Dónal Donohoe

I have always enjoyed the drive north from Dublin to Belfast, the image of the distant Mourne mountains catching the summer sunshine as I played on one of the many beaches that dot the shoreline north of Dublin is one that stands out clearly from my childhood. The winding road that used to pass through almost every town on the way has now been replaced by a motorway that stretches from Dublin to just south of Belfast, cutting the travel time to about half of what it used to be.

Situated where the river Lagan enters Belfast Lough the city sits snugly between Cave Hill and Black Mountain to the north and the Mourne foothills to the south, making it feel more compact than Dublin. The two giant Harland & Wolff cranes which can be seen from most places in the city bear witness to it’s ship-building past and the dry dock where the Titanic was built is now a museum. The city centre lies in the area surrounding Belfast City Hall, where many of the streets are pedestrian and most tourist attractions are within easy walking distance of each other. The Belfast accent is strong, flat and very infectious, the people are friendly and helpful as I found out when at one stage I was looking at my map not far from the Europa Hotel trying to locate the Linenhall Library and out of the blue a man stopped and asked if he could help me, something that would rarely if ever happen in a city like Paris or New York.

It was nice to spend a few days in Belfast, wandering around at a leisurely pace checking out whatever caught one’s fancy or sitting in the sunshine on Arthur Street drinking coffee at the oldest cafe in the city. All too soon it was time to head back south again, but no doubt I’ll be back to Belfast.