I studied Irish history at A level back in the late 1960s. Since that time Northern Ireland has been ripped apart by what is referred to as "The Troubles". Travelling round the country now that the Troubles are over (permanently I hope) there is a kind of sadness but feeling of history in the place names. I will return to this theme over the next few days.
Today was more a day of sightseeing than history. We started at Bushmills whiskey distillery. As it's Irish whiskey it has to have an e in it whereas Scottish whisky is without an e. I went round Bushmills about 12 years ago when I worked in Media and PR for Norfolk Constabulary. They were very different days but in order to show our respect to the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the National Association of Police Press and Public Relations Officers' annual conference was held in a hotel in Port Rush. Throughout the three days the hotel was surrounded by armed police who also sat in the reception area with machine guns. One of the primary reasons was that key speakers included RUC Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan along with Sir John Stevens who, at the time, was undertaking a top level enquiry in Northern Ireland.
I remember Flanagan as a very charismatic man who talked movingly about some of the atrocities taking place in Ulster. He showed his sense of humour by telling us that he lived with a hooker - actually it was his son who played in the middle of the scrum for one of the top Irish rugby union sides!
So just being at that event was nerve-racking enough and we were told not to mention to anybody what we did for a living. Now thankfully all that seems to be past. Anyway I'm sure Bushmills hasn't changed much over the past 15 or so years. I haven't changed all that much as I still don't like whiskey (irrespective of whether it's Scottish or Irish). At the end of the tour there was a generous measure of Irish which I immediately tipped into a cup of coffee which was probably sacrilege.
Then it was onto Carrick-a-Reide which is owned by the National Trust which is scarcely surprising as we were on a National Trust holiday. It's a small island connected to the mainland by a narrow rope bridge suspended over 100 ft above the water, Not one for anybody frightened of heights. Once you're halfway across you have no alternative but to carry on to the end and even less of an alternative to taking the same bridge back. Lovely views once you get over it (and I mean that in two senses). So plenty of photographs in the high winds which didn't make getting across the bridge very pleasant.
Then onto Northern Ireland's top tourist attraction The Giant's Causeway. Lots of legends here mainly surrounding the giant Finn McCool who took on the giant of Scotland Benandonner and used the causeway to walk across to meet him for the battle. The real reason for the formation of the Causeway is much less romantic. They are about 40,000 Basalt columns formed by a volcanic eruption. It is a world heritage site and apparently has been voted the fourth greatest natural wonder in the UK by readers of the Radio Times. It was good to have free access to the columns to climb on them and take photos. A good day all round.
Today was more a day of sightseeing than history. We started at Bushmills whiskey distillery. As it's Irish whiskey it has to have an e in it whereas Scottish whisky is without an e. I went round Bushmills about 12 years ago when I worked in Media and PR for Norfolk Constabulary. They were very different days but in order to show our respect to the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the National Association of Police Press and Public Relations Officers' annual conference was held in a hotel in Port Rush. Throughout the three days the hotel was surrounded by armed police who also sat in the reception area with machine guns. One of the primary reasons was that key speakers included RUC Chief Constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan along with Sir John Stevens who, at the time, was undertaking a top level enquiry in Northern Ireland.
I remember Flanagan as a very charismatic man who talked movingly about some of the atrocities taking place in Ulster. He showed his sense of humour by telling us that he lived with a hooker - actually it was his son who played in the middle of the scrum for one of the top Irish rugby union sides!
So just being at that event was nerve-racking enough and we were told not to mention to anybody what we did for a living. Now thankfully all that seems to be past. Anyway I'm sure Bushmills hasn't changed much over the past 15 or so years. I haven't changed all that much as I still don't like whiskey (irrespective of whether it's Scottish or Irish). At the end of the tour there was a generous measure of Irish which I immediately tipped into a cup of coffee which was probably sacrilege.
Then it was onto Carrick-a-Reide which is owned by the National Trust which is scarcely surprising as we were on a National Trust holiday. It's a small island connected to the mainland by a narrow rope bridge suspended over 100 ft above the water, Not one for anybody frightened of heights. Once you're halfway across you have no alternative but to carry on to the end and even less of an alternative to taking the same bridge back. Lovely views once you get over it (and I mean that in two senses). So plenty of photographs in the high winds which didn't make getting across the bridge very pleasant.
Then onto Northern Ireland's top tourist attraction The Giant's Causeway. Lots of legends here mainly surrounding the giant Finn McCool who took on the giant of Scotland Benandonner and used the causeway to walk across to meet him for the battle. The real reason for the formation of the Causeway is much less romantic. They are about 40,000 Basalt columns formed by a volcanic eruption. It is a world heritage site and apparently has been voted the fourth greatest natural wonder in the UK by readers of the Radio Times. It was good to have free access to the columns to climb on them and take photos. A good day all round.
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