Where is the market?

In the lively Belfast! :)

Royal Avenue, Belfast 2015

As information, Royal Ave is the shopping street of Belfast ;)

Harmony of Belfast

I loved Belfast, I loved this statue also :)


Harmony of Belfast, Belfast 2015

It is a girl on the globe (for a total of 19.5 m), opera of Andy Scott of 2007.

One of its nicknames is "Beacon of Hope", and the globe at her feet indicates the universal philosophy of peace, harmony and thanksgiving, and has marked on its surface the cities where the people and industries of Belfast migrated and exported to (from wiki ;)).

Harmony of Belfast, Belfast 2015

No drink please

Free alcohol zone, Belfast 2015

Ireland may be very famous for its beers, whiskies and other alcoholics...

And probably also for its drinkers..:).. and I was wondering what they have done to lead Ireland introducing free alcohol zones...

Then I searched in internet...and from various posts and forums (eg, from bbc) I found that the main problem was/is that of young people getting around in group, drunk, noisy and becoming violent...opsss...now that I remember this was the same problem in Glasgow 10 years ago...well, fortunately I have not met such kind of groups of young people during my stay in Belfast, I do not know if because of the areas where I was or because the free alcohol zones result really in safer places...

The reduction of underage and on-street drinking was in fact the aim of the introduction of the free alcohol zones. Anyone over the age of 18 caught by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) drinking in a specified non-drinking area may be prosecuted and could face a fine of up to £500. Anyone under the age of 18 caught drinking will have their details passed on to the PSNI Youth Diversion Officer and have a letter sent to their parents.

If you look on the internet, there are also other cities that have applied this rule, both in UK and in the far Australia and New Zealand.

I am thinking now if a similar regulation would be applied in Rome, in area such as Trastevere or Campo dei Fiori...well, the last time that I was in Trastevere on Saturday night I did not feel very safe...so maybe..

Free alcohol zone, Belfast 2015

Never forget...

Never forget how strong and brave you are…

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, Northern Ireland 2015

Harland and Wolff

The Harland & Wolff is the company that built all the ships of the White Star Line, including the RSM-Titanic, this last one between the 1909 and 1911.

Close to the new Titanic Belfast, it is possible to see the former drawing offices of the company. The interiors of these two offices have a cathedral like atmosphere, are ornately decorated and efficiently naturally laminated. In these buildings the projects of the three sister ships, the Olympic, the Titanic and the Britannic were implemented and the detailed designs prepared.

In the first photo, the external wall of the offices. In the second photo, probably a room used as technical room or bathroom.

The Harland & Wolff's offices, Belfast 2015

The Harland & Wolff's offices, Belfast 2015

Titanic Belfast

One of the things that I have discovered being in Belfast was that the famous - for, ahime! :(, tragic reasons - Titanic was built here.

The initial part of the slipway where the Titanic was built is today occupied by the Titanic Belfast, a multimedia centre dedicated to the history of Belfast and of the famous ship.

The centre was open in April 2012, in the occasion of the centenary of the shipwreck.

I did not enter in the centre (have I already told you that I get bored in museum?), but I enjoyed a couple of hours in taking pictures there and around. Lots will come soon here! :)



Titanic Belfast, Belfast 2015

Summer of 69

I said already that for passing from the Republican area to the Unionist one, I had to make a kind of "U" as the Peace Line was closed.

When you arrive to the Unionist area, around Shankill Road, and if you come from the Republican area of Falls Road, then the impact is significant. You have the impression to be completely in another country, no matter if actually you are in the same city and just few km away.

British flags waves everywhere, from building and across roads...with more showiness (under my point of view) than the Irish ones in the area around Falls Road.

Hopewell Avenue, Belfast, 2015

The summer of the 1969 was the beginning of the Troubles, as consequences of tensions amongst Republicans and Unionists based mainly on inequalities in housing allocation and problems in voting systems.

Conflicts and attacks on homes saw the displacement of several Catholic and Protestant families. This mural remembers that period.

Remembering Glasgow - the Divis Tower

Divis Tower, Belfast, 2015

At the time I was in Belfast I decided to shoot this building as it remembered me the big tall buildings in the Glasgow area close to the University. Once I visited one, when I was looking for an apartment, and I remember that the feelings were not nice. These big housing towers are far from the skyscrapers that one can find in the rich financial districts.

These are mainly poor housing build probably with the aim to accommodate a lot of people at low cost.

And each of these building brings with them the sadness reflected in their style....well the Divis Tower is much better than the Glasgows's ones....

This one in Belfast - the Divis Tower - was built in 1966 as part of the now-demolished Divis Flats complex. The tower has 20 floors (oh my God, I remember taking the small lift in the tower of Glasgow and the floors never ended....and then you are up there, but no, no nice view, you are in this small flat and I really felt uncomfortable) and it is 61-metre tall.

The housing complex had 850 flats and was housing 2400 residents (well, and average of almost 3 people per flat...)....the name was given due to the nearby Divis Mountain.

Due to the IRA activity in the area, British Army constructed an observation post on the roof in the 1970s and occupied the top two floors of the building. During the Troubles, access to the post was possible only via helicopter. In that period, the tower was the location of conflicts between Republicans and Unionists.

When the IRA declared to end the armed campaign, the Army decided to dismantle the observation post. Now the post has been converted in residential properties.

Interesting video of the Divis Tower with interview of the architect Frank Robertson, some old photos and more info here.

