Here's a bunch of photos from Northern Ireland taken during a short trip with my friends in July 2014.
Surprise - it turns out that Northern Ireland is not a country, just like England, Wales, and Scotland aren't. It's only together that they form a country called
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. And I've lived here for more than four years already...
Uploaded on: 2015-01-12. Updated on: 2025-12-18.
Map showing Belfast, Northern Ireland location (opens in OpenStreetMap)
Tired of the iconic bad weather of London, we decided to visit Northern Ireland for a little bit of change. (sound of thunder)ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0, 1/500s.
Opened in 1846, it soon became home to men, women, and children - one of the children sentenced to three months hanged himself in the cell in 1858. He was 13 years old. [3]ISO 800, 11mm, f/4.5, 1/40s.
Until 1901, the executions were carried out in public view. Then, this execution chamber was improvised. The condemned would live in a large cell
just next to this chamber, unaware how physically close he was to the gallows.ISO 800, 11mm, f/4.5, 1/13s.
... and buried here without a grave, the initials sometimes scraped on the wall. This is unconsecrated land within the prison walls.ISO 200, 16mm, f/8.0, 1/125s.
Coming back to the coast, the Dunluce Castle. The first castle at Dunluce was built in the 13th century. [6] The current one isn't as old.ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0, 1/250s.
Many hours later, nearly drowning in what we called quickgrass - very wet and very deep grass, occasionally becoming marshes - Kartik was sure we were lost.ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0, 1/500s.
[phone shot] This is a deep fried mars bar. That's right, a deep fried mars bar. After having this, I was sick for two days. When I ordered it, no one looked at me funny, like it was perfectly normal to order a piece of chocolate deep fried in oil and battered.ISO 100, 5mm, f/2.0, 1/125s.
But it wasn't. Especially Kartik and I (not in the photo) were not particularly impressed with Giant's Causeway, and called it Giant Disappointment.ISO 200, 50mm, f/8.0, 1/800s.
Okay, it wasn't that bad. Apparently, these basaltic rocks are 50-60 million years old, and there are 40 thousand of them here.ISO 200, 11mm, f/8.0, 1/320s.
This guy, named Kevin, was very impressed, though, and he asked to be photographed as he was screaming "Freedom!"
He acted a bit strange, and we thought he was going to commit suicide, but he didn't.ISO 200, 11mm, f/8.0, 1/500s.
The person taking care of the rope bridge (red coat) referred to Martin as Mary Poppins, and Martin thought it was hilarious. Here, the two are seen exchanging insults from a safe distance.ISO 200, 20mm, f/8.0, 1/125s.
One thing Belfast and the rest of Northern Ireland is famous for is the Troubles, the ethno-nationalist conflict that lasted from 1968 to 1998. [7]
That's three decades of violence between the Irish/Roman Catholic inhabitants of Northern Ireland, and those identifying
themselves as British/Protestant. It was a struggle about the role of Northern Ireland (part of Ireland vs. part of Britain)
and the rights of the Irish minority.
In the photo, the guys with our guide, Peter.ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0, 1/1000s.
I am blissfully ignorant about the whole conflict, and it's more complex that it seems (see the Scottish flag?).
This guy on the wall, a loyalist (British/Protestant), was at least killed by the republicans (Irish/Roman Catholic), but the area
is littered with murals dedicated to loyalists killed by other loyalists...ISO 200, 35mm, f/8.0, 1/1000s.
Such as this one, of someone called Jackie Coulter, a loyalist eliminated by another group of loyalists. The artistic level of these murals usually matches that of the artists in my high school.ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0, 1/1600s.
These gates separate loyalist and republican neighbourhoods, and they automatically close for the night. The city also has separate republican and loyalist public transport systems. It's just like the Middle East.ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0, 1/1000s.
There are peace walls separating different neighbourhoods, and new ones are still being added, some almost 8 m high. It was hard to believe we were in 21st century Europe. Wealthy middle class people live in neutral neighbourhoods though.ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0, 1/500s.
That's a memorial on the republican side, with the names of various people killed over the years, some also after the Troubles officially ended. One or more of them were killed by the Topgun dude from a few photos before.ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0, 1/640s.
Those are rubber bullets used by the police. They are meant to be non-lethal, but if you get shot from a close distance, you quite possibly die, as it has already happened in Northern Ireland.ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0, 1/250s.
The walls serve their purpose to this day, and Peter told us kids still throw rocks to the other side of the walls. He mentioned that in most cases kids from loyalist and republican families only meet at university.ISO 200, 18mm, f/8.0, 1/640s.
Fond of taking other people's land, the loyalists traditionally side with the Israelis (and there are Protestant Jews, so to speak), while the republicans side with the Palestinians in terrorist solidarity.ISO 200, 18mm, f/7.1, 1/1000s.
Despite all of the above, Belfast is meant to be a good place to live, and is supposedly rather welcoming to immigrants. Judging by the languages being spoken and heard,
the conflict will naturally end, as Northern Ireland is being overrun and will be overwhelmed by the modern Vikings - Polish migrants. Many of whom are oblivious to the complexity of the situation of the city,
and blend in to some extent, not necessarily preferring the (also) Roman Catholic republicans, but it has happened that Polish flags were burnt alongside those of Ireland by the loyalists. [10]
Those people who move into contentious parts of the city (as rent prices there are generally lower), find themselves in an unusual situation where they have to live in harmony
with the local hegemon, and calling the police may not be an option. Which sounds just like Somalia, but during our trip we felt perfectly safe.ISO 200, 20mm, f/8.0, 1/320s.
And that's one of his lungs he spat out... No, just kidding. It's just a heart-shaped poop. Thanks for viewing the gallery.ISO 200, 55mm, f/5.6, 1/60s.Sources
