Thursday, April 21, 2005
The city of walls
In the beginning of my trip I didn't know, wether I would make it to Northern Ireland as well. But as my tour planning took shape, it became clear, that I would leave out the south-east of Ireland on this trip and return to Dublin via the north coast. There was also this Finnish guy called called Nino I met at the Hostel in Glen Columbkille and he wanted to go to Derry too, so I offered him a lift. We went there together on wednesday, taking in some Donegal countryside on the way as well.
The fourth-largest city of the Ireland lies about 8 miles behind the border between the republic and the north and is officially called Londonderry. But the Irish commonly call it by its old name, Derry, and even the road signs in the republic have it that way. The reason is, that Derry was destroyed completely by an Irish (catholic) army and was then rebuilt by english settlers from London. The new english inhabitants surrounded the new city with fortified walls that have survived - with only minor alterations - until today.
Derry was beleagured in 1690 by the forces of James II. in the course of his attempt to recapture the British crown he had lost in the Glorious Revolution to William II. The loyalist forces and inhabitants of the city withstood the siege despite the death of about a quarter of its inhabitants by famine or diseases until they were relieved by a protestant army. The memory of this famous siege is almost as important for the relations between protestants and catholics in Ireland as the Battle of Boyne in which James II. was finally defeated. Derry has been a divided city ever since.
Derry consequently played another sad role in the Irish conflict. In 1972 British forces opened fire on a body of peaceful demonstrants, who were protesting against the practice of imprisonment of alleged mebers of the IRA without trial. 14 people were killed on that day, the 14th January, which has since then become known as the Bloody Sunday. This was the beginning of the Troubles, the armed conflict between the IRA and the loyalists and the British bordering on outright civil war.
Today you can still see many signs of this conflict and the division lines in the city. There are the guard tower and the fences around the british military casern near Bishop's Gate at the southern side of the city walls. There are the high fences around the protestant quarter Fountain Area and also fences between the houses below the western wall which faces the catholic quarter Bogside. The river Foyle also acts as a division line between the predominantly catholic populated areas on the western side and the protestant ones on the eastbank. Finally there are the so-called Murals, meter-high paintings covering entire sides of houses. They don't show the same blatantly propagandistic paroles and scenes as the ones in Belfast but their drastic imagery quite clearly expresses the political intent.
The fourth-largest city of the Ireland lies about 8 miles behind the border between the republic and the north and is officially called Londonderry. But the Irish commonly call it by its old name, Derry, and even the road signs in the republic have it that way. The reason is, that Derry was destroyed completely by an Irish (catholic) army and was then rebuilt by english settlers from London. The new english inhabitants surrounded the new city with fortified walls that have survived - with only minor alterations - until today.
The ramp on the eastern part of the city walls
Derry was beleagured in 1690 by the forces of James II. in the course of his attempt to recapture the British crown he had lost in the Glorious Revolution to William II. The loyalist forces and inhabitants of the city withstood the siege despite the death of about a quarter of its inhabitants by famine or diseases until they were relieved by a protestant army. The memory of this famous siege is almost as important for the relations between protestants and catholics in Ireland as the Battle of Boyne in which James II. was finally defeated. Derry has been a divided city ever since.
A view onto Fountain area from the wall
Derry consequently played another sad role in the Irish conflict. In 1972 British forces opened fire on a body of peaceful demonstrants, who were protesting against the practice of imprisonment of alleged mebers of the IRA without trial. 14 people were killed on that day, the 14th January, which has since then become known as the Bloody Sunday. This was the beginning of the Troubles, the armed conflict between the IRA and the loyalists and the British bordering on outright civil war.
Bishop's Gate
Today you can still see many signs of this conflict and the division lines in the city. There are the guard tower and the fences around the british military casern near Bishop's Gate at the southern side of the city walls. There are the high fences around the protestant quarter Fountain Area and also fences between the houses below the western wall which faces the catholic quarter Bogside. The river Foyle also acts as a division line between the predominantly catholic populated areas on the western side and the protestant ones on the eastbank. Finally there are the so-called Murals, meter-high paintings covering entire sides of houses. They don't show the same blatantly propagandistic paroles and scenes as the ones in Belfast but their drastic imagery quite clearly expresses the political intent.
