The Giant's Causeway (Day 9, Part 4 of 5)

 

Our taxis returned us back to our bus and we were headed for the next part of our day - The Giant's Causeway!  This was something that came up frequently while I was researching excursions and there was very good reason for that - it was AMAZING!

The drive from Belfast to the Giant's Causeway took just over an hour, but Richard kept us entertained.  One of his favorite sayings was, "Don't panic."  It was his Irish take on "don't worry."  He also talked about being happily married - "she's happy and I'm married."

 

We had a brief stop to view the Dunluce Castle before we got to the Giant's Causeway.  Dunluce Castle is a now-ruined medieval castle.  The first castle on this sight was built in the 13th century.  Some time in the 18th century the north wall of the residence building collapsed into the sea. The east, west and south walls still stand. 

 

 

 

About 10 minutes later we were at the Giant's Causeway.  Richard parked the bus and told us when we needed to return.  We just took off walking and it seemed there was something new around every curve!

 

According to Wikipedia, the Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption.  Of course the theory is that this happened 50 to 60 million years ago...

The Institute for Creation Research has an excellent explanation.  While evolutionist scientists believe that the lava could not have cooled quickly enough for them to only be a few thousand years old, good scientific research provides an answer, and it has to do with water. 

 

While much heat is removed by simple conduction from the lava to the surrounding rock or air, a surprising amount of heat is removed by water.  The catastrophic event of Noah's Flood provided all the water that was needed.

 

 

According to legend, the columns are the remains of a causeway built by a giant...

 

 

The story goes that the Irish giant, Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn MacCool), from the Fenian Cycle of Gaelic mythology, was challenged to a fight by the Scottish giant Benandonner. Fionn accepted the challenge and built the causeway across the North Channel so that the two could meet...

 

 

In one version of the story, Fionn defeats Benandonner.

 

In another, Fionn hides from Benandonner when he realizes that his foe is much bigger than he is. Fionn's wife, Sadhbh, disguises Fionn as a baby and tucks him in a cradle. When Benandonner sees the size of the "baby," he reckons that its father, Fionn, must be a giant among giants. He flees back to Scotland in fright, destroying the causeway behind him so that Fionn would be unable to chase him down.

 

 

Across the sea, there are identical basalt columns (a part of the same ancient lava flow) at Fingal's Cave on the Scottish isle of Staffa, and it is possible that the story was influenced by this.

 

 

The site first became popular with tourists during the 19th century, particularly after the opening of the Giant's Causeway Tramway.  Visitors can walk over the basalt columns that are at the edge of the sea, a half-mile walk from the entrance of the site.

 

The Organ...

Can you find me in this shot??

 

There are a number of routes to take to enjoy the beauty.

We walked for about 40 minutes before we headed back to the bus.

 

We could have spent an entire day there!  It was so majestic!

 

Have I mentioned the beautiful weather?

We ended up walking just under 3 miles.  We were a happy and hungry duo when we got back to the bus.  Fortunately, Richard had a wonderful lunch place for us.  I'll share the final part of our day in the my next post.

Belfast Taxi Tour (Day 9, Part 3 of 5)

 

As I already mentioned, we added on a taxi tour of Belfast.  I believe about half the people on our bus chose to do this, while the rest spent a couple of hours roaming around Belfast.  This ended up being about six taxis with six passengers in each taxi.  These taxis were driven by both Protestants and Catholics and they took us to both sides of the Belfast "Peace Lines" or "Peace Walls."  This is our taxi driver, Jim, a Protestant.  He gave us the history lesson for the first half of the tour.

 

Here are some definitions that I think might be helpful:

 

Loyalists or unionists were those who were loyal to the United Kingdom, predominantly Protestant,  and wanted Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom.  The main participants in the Troubles were loyalist paramilitaries such as the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Ulster Defense Association (UDA); British state security forces such as the British Army and RUC; and political activists. Loyalists are typically pro-Israel.

 

Nationalists or republicans were those who were mostly Irish Catholics and wanted Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and join a united Ireland.  The main participants in the Troubles were republican paramilitaries such as the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA).   Nationalists are typically pro-Hamas.  I remember hearing about violence and the IRA, but the more I read, the more I understood that violence occurred from both sides.

 

Our first stop was the Shankill Road Mural.  During the Troubles, Shankill Road was a center of loyalist activity. The modern Ulster Volunteer Force had its beginnings on the Shankill and its first attack occurred on the road on May 7, 1966 when a group of UVF men led by Gusty Spence petrol bombed a Catholic-owned pub. Fire also engulfed the house next door, killing seventy-seven-year-old Protestant widow, Matilda Gould, who lived there

 

This is the Women's Quilt, created by the Lower Shankill Women's Group. 

 

The artwork replaced these two pieces - a contentious paramilitary mural and a depiction of the burning of Protestant homes at the beginning of the Troubles.

This is a new memorial, dedicated in 2021 on the 50th anniversary of the Balmoral Furniture Company bombing.  Four people, including two infants, were killed in the blast that went off without warning on the Shankill Road on December 11, 1971.  It is widely believed that the bombing was carried out by members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) in retaliation for the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) bombing of McGurk's Bar a week earlier, which killed 15 Catholic civilians.

 

Our taxi driver, Jim, had an extensive list of books and films about The Troubles.  He said at one point, "An acceptable level of violence is not peace."  This phrase is from a December 15, 1971 news conference.  British Home Secretary Reginald Maudling commented on the escalation of violence as the Northern Ireland conflict was beginning. Maudling said, "I don't think one can speak of defeating the IRA (Provisional Irish Republican Army), of eliminating them completely, but it is the design of the security forces to reduce their level of violence to something like an acceptable level."

 

 

 

At the top of this list you will see "The Shankill Butchers."  This was a Loyalist gang that was active from 1975 to 1982.  The gang was notorious for kidnapping, torturing and murdering random or suspected Catholic civilians; each was beaten ferociously and had their throat hacked with a butcher's knife. Some were also tortured and attacked with a hatchet. The gang also killed six Ulster Protestants over personal disputes, and two other Protestants mistaken for Catholics.

Our next stop was one of the peace walls on Cupar Way.  Due to the violence of August 1969, the British Army built a Peace Wall along Cupar Way to separate the Shankill and Falls roads, thus keeping the two communities apart. More than 50 years later, the wall is still in place.

 

Although temporary peace walls were built in Belfast in the 1920s and 1930s, the first peace lines of "the Troubles" era were built in 1969, following the outbreak of civil unrest and the 1969 Northern Ireland riots. They were initially built as temporary structures, but due to their effective nature they have become wider, longer, more numerous and more permanent.

 

The wall at Cupar Way, between the Falls and Shankill, stands 45-feet tall, three times higher than the Berlin Wall, and in place for twice as long.  We were encouraged to sign the wall:

We got back in our taxis and it was time to see the other side.

The peace lines range in length from a few hundred meters (yards) to over 5 kilometers (3 mi). They may be made of iron, brick, steel or a combination of the three and are up to 8 meters (25 feet) high. Some have gates in them (sometimes staffed by police) that allow passage during daylight but are closed at night. 

 

 

It was now time for one of the other taxi driver's to speak.  He is a Catholic and his view point is different.  It seemed like there was one thing that both men had in common - hurt.  Hurt for friends and family members.  Hurt over losses and violence they have seen in their lifetimes.  They were never antagonistic towards each other.

Murals on the Falls Road side:

This was a very sobering portion of our trip.  More than a month later I'm still trying to wrap my mind around these events that occurred in my lifetime.