From Cradle to Grave

Our morning correspondent is Alexis Gable:

Hello again. This is Alexis. All is well here in Belfast. No one has recently insulted me (with the exception of another dirty look from the Starbucks lady a few days ago), and it’s crowded around campus due to graduation week. Katie, Alex, and I woke up at 6:30 and ran again, which was fairly uneventful. We ate breakfast at the Elms again-- Frosties (Tesco’s sad attempt at Frosted Flakes, Tony the Tiger not included), Choco Snaps (Chocolate Rice Krispies), and fruit.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Varnish left this morning to go back to the States. We were all incredibly sad to see her go, as in my personal opinion, she is one of the most kind-hearted people I have ever met. Shout-out to Mrs. Varnish-- we miss you!

We hopped on our Mercedes bus and headed to Belfast City Cemetery, where we were lucky enough to receive a tour from Tom Hartley. Tom is the former Lord-Mayor of Belfast. In addition, he is a long-time member of Sinn Féin. Tom’s passion is the history of cemeteries, from the biographies of basically every person buried there to the different types of stone crosses and ornaments that sit on top of the headstones. So naturally, he was incredibly knowledgeable and interesting.

Belfast City Cemetery is particularly important to Tom since it represents his childhood. When he was a boy, he sprinted past it because he was told that the devil was found in it. This story represents the sectarianism found in Belfast-- the cemetery is mainly Protestant and Tom is Catholic. For Tom, “cemeteries are about the living,” since they tell us how we see ourselves and how we conceptualize life through architecture and through the people buried there. They show us what shaped and created us.

The cemetery opened on 1 August 1869, and the first burial took place on 4 August of the same year. Irish headstones tend to have great detail; for example, a woman’s maiden name is given in addition to her married name. It is a Victorian cemetery with neo-Classical architecture, but it also contains urns and obelisks on some headstones. Two hundred fifty thousand people are buried here, including Protestants, Catholics, and Jews. The cemetery was originally built for people of all religions. From the outside, it seems as if the Irish have taken a step forward and overlooked sectarianism. However, this is completely untrue. Each religious group has its own previously laid out section of the cemetery. Separating the Catholics and Protestants is a nine-foot wall…underground. This wall was placed so that in the afterlife, souls would not have to associate with those of a different religion on the other side of the wall. The Jews have their own section of the cemetery surrounded by a stone wall which is above ground.

Catholics don’t see the cemetery as their own, while Protestants see it as the middle of a war zone, so visitors do not come often. Every type of person is buried here, from ship owners, to military personnel, to politicians. In 1869, the most expensive grave plot was only £7.50 while the lowest was only £1, the equivalent of about $1.50. The dominant historical element of the cemetery consists of World War I veterans and casualties, but it also reflects the history of America. Many buried there made trips to America or joined the American military during the Civil War. For example, William Scott was a tobacco manager in Belfast, and he became the first producer to go to the US and take tobacco directly from plantations, even during the Civil War. Ironically, he was completely opposed to slavery.

Irish graves are very different from ours. As I said before, the gravestones are much more decorative than ours. Many are adorned with the Celtic cross, some depicting Bible verses (Scriptural Crosses), some decorated with designs representing the four seasons (Ornamental Crosses), and some with nothing on them (Plain Crosses). Some gravestones depict an anchor, the Christian symbol of hope and confidence-- a makeshift cross. Many stones are made of Irish limestone, which I found cool. As Tom pointed out, the sediments were laid down 300 million years ago, and it is still possible to see all the fossils. In addition, each grave is blocked off with (usually) a sturdy and withholding metal fence, making a square. On each corner sits a large piece of granite, and the grave is covered with some type of limestone or moss. Therefore, it is easy to tell where one grave starts and another begins, seeing as each covers a certain plot of land-- nothing more, nothing less. There are also multiple bodies placed in what we would consider to be enough room for only one grave. Their graves are nine feet deep (remember the underground wall was this tall), so coffins are sometimes stacked atop one another. The cemetery is also decorated with two old fountains that no longer work. There are also many Freemason graves, represented by traditional symbols such as a ball and pillar or a compass and square. Many of the headstones have been broken in half due to unstable foundations, tree roots, and some vandalism, but generally speaking, the cemetery is well kept.

