Somewhere over the Rainbow

We saw our very first rainbow in Ireland the other day. I snapped this picture really quickly because it was raining. It is amazing how brilliant the colors were.

Coincidentally, we were about to go on a trip that was similar to going from Kansas to Oz

Belfast, capitol of Northern Ireland and seat of many of the Troubles and unrest that has plagued Ireland for centuries.

I took this picture of some of the local tough guys in Belfast.

Ok, so they are really the Munchkins from the Lollipop Guild who welcome Dorothy to Oz...but tell me they dont look Irish !

We took a pleasant 2 hour train ride from Dublin to Belfast, and then took a bus tour of the city.
Some of the more fascinating stuff of course came as we drove through the different Unionist & Republican (Protestant & Catholic) neighborhoods with their barbed wire barricades and surreal political murals

Tribute to Bobby Sands

Sinn Fein party HQ

Republican / Catholic memorial in the Falls Road neighborhood

above -Memorial to the Hunger Strikers

Republicans want Northern Ireland to be part of the Republic of Ireland, and not part of Great Britain. They consider themselves Irish and are generally Catholic.

Unionists want Northern Ireland to remain part of Great Britain. They are descendants of the English & Scots who came to Ireland during the Plantation and are generally Protestants.

There has been peace in Ireland since the Good Friday agreement of 1998

It still feels like an uneasy peace, there are still barbed wire fences & barricades between neighborhoods.

Murals serve as constant reminders of many years of unrest.

They still put up new murals, like this one about Iraq, Bush & Oil

I cant imagine living in a place totally slathered with propaganda.

The 36th Ulster Division - A division made up entirely of Loyalist Irish during World War I. They suffered 80% casualties at the Battle of the Somme.

Notice the tower in the background. The British Army had towers around with cameras to keep watch on the different troubled areas. The British Army moved out for good just three years ago.

The old courthouse, where criminals & political prisoners were tried.

and the jail where they were kept

Our trip to Northern Ireland wasnt all doom & gloom...more pics to come in another post

The landscape of Ireland is breathtaking

Although we didn't find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow...we did find a cup of tea, which on a chilly Irish day, is just as good.

-Chris