Oh how knowledge humbles us all

I do apologise. This is going to be a ridiculously long post.

I came to Ireland solely because Zoe wanted to go. When she said we should plan it in, in my easy going way I thought 'sure, why not, sounds like fun.' I had no real expectations of what it would be like, and no background knowledge of the area.

Today has been one of the biggest learning experiences of my life.

I knew that Ireland was divided into two parts. There is the Irish Republic, which works on the Euro, and Northern Ireland, part of the UK and hence using the Pound. That was the full extent of my knowledge. Irish history isn't considered relevant enough to Australia to be taught in school, which is sad considering how great a percentage of the population has Irish heritage. Or maybe it is taught in school and I was doing my usual thing of not listening. Either way, I knew nothing further about Ireland.

I'll start way back at King James II, who took the English throne in 1685. Cromwell, who was obviously of disasterous significance to Irish history, came before, but I don't like the stories about him so will save writing them up for later. So, James had a legitimate claim to the throne, but was dimissed by the Protestants in 1688 on the basis of being Catholic. Already in those three years he'd already appointed many Catholics to positions of authority, which the Protestants didn't like at all. James went off to France to garner support, while the English throne was taken by William III of Orange, married to James' daughter Mary II. (Instead of having so many numbers, why didn't they just use different names?).

---------------------- Patience... :-)



I really didn't like this mural. See how the rifle follows you as you walk past? For a country that so dearly needs reconcilliation, the effect seems far too intimidating and as such inflamatory. It's not the same as honouring your heroes, which one can respect even if they're generally considered terrorists.

We also stopped at the Peace Wall, inscribed by thousands of visitors and dividing Belfast in a method uncomfortably reminiscent of the Berlin Wall. There were some pretty good quotes on it, some funny, some moving, and some harsh but true. One left by a Canadian which said "You think you've got problems? The Americans steal our fish!"

This next mural depicts the 'H' block of the prison where the famous hunger strike took place. Which I am about to tell you about. Later.