Settling In

I've begun to get a little more settled in here as we have just finished our first week of class. The commute is a little different to Stonehill where I can role out of my bed and walk over to class in about 5 minutes. I take the LUAS (tram, luas is the Irish word for speed) everyday and get out at St. Stephens Green and begin my walk to class/tour of Irish history. I walk down to O'Connell Street which is lined with statues of famous patriots and freedom fighters throughout Ireland's history. I pass the General Post Office, where in 1916 fighting broke out between Republican forces and the British military and is now seen as a catalyst to Irish independence. The GPO actually still has bullet holes in the front of the building that are a constant reminder of the price paid for independence. Then it's on to Parnell Sq. on the North Side of Dublin.

Charles Stuart Parnell was a Protestant who argued for Catholic emancipation and is often included in Nationalist story telling, but his religion is often times left out. The other day in our History lecture we talked about how people like Parnell, Wolfe Tone and other founding members of Irish Republicanism were actually Protestant, and it is a shame that the conflict between Republican and Loyalist forces devolved into something that often times is tribal at best, and merely tit for tat sectarian murders have been the result of what was once a struggle for unity and freedom among the Irish population.

Our classroom is an old Georgian mansion on the North side which looks a bit out of place. It is across from housing projects, and South siders will often have a few jokes to tell about the neighborhood if you bring up Lower Dominick Street. There seems to be a friendly rivalry between the South and North siders in Dublin, and everyday my commute from the suburban area of Dundrum on the South side to the gritty area around Parnell Sq. on the North reminds me there is certainly more than one Dublin experience.

Today I took some time to read up on the recent agreement that just took place, between Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionist Party about the devolution of police in NI and the parades commission. If you are interested it is worth taking a look at.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0205/breaking2.html

The picture that goes along with this article is remarkable to see Deputy First Minister Martin McGuiness standing next to First Minister Peter Robinson of the DUP. I say it is remarkable because McGuiness is the former Commander in Chief of the IRA and this picture demonstrates how a man can go, in just a few years, from plotting to take the lives of the opposition, to sitting down and engaging in political dialogue, and more importantly, getting results.