Northern Ireland - how do you perceive it?

[TheBelleOfBelfastCity]

Genuinely just curious. I was born and raised in NI, opinions on MN seem to vary wildly from no go zone to friendly and welcoming. Trying to got a sense of what the most common thoughts are.

Have you visited? Maybe even thought about doing so? What was your opinion?

I work in west Belfast and you are being very very naïve. My children go to grammar schools in BT9- loads of Catholic friends- but it is a very different world for kids going to La Salle or the boys model!

It's far too soon for sectarianism to be purely in the past. There's too much hurt and the history is very recent. But things are moving in the right direction and given the extent of the Troubles (which I think people who aren't from NI often don't appreciate, I certainly didn't until I'd lived here a good while and I'm from Ireland) I think the progress has been rapid. Like I said upthread, I think NI should be really proud of itself, even if things aren't perfect.

We need another couple of generations of stability though, not shit shows like Brexit.

Surely you can’t expect 100s of years of segregation + violence to be simply undone and forgotten about with the drop of a hat (or an agreement..)? It’s a post conflict society.

History continues to the present day, we are making history, history is happening as we speak ..... What a bizarre comment

Equally bizarre is the statement that "no-one talks about it in a current sense".

What??

NI politicians talk about nothing else.

The issue of parades is ongoing.

The issue of Brexit and the border... ongoing. That's an issue the UK was central in.

The rise of Sinn Fein as a major party and their agenda of a united Ireland, and the intense opposition by the Unionist community... And the UK and international input on that ... Likewise.

What are you on about?

I came over to Belfast many years ago to watch England v N.Ireland play. I found the place and people really friendly. We were meeting friends in a particular pub and asked the hotel receptionist for directions. The look of horror on her face when we said the name of the pub. Turns out it was a loyalist pub, but right on the border of a catholic area. We only found this out when we got to the pub and were told ‘Only turn left out of the pub - under no circumstances go right’

It was a bizarre situation, as it was easy to forget where we were, as the pub was just full of lots of football fans, who just had a good laugh and all got on well. As we were leaving to walk to the stadium, there was a flute/marching band outside the pub, who led the way. I wasn’t 100% comfortable with this whole scenario to be honest, but it was certainly an experience.

Anyway, that was a long time ago and I go over to both N.Ireland and the Republic of Ireland a fair bit with work. I go to Belfast and Lisburn in the North and the first thing that hits me, is they are so similar to Manchester - really friendly people, lots of pot-holes and a fair bit of rain. 😂 I enjoy my work visits as I have such lovely colleagues. When I go to Dublin and Mullingar, it’s just as friendly and I enjoy learning about the different way things are done in ROI compared to England - it’s fascinating. The only issue I have come up against in ROI, is a very small amount of people who have had a bit of a dig about all the ‘immigrants’ that ‘the Brits’ have sent our way because of Brexit. It’s a completely inappropriate conversation for a work environment, so I just shut it down straight away.

I love the variety of accents and usually come home calling everything ‘grand’.

I grew up in Belfast and lived there during the 'Troubles'. I now live in England having left to go to university 'across the water'. I visit frequently to visit friends and family. It's a fantastic place with very friendly people. Schools are fantastic- if you pass the transfer test!
I would have loved to have moved back when my children were younger but careers got in the way. We paid a small fortune in private school fees to ensure my children received a good education in England similar to the high standards of a grammar school in Belfast.

WET!!!!

I’ve visited three times for long weekends and I have never yet had a dry day in Northern Ireland. The odd dry hour, sure, but that is about it.

I’ve had lovely times there and would happily go back. With wellies.

I'm English, live in ROI, I'm Protestant married to a Catholic. I'm 60, so old enough to remember The Troubles.

I remember telling my parents I was going on holiday with DH to NI around 1990. They were horrified for my safety; I was curious about what it would be like. All we really knew about from the news was The Troubles.

It was fascinating, we stayed in B&Bs in both Catholic and Protestant areas and were welcomed in both. We had a great time. We didn't go to Belfast because there had been recent incidents there, but travelled around NI and really loved it.

I've been to NI many times since, including Belfast. It's a very welcoming place IMO, I love it there.

Visited as a student back in 1983. Friends at Queens who were a mix of Protestant and Catholic. Could not have been made more welcome.

I grew up on the north coast near the Giant's Causeway. As a middle-class family with no interest in politics, we experienced very little of the Troubles and what we did experience was all we knew. An armed soldier stopping our car at a check point in the dark and asking about our journey was perfectly normal. Mum showing the contents of her handbag to a man before entering big shopping centres was also normal.

