Titanic Memorial on the grounds of Belfast City Hall
August 12-14, 2022
Belfast has branded itself as the Titanic capital, and the city’s Titanic Museum is one of the finest attractions we’ve seen. I teared up hearing audio of the survivor stories and lamented the hubris that drove the early 20th Century shipbuilding industry. It surprised me that Harland & Wolff, the company that built the Titanic, survived the wreck and its big yellow cranes still dominate the Belfast skyline.
Yet there’s much more to Belfast than shipbuilding. C.S. Lewis was born in East Belfast, and though he effaced his Irish heritage (changing his accent at Oxford) the city is working to reclaim him with a newly-named C.S. Lewis Square and set of Narnia sculptures. The Northern Irish Parliament building, Stormont, is also impressive and has an expansive castle-themed playground. Political murals, similar to those we saw in (London)derry make neighbourhood allegiances very clear.
Belfast is a town where God and guns are real, and there didn’t seem to be a decent place to recycle anything. But I was paradoxically drawn into the tension and grit – the way I also love the American South. Long visits with Tim & Jen Cairns and Gareth & Michelle McFadden were also a highlight – down-to-earth friends from Regent College with an Irish knack for storytelling.
Photo Gallery - Belfast
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