Nendrum and Belfast 3/14

I got up early and had breakfast in the pub while chatting with the owners (I stayed above the pub the night before). They are Irish living in Northern Ireland and clearly not in love with the British but also against any return to the strife of the troubles. 

Nendrum is a very early monastic site, circa 500. Pre-Norman. The site is beautiful, an island in the Lough reached by causeway via two other islands. It must've been amazing back then--it would have been completely isolated. The site was rediscovered because of the round tower. Many of the monastic sites had the round towers but it isn't clear what the purpose was always, and as the information points out, there must've been an important religious or defensive reason to spend the resources to build such an edifice. In this case they don't think it was defensive as the tower would've given them away to the Vikings and anyone else. There's also the remains of the church and several other buildings, one which may have been a space for reading and writing, and small round spaces which were probably living spaces. Those rooms were small but nice sized. I think I might have liked a space that size for just me. 

You can see the outline of one of the round spaces. 

Sundial reconstruction

Notice the thorns on that ivy!

From there I went to Belfast. That was a trip because I must've missed a sign or two and ended up east and had to find my way back...and nearly died because I turned into oncoming traffic. Thank heavens for the small turnout in just the right spot!

I am not sure how but my google map worked even without cellular data and that made it possible for me to find the place I was staying in Belfast. They were very nice and arranged for me to take a tour of the political murals in Belfast, which is one of the things to do. I didn't do the other thing which is visit the Titanic shipyards and visitors center. Anyway the murals. My guide's name was Jimmy and he was an Irish Catholic man who grew up right in the area where some of the worst of the troubles took place--he knew many of the people who died as well. I learned so much about the historical basis of the troubles--all the way back to the 1600s but also the more recent causes such as discrimination based on religion for housing, jobs and police brutality. He explained how the provisional IRA came into being. Things are much better now but the sad thing is that I am not sure what kind of "peace" requires a wall with locking gates, or includes provocative efforts in the part of both sides but especially the loyalist side (British supporters). It's still a mess really just not such a violent one. Jimmy was very clear that he felt everyone behaved badly--all the factions and communities, IRA included--during the troubles even as he was very clear about how the Catholic side took the brunt of the burning and police neglect. 

I didn't take pictures because a) it felt disrespectful and b) frankly the murals themselves are not so impressive especially from an artistic standpoint. They are moreimportant  from a political one. Another thing that occurred to me as we looked at the ones in the Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods was how different they were. The Catholic ones were commemorative and non-aggressive. They recalled people who had died, usually unarmed. They also had quite a few which expressed sympathy for causes other than their own--Palestinian, Leonard Peltier, etc. The Protestant side ones were far more aggressive--they had guns (one pointed a gun right at the Catholic quarter and was clearly visible from it) and celebrated people who openly boasted of killing as many Catholics as possible, in cold blood. Another interesting anecdote is that the Protestant groups arose out of the type of group in the states which we call skinheads--groups that hate anything unlike themselves. Oh and the loyalist paramilitary groups have never been asked to disarm and disband, but the IRA has supposedly decommissioned all its weapons. Definitely a set of problems which will take some time to resolve. Jimmy, the guide, told me he thought that until there was integrated education it would not happen--but the Catholics nearly all send their kids to Catholic school, often Gaelic speaking, while the Protestants send to the public schools which are English speaking. So there's some way to go. 

I think if I were Irish I would definitely be a republican (one who wants a whole Ireland). Apparently republicans say that they live in the north of Ireland instead of Northern Ireland because they don't want to be separate from the rest of Ireland. 

Driving notes. So the roads are very narrow here. Shoulders are nearly unknown. 

Strangford Lough 3/13

I spent the morning looking around Downpatrick, particularly at the cathedral and the Mound of Down. Oh and don't forget St Patrick's grave. The cathedral is a lovely old building (not super old but like 1800s) with regency box pews that are unusual and interesting. It is quite a small cathedral and not so fearsomely decorated as some. Instead it relies on lovely graceful lines, light and color for its beauty. There are some lovely modern touches in the altar area--very clean and streamlined pieces that go well with the airiness of the space. The stained glass windows were well done and showed Patrick's life. I didn't take any pictures of the cathedral or the Mound of Down. Neither seemed like I could do it justice. 

The Mound of Down is a hill which was built up and fortified with earthworks--ditching, basically, by John de Courcy, a Norman knight who wanted some land and decided to do a land grab in Ulster. It might have pre-existed that time as well as it made a very defensible spot since marsh surrounded most of it and there was a river nearby. It makes a lovely and peaceful spot to wander and wonder and imagine a bunch of men in metal sleeping by fires, hunting and trying to stay dry (they came in winter). Overall the Irish seem really enamoured with hills for building on. 

I stopped at Inch abbey which is a good example of a Norman period Cistercian abbey that was founded by John de Courcey in atonement for decimating another monastery nearby. Might've been easier and cheaper to just support the old one. It is a good gothic example. Oh and it was set atop a much earlier monastery dating from at least the 800s which had been burnt out a couple of times by the Vikings. It was originally on an island in the marsh but they must've drained the marshes. You can see the Mound of Down and the cathedral from it. 

Did you know Cistercians were classist? They had two kinds of monks, choir monks who basically just prayed all day and did minimal labor and lay monks who did everything else--cook, clean, farm, have contact with--gasp!--the public, etc. The Cistercians believed in being as self-sufficient as possible and didn't believe in slavery, which is good I suppose. Choir monks were better educated and were kept separate from their less educated lay brothers. Oh, and in Ireland back then native Irish were not allowed to be Cistercian monks at all. Too dirty or something! Never mind that Irish monks kept the light of Christianity alive in Europe during the dark ages when they spread knowledge and learning and preserved many important books which were destroyed elsewhere!  

From there I went to Strangford and took the ferry to Portaferry. Both are cute little villages. The ferry is a 10 minute deal, open. It crosses Strangford Lough (kind of pronounced lock but more like lokh) at the sea end where it gets more narrow. Loughs seem to be lakes which open into the sea and mix fresh and sea water. Strangford is tidal. From Portaferry I continued by accident up the Mourne Coast road but after awhile I came back via two quaintly named scenic loops and managed to find one of the three sites I was looking for--Millin Bay Cairn. This is a Neolithic burial site right near the bay. Pretty spot. It was unusual for a number of reasons--it incorporated an earlier boundary walk into the site, was oval shaped, and the bones were arranged by kinds of bones (skulls, long bones, etc) and included like 15 people. There were more burials around but they seemed to be later burials. Here's more information:

The last is the site as it looks now. Parts of it are underground. It's right by the bay. I spent some time on the beach as well. 

I went around the Lough stopping in Gray Abbey which is a cute little town with actual shops. Mostly antiques and very expensive ones at that but also a darling little shop of locally made art and craft items. I bought a small piece which I just love. 

Gray Abbey was another Norman Cistercian site, founded unusually by a woman. She was the wife of John de Courcy and she had applied for dowager lands in Ireland after he died which were granted. It was a quite large establishment and it is fairly well preserved. It's also a fine example of gothic architecture. 

I stayed the night again in Downpatrick at the very nice Denvirs. The owners are quite friendly and the food and rooms are nice. 

Go to Instagram for more pictures!! They don't upload well here.