Discoveries in Northern Ireland

Month 2 of my journey was spent in Northern Ireland, the part of the Isle of Ireland that is a part of the United Kingdom. Because of their ties to the UK, the Northern Irish are much more culturally “British” than the Republic of Ireland.  Many of the people in NI are of Scottish descent, and thus many of their customs are the same, including their agricultural practices. Though agriculture is quite similar in N. Ireland to that of Scotland, I have noticed more dairies in Northern Ireland and fewer sheep. Cattle are dominant, and field sizes are usually around 10 acres or less. Instead of Scotland’s stone fences there are hedges as far as the eye can see. Hedge borders are everywhere alongside roads and between fields. They are often quite tall and make it virtually impossible to look into fields, giving the average nosey farmer a tough time.  Grass silage is the most common livestock feed grown with just a few cereal grains grown for feed.

 Food isn’t too different from Kansas, usually meat and potatoes. Boiled potatoes are essential to every meal, and alcohol with meals is more prevalent. Whiskey is consumed on a regular basis in many families.  Meal times aren’t always at the same time from day-to-day, dinner could be at 11pm if that is how it happens, as it did several times during my stay. Punctuality isn’t bothered with much all-in-all.  Times are often set earlier than they are meant for just so people may end up finally arriving on time. For example, a club may set their meeting time as “half seven for eight”, meaning try to show up at 7:30 for the meeting at 8, though this often results in people showing up at 8:30. Some cultures are more insistent on punctuality, but in N. Ireland the “take it easy” attitude on time teaches you to just go with the flow.

One thing that is consistent throughout the UK is having a “cuppa” tea. Tea is taken quite seriously, and some families would have around six or more tea breaks a day. Tea would be drank following breakfast, mid-morning, following lunch, early afternoon, mid-afternoon, following dinner, and then at least one cup before bed. The most common tea is English Breakfast, and is almost always served with milk, and then sugar if preferred.

 Many of the people in N. Ireland are still very much at odds with each other on religion, even after hundreds of years of holding grudges. Protestant vs. Catholic is at the basis of all decisions, and there are cities such as “Londonderry” (Protestant preferred city name) a.k.a. “Derry” (Catholic preferred city name) where the cities are segregated by walls or rivers due to their religious differences.  There are many parades and “celebrations” throughout N. Ireland that display one religion’s dominance in an area, while essentially deepening an already existent grudge with their Protestant or Catholic neighbors.  The youth of Northern Ireland are slightly more forgiving of the conflicts of the past and may have a friend or two of a different religion. Some people in Northern Ireland say they can tell the difference in a person’s religion just by looking at them, though they’d have the same hair style and clothing style as anyone else.
From where I was standing I would have never been able to see the difference.