Today, we’ll leave Dublin and travel through the Boyne Valley towards Ulster. Our first stop will be at the Battle of the Boyne Visitor Centre, where we’ll have the opportunity to learn more about the 17th century conquest and the Penal Laws. As we cross into Ulster after lunch, Professor Cope will lead a discussion of documents on partition and the diverging histories of the Republic and Northern Ireland in the 20th century. In particular, we will be looking in detail at the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty and the 1937 Constitution of the Republic of Ireland.
We’ll arrive in Derry late in the afternoon, with time to get comfortable in our accommodations at the Ulster University Magee Campus. We’ve included a map of the area below to help you orient yourselves. Shops and food can be found along the Foyle waterfront or in the city center, about one-half mile south of Ulster University.
Final thoughts on Dublin and the trip to Derry:
Dublin was an amazing city; for me it was the biggest I’ve ever spent time in, although I assume that this is not true for most of the students on our trip. The city was alive with energy and Irish culture, but mingled as well with gaudy tourist attractions and youthful world travelers. Depending on where we went in the city, we experienced a completely different atmosphere. We spent a few nights in Temple Bar and we spent the days wandering the city, in an attempt to absorb all the history and literary significance it has to offer (according to my iPhone, I walked over 10 miles on multiple days!). The Norman conquest of the city, the construction of Christ’s Church and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and the stomping grounds of Joyce, Yeats, and Wilde were all subjects of discussion.
Today we left Dublin and we saw the Battle of the Boyne museum, which was my favorite museum so far for several reasons. The layout of the grounds was fantastic, and I loved seeing a 600-year-old tree that survived the battle in 1690 and appears in several paintings. They had also reconstructed the battle with lights that were overlaid on a model of the surrounding land as it appeared in 1690, which was just an awesome visual tool, I had never seen anything like it.
As much as I loved Dublin, I also appreciated the chance last night to visit Howth, a wonderful small town about 30 minutes south of Dublin where Yeats lived for two years. The city wore me down a bit, and I’m looking forward to new experiences in Derry, and after that an opportunity to settle down in Sligo.