."

Tuesday evening and Wednesday were free, and everyone enjoyed the continued good weather. A large contingent of students took a bus trip to the Cliffs of Moher on Wednesday afternoon, while others explored Galway or walked the Salthill promenade along Galway Bay. After a group dinner on Wednesday, we spent our final night in Ireland experiencing Galway's celebrated music and nightlife.

Connemara

2009-06-01T18:25:00.005-05:00

Taking photos of Kylemore Abbey.

Photo op on board our glass-bottom boat cruise.

View of Connemara from Ballynakill Bay.

Walking along the road near Derryinver.

Killary Harbour at 10:45 p.m.

Our stretch of luck continued as we awoke this morning to another brilliant blue sky. The early part of the day was open, and everyone headed outside to take advantage of the warm, sunny weather. Most of the students hired a mini-bus for a trip to the beach, while a few others hiked the famine road along the fjord. All appeared to be pleasantly worn-out by the sun and breeze by the time they returned to the hostel mid-afternoon.

In the late afternoon we embarked on a group outing to the small village of Derryinver, stopping en route at Kylemore Abbey, one of the most beautiful buildings in Ireland. At Derryinver we visited a delightful family-run maritime museum and took a glass-bottomed boat ride on Ballynakill Bay. The clear water and bright skies afforded us a great view of the floor of the bay and its inhabitants, which included oysters, crabs, rays, and fish.

After another homemade dinner this evening, we had a productive class session. Students brainstormed and shared examples of the psychological concepts related to peace and conflict which they have observed during the past ten days. It is worth noting that we’ve been enjoying nearly eighteen hours of daylight in Ireland, and as we concluded our class at 10:40 p.m. the pink and blue of the western horizon was still reflecting off of Killary Harbour. The evening ended with an incredibly tasty midnight snack of fresh mussels from the harbour caught and prepared by students.

Something most unusual

2009-05-31T18:15:00.005-05:00

Driving through Co. Donegal.

Yeats's grave.

Students sitting along the edge of Killary Harbour, just yards from the front door of our hostel.

View of the Harbour from the famine road.

New friends encountered along the famine road.

Having lived in Ireland for a year and regularly visited the island since, I feel somewhat confident in saying that our group is experiencing something very unique: it has been sunny, dry, and warm the past three days and it appears this trend may continue. Today we departed Derry early in the morning under a brilliant blue sky to commence our drive to Connemara, a rugged area on the west coast of the island. Our drive took us across the beautiful terrain of Donegal before we headed south through Sligo and Mayo, stopping along the way at Drumcliff to visit the gravesite of William Butler Yeats in the shadow of the mountain he called "bulbous Ben Bulben."

Amazingly, the skies were still blue by the time we entered County Galway in the afternoon. This was a particular treat as we arrived at one of the most spectacularly-situated hostels in Ireland, on the south shore of Killary Harbor, Ireland's only fjord. Most of the students spent the much-needed free afternoon basking in the sun along the harbor's edge. Sara and I enjoyed an exhausting but highly scenic hike on a "famine road" hugging the south edge of the harbor which was constucted by locals in exchange for food in the mid-1800s.

This evening we again took advantage of the culinary talents of our group members before meeting to begin analyzing our time in Belfast and Derry.

Bloody Sunday

2009-05-30T19:01:00.007-05:00

Listening to Jon talk about the civil rights issues surrounding housing in Derry in the '70s.

The Bogside from Derry's city walls.

Today provided our most intense glimpse into the conflict in Northern Ireland. We followed Jon McCourt as he retraced his footsteps during the eighteen fateful minutes on January 30, 1972, when fourteen of his neighbors and friends were fatally shot by British troops during a civil rights march in the Bogside, Derry's historically Catholic neighborhood. This was a highly emotional experience as Jon shared both his sense of loss and his sense of optimism for the future, while remind us that the potential for conflict exists wherever basic rights are denied to a portion of the population.

In addition, we visited the memorial hall of the Apprentice Boys of Derry Association which commemorates the actions of thirteen young men in preventing the capture of Derry by King James II in 1688, and walked Derry's city walls, among the best-preserved in all of northwest Europe.

Free Derry

2009-05-29T19:02:00.004-05:00

The public entrance to the PSNI's Waterside Police Station.

Students inspect a PSNI armored Land Rover inside the station compound.

We began this morning with a visit to the Police Service of Northern Ireland's Waterside Station. This fortress-like compound was built in the 1980s with high walls around the perimeter and a main building designed to withstand mortar and grenade attacks. A constable of the PSNI explained the changes in policing during his 15-year career, revealing the current tension between "normal" policing and the ability to quickly respond to potentially violent incidents.

We then toured the Free Derry Museum and met with director John Kelly. The museum provides an outstanding account of the background to the Derry civil rights marches and culminates in the events of January 30, 1972: Bloody Sunday. Our time at the museum was particularly emotional as John shared the story of his younger brother, who was shot and killed by British troops on Bloody Sunday.

