Thursday, October 01, 2009
What we have found in Northern Ireland
Before we came here we could not understand why the people of NI chose their separation from the Republic of Ireland and a life with the domination of England.
We were expecting some good pubs, good Irish music and people that were Irish. All wrong.
The people here are mostly Ulster-Scots protestants. They sound Scottish in their dialect. They partly identify with England, but more with Scotland. Every town has its Orange Hall, Union Jack and St George flag. On the 12th of July they hold their Orange parades, accompanied by big drums that bang away for days before. It must be very intimidating to the Catholics.
Apart from the little pub at Lisnagunogue where we have had some enjoyable conversations with the lady that runs it, the pubs have been like NZ sports bars, with a big TV and little else. The music on BBC Radio Ulster is 99% boring American country or of unidentifiable origins. A restaurant where we had Sunday lunch had on Herb Alpert and the Tijuana brass. The pub opposite the huge castle at Carrickfergus had run out of Guinness, also the local ale I chose as second option, and we ended up with our choices on a sticky table.
Except in a few Catholic schools, the kids don't learn Irish Gaelic. I have spent several years learning the NI Ulster version of Irish, and have not found anyone who speaks it at all.
The animosity between Catholics and Protestant continues after 400 years. Sadly, this country needs a dose of Helen Clark's social engineering to alter the school kids views over a couple of generations and start to create one people that identify with the land they live in, Ireland. The NI constitution allows for NI to be joined with the Republic when a referendum is held that votes accordingly. There is a lot of work to be done, and even while we have been here the violence, bomb scares and killings continue, even near to our cottage.
But all the people we have dealt with have been cheerful and welcoming, so who are we to criticize?
We were expecting some good pubs, good Irish music and people that were Irish. All wrong.
The people here are mostly Ulster-Scots protestants. They sound Scottish in their dialect. They partly identify with England, but more with Scotland. Every town has its Orange Hall, Union Jack and St George flag. On the 12th of July they hold their Orange parades, accompanied by big drums that bang away for days before. It must be very intimidating to the Catholics.
Apart from the little pub at Lisnagunogue where we have had some enjoyable conversations with the lady that runs it, the pubs have been like NZ sports bars, with a big TV and little else. The music on BBC Radio Ulster is 99% boring American country or of unidentifiable origins. A restaurant where we had Sunday lunch had on Herb Alpert and the Tijuana brass. The pub opposite the huge castle at Carrickfergus had run out of Guinness, also the local ale I chose as second option, and we ended up with our choices on a sticky table.
Except in a few Catholic schools, the kids don't learn Irish Gaelic. I have spent several years learning the NI Ulster version of Irish, and have not found anyone who speaks it at all.
The animosity between Catholics and Protestant continues after 400 years. Sadly, this country needs a dose of Helen Clark's social engineering to alter the school kids views over a couple of generations and start to create one people that identify with the land they live in, Ireland. The NI constitution allows for NI to be joined with the Republic when a referendum is held that votes accordingly. There is a lot of work to be done, and even while we have been here the violence, bomb scares and killings continue, even near to our cottage.
But all the people we have dealt with have been cheerful and welcoming, so who are we to criticize?