The catholic quarter of Bogside established its own, IRA controlled administration at the end of the sixties, calling itself "Free Derry"
Another catholic mural in Bogside
My best wishes to the parents
Just learned from my brother that Bettina, the wife of my friend Daniel gave birth to their first child, Silas Benjamin, the day before yesterday. My best wishes to the - certainly very proud - parents! I will drink to the health of your son and his bright future! I wish, I could see him and the happy couple as soon as possible but I'll have to wait 'til I'm back.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
On the edge of civilisation
I stayed in Galway until monday morning. I decided that it was time I actually saw some real countryside and headed off to Donegal. Donegal lies in the north-western of the island. It belongs to the province of Ulster but is one of the three counties of Ulster that remained in the Republic of Ireland. It is one of the least populated areas of Ireland. The landscape is quite spectactular, though, including the highest cliffs in Europe (Slieve League).
Because of its remoteness, the hostels I stayed in were a rather a good bargain, being cheaper and run by their proprietors in a very friendly manner. I especially recommend the hostel in Glen Columbkille: it has probably the best view from the living room that you can get of all hostels in Ireland (there is a hostel on the Isle of Skye in Scotland on the Trotternish peninsulae that that has an equally great view).
Unfortunately coming across an internet terminal in Donegal was rather diffucult. That's why I didn't get around to writing something new for two days. I'm staying now in a Hostel in Derry, Northern Ireland where you can use the computer for free but only for fifteen minutes. So you have to wait another day for more stories about what happened in the last days.
Because of its remoteness, the hostels I stayed in were a rather a good bargain, being cheaper and run by their proprietors in a very friendly manner. I especially recommend the hostel in Glen Columbkille: it has probably the best view from the living room that you can get of all hostels in Ireland (there is a hostel on the Isle of Skye in Scotland on the Trotternish peninsulae that that has an equally great view).
Unfortunately coming across an internet terminal in Donegal was rather diffucult. That's why I didn't get around to writing something new for two days. I'm staying now in a Hostel in Derry, Northern Ireland where you can use the computer for free but only for fifteen minutes. So you have to wait another day for more stories about what happened in the last days.
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Useless facts about Ireland Part I
- Irish people say "Sorry" even more often than the British.
- Three people were shot in Dublin in the last fourteen days. The Gardai attributes these incidents to an ongoing gang warfare in northern Dublin.
- Irish males are usually built broadly, with round faces and wear their hair rather short.
- A pint of Guiness, Smithwick's Harp or whatever usually costs between 3,20 and 4,00 € in a pub (Remember a pint is slightly less than 600 ml).
- The price of diesel has risen lately above the price of unleaded fuel. Both are currently about one euro per litre.
- Irish females often have snub noses and more often than not they have dark hair. Their taste in dressing / make up for a night out is not as bad as the english, but sometimes gets close. I like 'em.
Irish Instruments Part II: the mandolin
I talked shortly to the mandolin player in the Crane, a pub in Galway were they have regular Irish folk sessions, and asked him some questions about this instrument, because I have never tried to play one myself.
The mandolin looks a bit like a lute and has 4 pairs of strings, tuned like a violin, i.e. G-D-A-E. The strings in each pair have the same pitch. This makes it very hard to tune it and it goes out of tune very easily. The mandolin player told me, sometimes he has to retune it when somebody opens the door of the pub.
The mandolin is used in Irish folk either as a solo instrument or for accompaniment with chords. For most chords you need only one finger, so it should be pretty easy to learn enough to play a few tunes. By its high pitch and sharp sound it can be distinguished very well amongst the other instruments which makes it suited for playing melodic riffs better than the accoustic guitar.
The mandolin looks a bit like a lute and has 4 pairs of strings, tuned like a violin, i.e. G-D-A-E. The strings in each pair have the same pitch. This makes it very hard to tune it and it goes out of tune very easily. The mandolin player told me, sometimes he has to retune it when somebody opens the door of the pub.