After lunch, we stopped by the gallery operated by the three "people's artists" who painted Derry's well-known political mural. One of the artists described the process through which the murals came into being, and told us a bit about the role of public art in resolution of the conflict.

The weather in Derry was fantastic today, and we took advantage of it by grilling out at our hostel. Hopefully the weather will hold out tomorrow for our tour of the city walls and the Bogside.

From Belfast to the Walled City

2009-05-29T03:23:00.003-05:00

Our group at Giant's Causeway.

Participating in an activity at Corrymeela.

Crossing the Carrick-a-Rede bridge.

View of the Irish Sea.

On Thursday we travelled from Belfast to Northern Ireland's second-largest city, with several stops along the way. First, we stopped at the Corrymeela retreat center on the Antrim coast. Corrymeela is a nonprofit that facilitates peace and reconcilation efforts between and within a variety of communities. We spent several hours learning about the organization's perspectives on the conflict and its conflict resolution efforts, and particpating in some of the activities that Corrymeela uses in its work. We ate lunch at Corrymeela's communal dining room and enjoyed the stunning coastal location.

Our next stop was the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge which spans the narrow but deep divide between the mainland and a small, rocky island off the Antrim Coast. Those brave enough to cross the rope bridge were rewarded with spectacular scenery and beautiful views of Irish Sea stretching off to Scotland. We then visited Giant's Causeway, one of the world's most famous natural features and marvelled at its hexagon-shaped basalt columns marching off into the sea.

Along our drive we skirted the city of Coleraine, which provided an unfortunate example that reconciliation in Northern Ireland is not yet complete. On Sunday one man was killed and others injured in Coleraine following violence directed against a Catholic neighborhood by a loyalist mob following a British soccer match. An article describing the situation can be found at http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/dad-died-saving-man-from-mob-14313527.html.

Late in the afternoon we arrived in the city alternatively known as Derry and Londonderry. Because each of these names carries with it political and historical baggage, the welcome signs at its edge simply read "The Walled City." After settling into our hostel, we were treated to Irish stew made by four members of our group, and then headed to a local pub.

Shankill Road

2009-05-27T17:51:00.003-05:00

Shankill Road in West Belfast.

Our group listens to our guide on the loyalist side of the peace line.

Loyalist mural honoring the UDA.

Today we examined another perspective of the conflict as we travelled to the strongly loyalist neighborhood along Shankill Road. Though just a couple hundred yards from nationalist Falls Road, which we toured yesterday, we observed the clear physical and psychological divide between these two areas, and gained additional insight into the background and attitudes of the players in the Northern Ireland conflict.

We met with a former UVF member who provided a very honest and personal glimpse into his part in the conflict. He described his motivations for becoming involved in loyalist paramilitary activity, his conviction for four murders for which he served eighteen years in prison until being released following the Good Friday Agreement, and the effort to bring peace to Northern Ireland in the past decade. We then took a tour of important sites along Shankill Road and observed the more numerous murals on this side of the peace line.

After a light lunch during which we met with another former UVF member, we visited Alternatives, a community-based restorative justice program operating across Northern Ireland. The staff described their efforts to end the cycle of violence by specifically focusing on the punishments traditionally meted out by paramilitary groups policing their own areas.

Aside from a short debriefing and dinner we had a free night to rest, recreate, and prepare for our trip to Derry tomorrow.

Falls Road

2009-05-26T18:12:00.010-05:00

West Belfast street dead-ending at the "peace line."

A section of the peace line winding off toward the hills.

Falls Road mural commemorating hunger striker Bobby Sands.

The Republican Plot in Milltown Cemetary.

Today was a busy day. We left Stranmillis to walk across the city to Falls Road, West Belfast's traditionally nationalist neighborhood. We toured the neighborhood led by two locals, one of whom had been actively involved with the IRA and had spent several years in a British prison. The story of the conflict became very real for us as we walked through areas that had once been the site of battles between paramilitary groups and British security forces. We viewed the murals of Falls Road, observed the formidible "peace line" separating the neighborhood from Shankill Road, and visited the sites of many significant events of the Troubles.

After the tour and lunch in an Irish cultural center, we walked to the offices of a Belfast nonprofit organization called Healing through Remembering. HTR seeks to bring together a cross-section of community members in an attempt to address the legacy of the conflict in and about Northern Ireland. The meeting was very relvant to the substantive content of our course, and provided an opportunity to see how others have engaged with the psychological theories of peace and conflict in the Northern Ireland context.

Having walked nearly six miles, we felt justified rewarding ourselves with dinner at Cutter's Wharf, a pub near Stranmillis. This was a working dinner, however, as we engaged in roundtable discussions regarding the day's events and their relationship with both the conflict and with the relevant psychological theories. Not surpisingly, everyone seemed to head off to bed early as we will have another full day tomorrow visiting Shankill Road.

