Day 6

Today, our group received a tour of the Belfast City Hall unique to the normal tour offered to the general public. The tour absolutely had the feel of a diplomatic event. The tour guide highlighted the magnificent marble columns and staircases made from Italian and Greek marble. The main lobby is two stories and features an open rotunda and a domed ceiling, all brilliantly painted and tiled. The tour guide showed us their beautiful stained glass which featured the Belfast city crest as well as other images which portrayed various aspects of the city's history. Next, the guide led us into some private chambers. She let the group sit in the benches of the City Council Chamber. She even let a few of us sit in the chair usually reserved for the Lord Mayor of Belfast. Next, the guide led the group into the robe room. This is where the robes and jewels worn by the members of City government are kept. The Chain of Office, which is made out of solid gold and is worn by the Lord Mayor, was the one piece conspicuously absent from the display. Coincidentally (probably not) the Lord Mayor walked into the room sporting the formal chain just as the tour guide was explaining to us about the piece. The Lord Mayor is only 26 years old (apparently there has been a significant increase in the number of young city council members as a means by which to increase the youth vote). He made a wise crack about needing to see a chiropractor due to the weight of the chain, posed for a photo opportunity, and eft. All in all, the tour of Belfast City Hall underscored the pomp and circumstance involved in governments of areas with extensive history. It is another indicator that traditions run deep here and that the Irish and North Irish citizens carry with them a history of conflict which cannot be overcome with the passage of any single agreement or treaty.


In a few days, we’ll visit the Titanic museum in Belfast. The Titanic was actually built in the city of Belfast, as its shipbuilding industry has always been a significant economic sector. Imagining myself as a passenger on the Titanic, I imagine I would be elated to have the opportunity to sail trans-Atlantic on such a marvelous vessel. I might have been an upper-class, high-society citizen, enjoying the finest luxuries the ship had to offer. More likely, I would have been an emigrant, using the trans-Atlantic trip as an opportunity to start a new life in America. As the ship sank, I might have died instantly. I might have been among those tasked with helping to rescue other passengers, ushering them into life-boats, women and children first. Quickly, a new opportunity in a new world would instead become imminent death.