The Jewish section of the cemetery was opened in 1871 and was closed in 1964. Waves of Jews came to Belfast, first from Germany to work in the linen factories, then from Eastern Europe. Currently, there are only 80-90 Jewish people living in Belfast. Unlike the other graves, the Jewish only place one person in the grave. They are buried exactly one day after their deaths, but they do not mourn their deaths until a year later. The Jewish section reminds us of the Jewish culture in this city and how it has influenced Belfast.

Some famous names found in this cemetery are C.S. Lewis’ parents; John Martin, architect of City Hall; the official photographer of the Titanic, John Welch; the designer of the Titanic, William James Pirrie; and the Titanic company founders.

“All of this is the history of Belfast, and it is our history, so we should embrace it.” Tom was preparing to leave us when he saw that Sarah and I sported some beautiful flowers both in our hair and on our jackets. In response, he remarked, “A beautiful flower for a beautiful girl” and picked a rose and gave it to Sarah. While she was quite embarrassed, it was clear she enjoyed his gesture. Then it began to rain.
After leaving Belfast City Cemetery, we walked to Milltown Cemetery to be guided by Raymond. The first thing we noticed was that the graves were much closer together than at Belfast City. Milltown is predominantly Catholic, home to many IRA graves. There is even an unmarked mass grave filled with 86,000 victims of the 1919 influenza epidemic. The famous Republican plot, which contains many IRA heroes, is home to the two Gibraltar men and a woman killed by British soldiers, as well as the ten Hunger Strikers. Bobby Sands, the most famous of these strikers, was a major influence for Sinn Féin party leader Gerry Adams and serves as the IRA’s most important hero. This official IRA plot borders the one for Redemptorist priests of Clonard Monastery; which we visited on Sunday. Looking across the street from the cemetery, we were told to look at a medium-sized building with an Irish Republic flag flying. This, we were informed, was the home of the Felon’s Club, where you have to be, literally, a convict in order to become a member.

We headed back for lunch at Queen’s Student Union Center. Some of us chose to eat the questionable roast beef, while others went for a safer route with Quizno’s. Overall, it was a great morning.


Our afternoon correspondent is Ryan Brown:

After a big, hearty lunch at the Student Union to warm us up after a cold, wet morning, we took our seats at the Irish Studies building to listen to our next lecturer, Dr. Eamonn Hughes. Dr. Hughes is the Assistant Director of Irish Studies at Queens, and a specialist in Irish literature. He is the quintessential college professor with a soothing accent and a profound vocabulary. He is an intellectual in every way.

He began his lecture with an introduction to Irish literature, focusing on the characteristics and identity of Irish culture. According to Dr. Hughes, there are five key characteristics of Irish literature, which I will briefly summarize for all those back home who may want to catch up on their knowledge of Irish culture. The first is that it is a primary literature which is unique to Ireland and does not borrow from other cultures. The second is that there is a broken tradition, meaning Ireland’s history has been marred by English colonialism, and the resulting cultural loss is a recurring theme used by many Irish authors. The third characteristic is that it is a translated literature which is often written in English but expresses Gaelic ideas. The fourth is that it is a literature of passage and voyaging, reiterating the theme of a sense of place which keeps recurring in our studies. The final characteristic is that Irish literature is often political, which is no surprise, considering the political turmoil that has engulfed the nation for the past several centuries.

After a brief break, we returned to class to look in detail at the evidence of these five characteristics in specific pieces of literature. The writers we examined included Seamus Heaney, John Hewitt, and Sinead Morrissey, whom we actually met with yesterday. It was interesting to examine Irish literature with a man who has made a career of studying these works, and after all the time we have spent studying these works ourselves, I do indeed believe we are all on our way to becoming experts in Irish literature.

Ms. Duarte must have an anonymous informant within Queen’s, for we were tipped off that the poet Seamus Heaney was making an appearance at the opening of the new University library. We pushed our dinner reservations back an hour and set off to crash the party at the library. Despite being dressed up ourselves, we felt vastly underdressed at the black-tie gala. However, we did see Seamus Heaney walking only a few feet in front of us (sorry, Mrs. Varnish!) and snapped some paparazzi-quality photos of him.

We then walked downtown, which seemed like ten miles away for Emily and Katie, who were in four-inch heels, and arrived at Menu, a posh four-star restaurant located in the FitzWilliam Hotel. We were seated in the boardroom and were all able to sit at one table for the first time this trip. After enjoying a great meal, some quality music, and celebrating Mr. McLenaghan’s thirtieth birthday, we returned back to the dorms to get a good night’s rest before meeting with the President of the Republic of Ireland in Dublin tomorrow.