Exploring Belfast

2009-05-25T20:12:00.003-05:00

Belfast City Hall and Continental Market in the rain.

Because today was a bank holiday in Northern Ireland we did not have any formal tours or events scheduled. Students took advantage of the free day to explore Northern Ireland's main city on their own. Common destinations included Belfast Castle and the city centre, where the Continental Market was underway on the grounds of City Hall. A number of us enjoyed a literary walking tour in the city centre this evening. Many of the students had opportunities to interact with the locals and to hear a bit about their perspectives on their hometown and the events of the recent past.

Crossing the Border

2009-05-25T05:03:00.006-05:00

On the grounds of Stranmillis, our home in Belfast.

After two nights in Dublin, we departed by bus on Sunday afternoon for Belfast. Most of the students slept as we quietly rolled across the border from the Republic of Ireland into Northern Ireland. The border, which had a strong security presence just a dozen years ago, is now barely discernable.

Having shared dorm rooms at the busy hostel in Dublin, the students were very pleased to settle into private rooms on the verdant grounds of Stranmillis University College on Belfast's south side. We quickly got down to business, walking to Queen's University for an introductory talk by Tony Novosel of the British Council's Business Education Initiative. This was followed by a presentation on inquiries and accountability regarding the Troubles and the merits of a reconciliation commission model in Northern Ireland.

Baile Atha Cliath

2009-05-24T18:46:00.004-05:00

Inside the west wing of Kilmainham Gaol.

Saturday was a free day in Dublin (Baile Atha Cliath in the Irish language). Some members of our group headed to Kilmainham Gaol with Sara. Kilmainham Gaol was built in the late 18th century as a state-of-the art prison and has a unique place in Irish history as it housed figures from Ireland's major independence movements, including the leaders of the 1916 Rising, most of whom were executed on prison grounds.

Others in our group walked to St. James's Gate with Brian to learn about the brewing and marketing of Ireland's most famous beverage and to take in spectacular views from the 360-degree observation room atop the Guinness Storehouse. Much of this group made the trek out to visit Kilmainham Gaol the following morning as well.

Later in the day we were fortunate to experience a special treat. Leinster, one of the four provinces of Ireland and the one in which Dublin is located, was playing in the finals match of the Heineken Cup, Europe's rugby championship. Surrounded by enthusiastic Leinster supporters in a local pub, we watched the home side defeat Leicester (an English team) 19-16. As you can imagine, it was a big night in Dublin!

The Kohawks Have Landed

2009-05-23T03:41:00.004-05:00

Dublin's General Post Office (GPO), the focal point of the 1916 Easter Rising.

The River Liffey from outside our hostel.

Our hostel on Bachelors Walk.

The students in the International Bar at the beginning of our walking tour of central Dublin.

Sixteen sleepy-eyed Coe students and Dr. Sara Farrell arrived in a drizzly Dublin early Friday morning and made their way to the Abbey Court Hostel on Bachelors Walk, which is centrally located just off of O’Connell Street along the River Liffey.

After briefly settling into the hostel, our group took a walking tour of central Dublin focusing on the events of the 1916 Easter Rising, Irish independence, and the partition of Northern Ireland. Our tour guide, Lorcan Collins, provided a mix of humor and history and pointed out that James Connolley, one of the leaders of the Rising, spoke in Cedar Rapids in the early 1900s. By the end of the tour, the skies over Dublin were sunny.

Following a short lunch break, we walked through the grounds of Trinity College and viewed the “bog people” at the National Museum of Archeology and History. After a filling pasta dinner prepared by four students in the hostel kitchen, the evening was free, with some venturing out to explore Dublin’s nightlife and others heading off to bed.

Different perspectives

2009-05-19T05:36:00.003-05:00

On Sunday I visited the Imperial War Museum in London, which presents the history of the British armed forces. The museum's exhibit on recent conflicts includes a history of the British Army in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Above is the museum's brief description of "Bloody Sunday."

A preview (hopefully)

2009-05-10T13:45:00.006-05:00

Greetings from Galway on the west coast of Ireland, where I've been attending a seminar the past week. I'll be travelling a bit more in England and Ireland before meeting up with the group when they arrive in Dublin the morning of the 22nd.

After a week of rain, wind, and occasional hail, this weekend has been stunning - sunny, dry, and light until 10:00 p.m. Hopefully the group will be treated to this kind of weather when we arrive in Galway at the end of our trip. That happens to coincide with the Volvo Ocean Race (http://www.volvooceanracegalway.ie/), so Galway should be even more vibrant and lively than usual.

Here are a few photos from my stroll along the Salthill prom earlier today.

Welcome!

2009-04-08T20:00:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the official blog for Coe's 2009 May Term Peace and Conflict class. We will leave for Dublin on May 21 and will be spending time in Dublin, Belfast, Derry, Galway, and in beautiful Connemara.

We will be posting to this blog occasionally until our departure and will post every day after our arrival in Dublin.