The mandolin is used in Irish folk either as a solo instrument or for accompaniment with chords. For most chords you need only one finger, so it should be pretty easy to learn enough to play a few tunes. By its high pitch and sharp sound it can be distinguished very well amongst the other instruments which makes it suited for playing melodic riffs better than the accoustic guitar.
Galway
This merry little town lies on the western coast of Ireland, to the north of Limerick and Shannon. It is very popular with tourists, street musicans and the French. It is also a University town, wich means lots of pubs, lots of music and many pretty female students from abroad ;-) I liked it here almost from the beginning.
This time I decided to go straight for the smallest hostel in town and my choice turned out to be quite fortunate. The Salmon Weir Hostel has only about 30 beds, the staff is mostly young people from New Zealand and they are very friendly. You can also rent a bed on a weekly basis for just 9 EUR a day. There are, in fact, a number of people, who use the hostel as a temporary home while looking for work.
I almost immediately got in contact with some of the other guest and we went out together in the evening evening to a pub with Irish music.
Next day, I kinda took it slow and just walked around the city and stumbled into every book shop I could find. Amongst others I bought a copy of the novel Sideways, which has recently made it into a high acclaimed movie. I have since read about half of it and I really like it. Can't wait to see the film now.
In the afternoon I went with the car to a little village outside of Galways called Menlo where there is an old Castle lying in ruins. I saw it from the other side of the river when I went running in the morning and it looked like a rather nice, lonely place. I drove up a very narrow farm track, parked the car and then climbed over a stone wall to get down to the riverside. I spent an hour there very comfortably, sitting in the sun, reading and playing on my tin whistle.
When I went back and jumped from the wall, I slipped on a stone and fell full length into a big puddle. My entire right side was soaked and brown with mud. I took of my jacket, pullover and jeans and drove back to the hostel in just underpants and T-Shirt. What a blessing, I had the car! (Of course I put the dirty jeans back on when I went from the car to the hostel)
In the evening I went out with a french guy from the hostel again to see a locally renowned band in a pub called Roisin Dubh. It is pronuced like "russian dub". They played rock covers from Pink Floyd to Madness to Beatles and they were really cool. A lot of beautiful chicks (err, sorry, I mean "girls" of course) were there and I talked to a girl from Toulouse, who had a very cute smile. I think she used me to get away from an Irish guy, who was trying to chat her up.
This time I decided to go straight for the smallest hostel in town and my choice turned out to be quite fortunate. The Salmon Weir Hostel has only about 30 beds, the staff is mostly young people from New Zealand and they are very friendly. You can also rent a bed on a weekly basis for just 9 EUR a day. There are, in fact, a number of people, who use the hostel as a temporary home while looking for work.
I almost immediately got in contact with some of the other guest and we went out together in the evening evening to a pub with Irish music.
Next day, I kinda took it slow and just walked around the city and stumbled into every book shop I could find. Amongst others I bought a copy of the novel Sideways, which has recently made it into a high acclaimed movie. I have since read about half of it and I really like it. Can't wait to see the film now.
In the afternoon I went with the car to a little village outside of Galways called Menlo where there is an old Castle lying in ruins. I saw it from the other side of the river when I went running in the morning and it looked like a rather nice, lonely place. I drove up a very narrow farm track, parked the car and then climbed over a stone wall to get down to the riverside. I spent an hour there very comfortably, sitting in the sun, reading and playing on my tin whistle.
When I went back and jumped from the wall, I slipped on a stone and fell full length into a big puddle. My entire right side was soaked and brown with mud. I took of my jacket, pullover and jeans and drove back to the hostel in just underpants and T-Shirt. What a blessing, I had the car! (Of course I put the dirty jeans back on when I went from the car to the hostel)
In the evening I went out with a french guy from the hostel again to see a locally renowned band in a pub called Roisin Dubh. It is pronuced like "russian dub". They played rock covers from Pink Floyd to Madness to Beatles and they were really cool. A lot of beautiful chicks (err, sorry, I mean "girls" of course) were there and I talked to a girl from Toulouse, who had a very cute smile. I think she used me to get away from an Irish guy, who was trying to chat her up.
