The Emerald Isle

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day here’s a report on my trip to Ireland this January.

All pictures included are from a 2006 visit. My phone crashed and I had to “restore factory settings”, unfortunately before I had downloaded my pictures from my recent trip. Learn from my mistakes, don’t let this happen to you!

Part One: Belfast, Northern Ireland

A bargain airfare coupled with upgrades that were about to expire inspired this quick trip to Ireland. My friend, Mary & I flew into Dublin and after inquiring at the information desk in the airport boarded a Belfast bound bus. I had planned on traveling via train but the expense & effort of transferring to the train station and the fare is double of that for the bus straight from the airport. The bus was subject to the vagaries of traffic but seemed the best choice. We determined that we could return to Dublin City Center the next day instead of the airport, bought our tickets and groggily bounced our way up the highway in an overheated vehicle. The border crossing to Northern Ireland is seamless. I didn’t even notice a sign. Disembarking at the Belfast Europa Station we stumbled out onto the street and began the 10 minute walk to the Hilton. Well, it would have been 10 minutes had we been going the right direction. Our unplanned tour of the University district was quite nice and once turned around we made it to the waterfront Hilton will little difficulties.

An article about the Merchant Hotel’s Mai Tai L750 (yes, that would be practically $1500 a drink!) appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle a week before our visit. Knowing we were to be there I took it as a sign that we must investigate. The Merchant, built in 1860 as the headquarters of the Ulster Bank, was remodeled three years ago as a luxury hotel. It’s a beautiful property complete with the original opulent ceilings. I could have happily lived there. In addition to being an intimate luxury inn, they have a private club, bar and restaurant; all comfortably stunning and swank. Ensconced in the bar, we ordered the bargain mai tai at L9.95 and got to know the bartender, Hayden. Perched on a high shelf in a wooden box was a bottle of the original 17-year-old J. Wray & Nephew rum that Victor J. "Trader Vic" Bergeron used when he created the drink in 1944.. After some coaxing Hayden, let us have a closer view.

Armed with a recommendations and a referral from Hayden, we wandered over to the Mourne Seafood Bar. They were booked, of course, but we were able to squeeze in after promising to vacate the table promptly in an hour. Mary had oysters and mussels and I enjoyed grilled scallops with saffron linguine. It was good: Very, very, very good! One of the owners is a marine biologist and intimately knows the shellfish. Much of it is farmed locally. Next on our agenda was another Hayden recommendation, Madden’s “a Republican pub that features live music”. We demurred peaking inside to see tables of men nursing their pints but no music until 9 P.M. Nine P.M. was our goal to stay awake.. After travelling throughout the night and struggling with an eight hour time difference any delay was an impossibility.

Awake and somewhat refreshed the next morning we breakfasted at our hotel and meet our Black Taxi driver, Jack, for a political tour of Belfast. The “troubles” were officially over in 1996 but the lingering resentment and division of the Catholic (Irish) an Protestant (British) factions in the area are apparent. Only 8% of the population is integrated which doesn’t make for an understanding and cooperation. Jack took us through neighborhood on both sides of the Peace Fences. I found the name “Peace Fence” somewhat ironic. Does a 20 foot high barbed wire crowned wall say peace to you? There are many murals throughout the area that both memorialize and educate. I was saddened not to see one depicting both sides coming together. Maybe it’s too soon. The history and lingering resentments here are hard to grasp. (I read & recommend Belfast Diary: War as a Way of Life by John Conroy. Though set in the 1980’s, so not exactly current, I felt the book presented the facts and gave insight into the people that lived and breathed Belfast.)

Jack dropped us at the Crown Saloon. The oldest pub in Belfast was packed with rugby players. Across the street sits the Europa Hotel, which he casually informed us was once the most bombed hotel in the world. A dubious distinction!

We couldn’t resist a return to the Merchant for tea before collecting our luggage. We were happy to be greeted by our bus driver of the previous day. The weather had deteriorated and he had his hands full as the boxy vehicle was buffeted by strong winds and heavy rain. There was a brief stop by immigration for a passport check and back to Dublin we went.

Part Two: Dublin, Republic of Ireland

It was late when we arrived at our hotel. Hungry, we were on a mission for dinner. The Pearl Brasserie was recommended by our concierge at the Dublin Conrad for dinner and we were not disappointed.

The next morning was Sunday and things were slow to getting going. Relishing the opportunity to relax and wander about without an agenda we set out. Some shopping, some strolling, some shopping and some gawking about filled our day. Dublin offers many cultural and historic sights but we were content to simply enjoy being in the city. The John M. Keating Restaurant was not even officially open when we stumbled upon the converted church on a previous visit. Check out the picture of the bar from 2006. I couldn’t resist a second look. The fact they were still open was encouraging. Mary & I slipped in for a Guinness and light snack. Also, when visiting Ireland three years ago we happened upon a small leather goods store that had beautiful things. I made a few treasured purchases and was disappointed that I wouldn’t be venturing anywhere close to Kilkenny to make a repeat visit. Imagine my thrill to round a corner and have Mary exclaim “Isn’t that the same store?!?! Yes, it was Chesneau and yes, I bought something.

Wallets depleted, we deserved to sit down for tea so headed to Merrion Hotel for our finale. Tea, shmea! I opted for a touch of the Irish. How could prepare to leave Ireland without partaking of Irish Whiskey?

Our last night was spent at the Hilton Dublin Airport so we were positioned to easily make our way home early in the morning.

Thus ended our Irish whirlwind!

...

I was saddened to hear news reports of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland last week:

From CNN regarding the arrests:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/03/14/northern.ireland.violence.arrests/index.html#cnnSTCText
“They are the first arrests in connection with the March 7 shootings, which were the first fatal attack on British troops in the province for more than 12 years.
The two British soldiers were shot dead at a base in Massereene, in Antrim, as they were preparing to ship out for duty in Afghanistan.
The soldiers, Cengiz "Pat" Azimkar, 21, and Mark Quinsey, 23, had already packed their bags and changed into desert uniforms, authorities said.
Two masked gunmen with automatic rifles shot them as the soldiers picked up a pizza delivery at the barracks, authorities said. Two other soldiers and the two pizza delivery men were seriously wounded.
The shooting has sparked fears of a return to the sectarian violence that Northern Ireland suffered until the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, a period known as The Troubles.
A militant splinter group, the Real IRA, reportedly claimed it had carried out the attack on the soldiers.
Two days after the soldiers were killed, a police officer was killed in a shooting southwest of Belfast. Constable Stephen Carroll was one of four officers who were responding to call in Craigavon when his vehicle came under fire and he was killed. Three people have been arrested in connection with the police officer's death.
The Continuity IRA, a republican splinter group that does not accept the Good Friday Agreement, said it had killed Carroll, Britain's Press Association reported.
Politicians from across the political spectrum have condemned the killings, with Sinn Fein deputy leader Martin McGuinness calling the killers "traitors to the island of Ireland."
Sinn Fein is a predominantly Catholic party that wants Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and become part of the Republic of Ireland. The party is widely thought to be linked to the Irish Republican Army.Danny Kennedy, deputy leader of the loyalist Ulster Unionist Party, which wants Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom, also condemned the attack as "wicked and murderous."