We got a very nice lamp shade that we couldn't otherwise have afforded because it was bomb damaged. Bomb damaged goods were regarded as bargains.

At a youth festival, we knew that no one could get in or out because armed men in balaclavas had closed the roads but no one thought twice about it because (a) they were never going to use those guns and (b) we had no plans to leave the festival. The visiting American musicians were vocal about feeling freaked out but the feeling on the ground was that Americans tend to overreact.

My 18 year old brother came home one evening slightly taken aback around the 12th. Some men in balaclavas had climbed on top of the car. We were mystified rather than alarmed. A visiting friend who later published a short story about his visit noted that my father seemed 'mildly interested'.

The roads are no longer closed around the 12th - my children don't know anything about the Troubles beyond the painted kerbs and flags.

Yep, Northern Irish kids are still mostly divided from nursery to secondary school by religion.

Some are divided by residential area too.

As I said I've met young people in Derry/Londonderry who had never met a protestant before. There are pretty much no protestants living on the city side of Derry, aside from one small unionist enclave (with their own primary school).

The visiting American musicians were vocal about feeling freaked out but the feeling on the ground was that Americans tend to overreact.

I'm sorry but I found that very blackly funny, I don't know if was intended to be.

As someone who didn't grow up in NI it is a culture shock to drive through a village and see 100s of Union Jacks as a greeting of said villages religious/ cultural allegiances.

I have said since we've been that I think in England/ Wales out education system is very ignorant of the history of Ireland and Northern Ireland and I don't that is a good thing for anyone but it may partly explain why I hadn't expected there to still be segregation.

Hence I said that divides do still exist in some communities. I suspect your DC go to the same school that my DD did if it’s a BT9 one. Beginning with M?

Yes. And it is hugely diverse in every way. But with the exception possibly of maybe BRA, most of the school in West and North and East are still very much along religious lines.

Not on the news here it isn't!

I think in England/ Wales out education system is very ignorant of the history of Ireland and Northern Ireland and I don't that is a good thing

Yes, the ignorance is appalling.

You did have the ability to read/watch things yourself, outside of basic education, though.

Maybe then, the fact that Unionists :- whom your country planted their for their own use and convenience hundreds of years ago - are utterly desperate to retain the union with Great Britain and as part of that desperate to display their identity & allegiance as British. ...wouldn't have come as such an inexplicable shock.

I'm English and married to a northern Irish man. I think Northern Ireland is brilliant. We are both Catholic but respect other people's religions. I've been every year since I was about 20. I love the accent and the wicked sense of humour. I love the scenery especially around the north west. The beaches are beautiful. DH has lots of stories about what it was like late 80s and I love hearing MIL talk about the place. I feel very lucky to have met someone from there. He's taught me a lot about the history of Northern Ireland. I did history GCSE here in England and they didn't teach us about the conflict very well. I've had to learn a lot over the years. It's been quite an education.

I don't believe you've seen nothing about the issue of NI in Brexit on the news in recent years etc.

But anyway ....the idea that a "history" neatly ended in 2000 and a deeply divided society that had a virtual civil war for decades just stopped being divided or displaying their divisions is. .... Ludicrous.

*whom your country planted there...

Hopefully not outing.

I have Catholic parents, one from NI, one from England, they could never settle in NI for this reason.

I spent lots of time there as a child pre-GFA, and since. I have lots of good memories of the people and places. But my extended family still live culturally-segregated lives. It's just the way it is.

I grew up feeling scared and confused and some very bad stuff happened to family members. There is inter-generational trauma but it feels like a forgotten conflict and I have no-one in my life to talk to about it.

That said I still love to visit and feel a strong but tragic pull! I'm glad the population is generally becoming more diverse due to migration, this can only be a good thing.

Well they're not exactly wrong. Northern Ireland isn't a separate country. Region or province is more accurate

I went there on holiday about 20 years ago. I'm English and my boyfriend was from Ballymena. Everyone I told was like 😱 especially because there was a lot on the news at the time about trouble at a primary school and riots, Holy Cross? but I absolutely loved it.

My memories of NI are sunshine, stunning beaches and coastline, pooh bear ice cream, ulster frys, friendly people and a lot of flags!
I'd love to go back one day.

Edited to add Veda! I really wish we had that over here!

Love NI, love Belfast. Definitely stil a divide and my ex lived through the troubles himself and he is west belfast but has friends from all 4 corners of it and just keep religion out of things when they talk. Brilliant city to go out in and for the most part very friendly.

Never been and know nothing at all about the country. Really want to go to GoT Experience near Belfast, though!