‘Believe that a further shore is reachable from here.’-Seamus Heaney

I have always wanted to visit Northern Ireland. Part of it is because I am a proud Irish American (my grandparents were immigrants) but also because you used to not be able to go. I visited Ireland when I was in seventh grade, it was great but a cloud hung over the entire trip as ‘The Troubles’ were still ongoing and we were told to use caution and not mention we had come from the U.K.

Following the Easter Uprising and the creation of the Republic of Ireland in 1919, Northern Ireland was partitioned off. This would lead to a period of ‘The Troubles,’ a, often violent, divide in the country between Irish Republicans (those who wanted a unified nation) and Loyalists (those who want to remain part of the United Kingdom). The Irish Republican Army took increasingly violent actions throughout the 60s, 70s, and 80s. The Good Friday Agreement finally ended nearly a century of conflict and Northern Ireland would remain part of the U.K. but an open border with Ireland (this agreement actually added a lot of complications to the British leaving the EU and the open border remains).

When I made plans for this trip, I knew Northern Ireland would be a part of this journey. Not just because of my deep Irish roots or my love (for lack of a better word) of Titanic but also to finally go somewhere that was once a war zone and enjoy the beauty. Aside, I HIGHLY recommend Derry Girls-which takes place during the end of The Troubles and is both funny and highlights the conflict, the film Belfast-Kenneth Branagh’s autobiographical film about his family being forced to leave, and the play The Ferryman which looks at the impact of the period on a family.

I will have another post exploring other bits of Northern Ireland so this is just about my experiences in the city. I arrived super early, I didn’t have a lot of flight options from Edinburgh so I took the 6 am flight. I took a taxi to one of my splurges, staying at the Titanic Hotel, which was converted from the old White Star Line offices. It was the off season so I did get a fantastic deal and was very posh! Since it was about 7:30 am and I couldn’t check in, I ate breakfast at the hotel, left my luggage, and then walked into the city. The hotel was about a mile from the city center, so I just walked.

Belfast is very walkable but they also have a tram. The city center has lots of shops, both chains and local, and places to eat (pistachio latte from Cafe Nero is amazing). After exploring for a bit, I headed back towards the hotel to visit the Titanic Museum! I highly encourage pre-purchasing tickets and they are timed entry. Even if you are not someone who is obsessed with Titanic, it is worth it. If you spent your childhood watching Robert Ballard’s National Geographic VHS on his discovery of the famed ship on repeat, you’ll LOVE it. The location is where White Star ship left the docks to have their interiors finished further south. You can see the areas where they left port. You walk through the history of the Titanic and its relationship with the city. There is even a gondola ride in the interior that takes you through the ships bowels.

The back half is the most haunting. Images surround you of the ship, the names of those lost, and artifacts taken from the wreckage. Seeing a lone life jacket or violin that played as the ship slipped below the surface was much more emotional than I expected. There is also a massive screen on the floor showing footage of the wreckage as you ‘float’ above it. Across from the museum is the SS Nomadic, the last surviving ship of the White Star Fleet. Your museum ticket gains you entry here. You can also wander around the marina where you will also see one of the many stained glass (?) art installations for Game of Thrones, which was filmed here.

The city is marked by the years of essentially a Civil War. There are partitions throughout the city with art depicting which side (similar to what you can see with the Berlin Wall). You can go to a whole area where there are many of them but I didn’t have a time to go. Where I was able to go was HM Prison Belfast, better known as Crumin Road Gaol. More than 150 years old, it held child prisoners (as young as 7), suffragettes, and many IRA political prisoners (some who would gain later notoriety for their hunger strikes at HM Prison Maze). Let me tell you, outside of its long history as a prison, I have never been so creeped out in my entire life.

Since I was there during the middle of the week, in the morning, I was the only person touring at that time. It was quiet, old, and many people died there. Some rooms I refused to go into (rubber rooms, solitary confinement) and one I couldn’t avoid, an execution chamber that you have to go through and the display didn’t move fast enough. I was so uncomfortable and because the museum is one way, I had to go through some of these chambers and just got some bad vibes. It is unsurprising to know the place is, allegedly, a paranormal hotspot (I saw that they have a paranormal experience for Halloween and I can’t even imagine). I am not saying I believe in such things but I am not surprised. Once you move through the interior, you enter into the courtyard. Surrounded by massive walls and that it was overcast, it was very depressing. Then you reach the part of the tour (which throughout includes areas of audio narration by Jamie Dornan) where you see where men were buried into the walls. So if this wasn’t quite enough for my psyche, I went to exit through the gift shop and it was locked. I did start to panic, not because I couldn’t get in but that I was going to have to go back through the jail to get out. Fortunately, I was seen on the security camera and they came to unlock the gate before I went into a full on emotional breakdown.

This is not to say that I regret going, I don’t. I am glad I was able to experience this day and, while I don’t condone terrorism/violence of any kind, I do believe that Northern Ireland should be part of Ireland, a unified country. But if you go, go with people. I mean, you can go solo but make sure others are around. And by others, not the ghosts that haunt the halls.