Derry to Galway

Saturday the 11th of July

I think I left off in Derry at the last post. Derry was an interesting experience. Glad I went and glad that I have no reason to return. We arrived, I believe, on the 11th of July which is very poor timing. The 12th is the day of the Unionist's big orange parade which they have 100's of small ones throughout the year. We were staying in the non unionist area or the Catholic neighborhood. We arrived around 6 and it was cloudy and grey, which can taint the prettiest city. And I'm fairly certain that Derry isn't a noteworthy beauty on the sunniest of days. We didn't have directions to the b&b so we had to use my magical navigation powers which work well but can be hard to fully trust at times. The city has a hard look to it and going into it with a preconceived notion of The Troubles, I was uncomfortable on arrival. We found our way to the Bloody Sunday Monument and located our spot directly behind it. You definitely had the feeling of being in a very rough part of town. The b&b however felt cheerful as we went in and were warmly welcomed by our host. He called us by name and shared that he'd just had a family reunion. His cousin is Jamie Kennedy who did not attend the reunion but whose family did. He felt that he is funnier than his kin. He was nice but I didn't find him particularly humorous. But who am I to judge?

He informed us that our friends were already checked in which was a great surprise. Jen and Betsy have been traveling in the opposite direction around the country for about a week longer than us. Our paths just happen to cross here in the middle of strife ridden Derry. It was so good to see familiar faces even though we were only a few days into our trip. It was especially nice to feel that our group was a little more formidable looking than with just three. Who wouldn't feel safer in a group with two, yes I said two, tough ass Dean of Students, and a Kindergarten teacher. These folks deal with all kinds of "troubles" every day back home they will be able to maneuver through whatever troubles Derry could throw at us.

Since it was evening when we arrived passed 6 we were all hungry. Jen and Betsy had scoped the area out already and led the way to dinner. The streets are so emptied compared to cities a home. Plus they roll down these metal garage doors over their business fronts, like in New York. We saw our first intoxicated napping on the street or ranting to their friends folks. We crossed huge squares where maybe one car passed through. All this plus the many dark political murals of gas masks, guns, and propaganda left a knot in my stomach and Forrest was definitely tense. I was actually more worried for him than the adults. We saw many young men roaming in groups with a subtle intensity about them. I figured they'd be more likely to bother Forrest than a group of women and Bruce. We found a nice restaurant called Flaming Jacks (I think). We sat in the bar and listened to the lively voices rise and fall. The place was inviting, fun, full, and safe feeling, so different from outside the door.

We had a nice dinner. Forrest had ribs and I had chicken with peanut sauce. I've also discovered that I really like Guinness. I'm so glad, not sure why, but I am. After dinner we returned to the b&b and visited for awhile in the common room. Luckily we didn't seem to bother the other guests with our loud laughing.

We all slept like crap the first night in Derry. The room was warm even with the window opened wide. Our window over looked the back yards of an apartment house and their little garbage alley. Late we could hear when the bars closed and folks wandered back home. Plus this was the first night that Forrest and I shared a room with Bruce so I'm sure we were getting used to the tight quarters and sleeping noises too.


Sunday July the 12th

Our second day in Derry was a little sunnier. However I was wiped out. We got up and had breakfast the now usual several choices of cereal in Tupperware bins, runny yogurt, toast, fruit, coffee or tea, and several juices. Or a Traditional Irish Breakfast of several glistening in grease meats, over medium egg, and soggy cooked tomato. I really enjoy the breakfasts but steer clear of the Traditional choice. Forrest really likes to order it and even ate one of the tomatoes the other day. I ate the other half and we both gagged together. A bonding moment.

After breakfast the group decided to go for a walk. I was feeling really groggy and decided I needed to chill and maybe sleep. Instead I blogged about our first few days. When they returned I learned they've walked the ancient wall around Derry. I was bummed as this is a walk I wanted to do. Oh well. We did a small lunch and decided to do the Free Derry Tour which isn't a free tour of the city. We joined a group of about 12 and were led around a several block radius that included the FREE DERRY sign and many murals by an ex POW, IRA member. He filled us in of his version of the story. He said that it's his version and that he agrees that the first victim of any war is always the truth. I liked that he admitted it. He was a smaller man kinda bent at the middle. He kept rubbing his throat with 3 fingers and his face with his middle finger throughout the lecture. He says that The Troubles are in fact not a religious war but that is the slant the British would like the world to believe. Instead it's a war of civil rights. Northern Ireland, or Ulster, is home to many people whose families originally came from England and Scotland. They were sent there by the English King in the 16 or 1700's, for the usual reasons. These folks were predominantly Protestant. My ancestors were from the Scottish bunch. Back in the 1600's the protestants took over the city of Derry in force and became the majority. The folks that are protestant and originally from Scotland or England make up the Unionist group, those that want to keep their ties with Britain and not merge with the rest of Ireland. To celebrate their big 1600's conquest of Derry the Unionists celebrate with parades, 100's every year.

There have been lots of scuffles since then between Catholics and Protestants because the laws typically favored the Protestants and oppressed the Catholics. In the 1840's during the potato famine many Irish Catholics moved north to Derry. They were allowed to live outside the walls of Derry. The area they lived on had at one time been covered by the Boyne River (is that the right river?) But the river had changed course and left a boggy wetland. The area they lived in was called Bogside. Over time many Catholics moved to the area. Soon the area of Derry was predominately Catholic. Yet the group still had little political power, inadequate housing, were shut out of jobs, ect. When the U.S. was at the height of it's Civil Rights movement it inspired the Catholic folks of Derry to action. The IRA came into full development (inspired by Malcolm X?) and many peaceful marches, sit in's, and hunger strikes occurred (inspired by MLK and Ghandi).
All this led to The Troubles. The British military was posted in Derry for many years and only recently has left. I was left unclear from our guide as to whether their political ambitions were ever fulfilled. However the tension and hard feelings are very evident in many of the murals, graffiti, and our guides face. The tour was on a Sunday. Monday was the day planned for the big Unionist Parade. Our host said it was best we left early on Monday morning to not get tangled up in the parade crowds and routes, specially since we were driving a car from the Republic of Ireland. Though Derry is predominantly Catholic and loyal to Ireland, Northern Ireland is predominantly Protestant and Loyal to England.

Okay so that's how I understood it all. I could have misunderstood he did have a heavy accent and the cars were whipping by loudly. Many honked and waved at him and he would call back to them by name, small town. Let me know if you see errors in my thinking because I would like to understand it better.

We went out for drinks after the tour. It reminded me of a food court because it was wide open with tons of seating and a mall feel. But you could drink or eat. We all noticed a tension in the air then. So was it our filters or were people looking at us funny? We went to dinner at Flaming Jack's again and called it an early night.


Monday July 13th

Woke up much more refreshed on Monday. We had a nice breakfast with Jen and Betsy and were on the road by 8:45. We easily found our way out of town, no sign of parades, crowds, or troubles anywhere. I was relieved to be headed south to Galway and the Aran Islands that were so recommended by friends.