Back to the North

Belfast felt like such a long time ago. I've spoken to many of my classmates about their favorite part of Ireland and a number of them said the North but specifically stated Belfast. When I was there, I knew a bit of the history whether that was before I arrived in Ireland or what I learned in Dr. McGurks' class. It was very surreal to see the walls three layers high, or the gates that still get closed every night, or the political murals that differ on the catholic vs. protestant side. Most importantly what I found in Belfast is that history is not exactly history to the people that live in the six counties. Honestly, it's not history to the people living in the Republic of Ireland. 

"To a shade" is a political poem written by W.B. Yeats; to Charles Stuart Parnell (1846-1891). Parnell was a very important Irish nationalist leader; he was a part of Parliament and the leader of the Irish parliamentary party. The poem is basically telling Parnell that "If you have revisited the town, thin Shade,/ Whether to look upon your monument/ (I wonder if the builder has been paid)/ Or happier- thoughted when the day is spent/ To drink of that salt breath out of the sea" (1-5). Basically, the writer is aware of the disappointment that will come to Parnell if he visits anything other than the water, this includes his monument. This is again presented when the writer says "You had enough sorrow before death-/ Away, away! You are safer in the tomb" (25-26). Not much has changed in Northern Ireland/ the six counties, it was evident in my trip to the North. In connection to the poem Yeats explains to Parnell that there is still conflict even though the poem was written in 1913. Northern Ireland is a beautiful and thought-provoking area; however, it's still caught in the war stricken past even now in 2025.