Prior to studying abroad in Ireland I had never learned about Ireland’s history so when my class started discussing the tensions between the Catholic and Protestant communities that stemmed from the Penal laws, the Easter Rising of 1916, and the fight for Ireland’s independence, I was in awe. I felt ignorant to the world around me, but given the opportunity to travel to Ireland I was finally able to open my eyes to the horrors that other countries had faced in their fight for independence. I was finally able to understand why Northern Ireland is separate from the Republic of Ireland, and furthermore, I was able to actually experience the tensions that remain due to the IRA and Ireland’s constant struggle between freedom fighters and terrorists. Had I not been in Ireland when I learned about their violent past, I’m not sure I would have actually grasped how recently these horrors had occurred, or how it still impacts the lives of people living in Ireland every day. However, when my class took a day trip to Belfast in Northern Ireland I truly felt the tensions that remained between Catholic and Protestant communities.

We took a walking tour around the neighborhoods surrounding the Peace Wall, a wall that still closes every night at seven to separate the different communities. Our tour guide talked freely while in the Catholic neighborhood; he answered all our questions, recited the history of the area, and brought us to numerous memorials where we could explore the past freely. We gawked at houses where the backyards are completely caged in to prevent objects thrown over the wall from entering the yards, and tried to imagine raising our future children in a neighborhood that was still unsafe because the country had not been independent for a hundred years yet. We walked along the wall and crossed a gate into the Protestant neighborhood where we were the only people to walk along the side of the road. As soon as we crossed through the metal gate our guide lowered his voice, and refused to answer many of our questions, if he did answer a question he whispered in hushed tones. Our group only visited a few memorials that were all on Shankill Road and we were hesitant to wander around because we could feel what our guide was risking by showing us a neighborhood he did not belong to, solely because he had the wrong accent.

Seeing the guide lower his voice, and learning that children play in cages to protect themselves from debris that could be thrown over the wall I finally understood why the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland remain separate, and I could feel how recent the “terrorism” that plagued Ireland really was. Without the opportunity to explore Belfast and witness these memorials and precautions, I know I would not have truly grasped Ireland’s history.

Name: Carly Sandstrom
Status: Freshman
Major: James Madison
Hometown: Marquette, Michigan
Program: First-Year Seminar Abroad in Ireland (We the People! Comparing Constitutional Issues in Ireland and the U.S.)