The Peace Line #2

"We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society"
Angela Davis 

"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men"

Frederick Douglass 

"The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed" Steve Biko

  

"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy" Abraham Lincoln

Northumberland Street, Belfast, 2015

"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others" Nelson Mandela

  

 "The worker is the slave of capitalist society, the female worker is the slave of that slave" James Connolly

  

 "Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on other innocent brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?" Muhammad Ali

  

 "I HAVE A DREAM...black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!..." Martin Luther King

The Peace Line

There are still walls which divide people.

Walls built in name of a religion, or of a political state, or to avoid people entering those that we believe being our own territories....

I remember  the 9th of November 1989 so well: the day when it was decided to open the Berlin Wall. After few days I would have been 14: thinking to the past, I am surprise how much this event touched me...I still have the journal article of that day.

Belfast is still divided.

"Peace Lines" were begun to be built at the end of the 60's, when the beginning of the Troubles increased the tensions between Catholics and Protestants, respectively pro and against Northern Ireland independence. The aim was to decrease the violent attacks between the two parts.

In West of Belfast, the "Peace Line" separates the area of Falls Road, where the catholic Republicans mostly live, to the area of Shankill, where the Unionists of protestant religion live.

The walls have gates (sometime controlled by the police) which allow the passage from one to the other side. They are open during daylight but closed at night.

All the murals shown up to now here are Republican and located in the area of Falls Road. I arrived at the Peace line at 6:30 pm.: the gates to pass to the Shankill area were closed...I had to come back almost to the centre of Belfast to make a kind of "U" route for arriving to the other side....

Discussion on the removal of the "Peace Lines" began in 2008, but a study carried out in 2012 by the University of Ulster showed that the majority of the residents believe that the peace walls are still necessary because of potential violence. In May 2013, the Northern Ireland Executive committed to the removal of all peace lines by mutual consent by 2023 (read the news).

More about the "Peace Lines" in Wikipedia.

I HAVE A DREAM

Northumberland Street, Belfast, 2015

"...And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

          Free at last! Free at last!

                Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!..."

Martin Luther King - Washington, 28th of August 1963

Salvador Allende

Placed in a historic transition, I will pay for loyalty to the people with my life.  And I say to them that I am certain that the seeds which we have planted in the good conscience of thousands and thousands of Chileans will not be shriveled forever.  They have force and will be able to dominate us, but social processes can be arrested by neither crime nor force.  History is ours, and people make history.

Colocado en un tránsito histórico, pagaré con mi vida la lealtad al pueblo.  Y les digo que tengo la certeza de que la semilla que hemos entregado a la conciencia digna de miles y miles de chilenos, no podrá ser segada definitivamente.  Tienen la fuerza, podrán avasallarnos, pero no se detienen los procesos sociales ni con el crimen ni con la fuerza. 

La historia es nuestra y la hacen los pueblos.

Salvador Allende, Santiago de Chile, 11 September 1973

(ref:http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2006/allende110906.html)

On the 11 of September 1973 the Chilean coup d'état took place during the Presidency of Salvador Allende. When the troops surrounded the presidential palace, Allende gave his last speech to the Chilean people with a phone call to a local radio station. Later that day, he killed himself, according to investigations conducted by a Chilean court with the assistance of international experts.

The speech is the inspiration of this mural. At the centre of the mural is the portrait of Allende, and behind him is the symbol of the Unidad Popular coalition with whose support he was elected in November 1970 President of Chile. He has been the first Marxist to be democratically elected as president of a South American country.

Northumberland Street, Belfast, 2015

Climate change affects everyone...but not equally

Today we leave for a while the Irish-British conflict and we treat another subject, that it is also very important and to which I am very attached...

Climate changes...

I believe (and I hope ;)) that I do not need to tell you what is the "climate change" ...but ...just a summary for the laziest ones! ;)

The cause of climate change is ...well is us...decades of industrial activities, burning fossil fuels to produce energy, smog, pollutant releases from cars, etc...resulted in an high increase of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Greenhouse gases act like a blanket around Earth, preventing the natural exchange of solar energy from and to the space. The energy is kept in the atmosphere and causing it to warm. Part of greenhouse gases are needed to ensure the temperature in the Earth needed for the life: however, an increase of them is increasing the temperature at levels which can be dangerous to humans being and to the entire ecosystem. (http://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/basics/)

The current global average temperature is 0.85ºC higher than it was in the late 19th century. Each of the past three decades has been warmer than any preceding decade since records began in 1850. "An increase of 2°C compared to the temperature in pre-industrial times is seen by scientists as the threshold beyond which there is a much higher risk that dangerous and possibly catastrophic changes in the global environment will occur". (http://ec.europa.eu/clima/change/causes/index_en.htm)

But which are the main consequences of climate changes?

• extreme weather conditions, resulting in floods, droughts, or intense rain, as well as more frequent and severe heat waves
• melting of ice caps with the consequence of sea rising, which then leads to flooding and erosion of costal and low-lying areas
• oceans are warming and becoming more acids.

It is expected these conditions to be worsen in the next future.

References: http://ec.europa.eu/clima/change/consequences/index_en.htm, http://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/basics/

All the World is affected, but many of the developing countries are the most affected.

Now, I have a problem of understanding the mural below. Either the artist made it wrong, or it is me who does not understand it. In the balance it seems that the developed world is the most affected part, when in reality it is not the case.



Northumberland Street, Belfast, 2015

Developing countries are amongst the most affected as they have few resources to cope with the changes in the climate. Most of them already suffer from water scarcity, and an increase of drought periods can seriously impact their health and sanitary conditions. On the other side, episodes of extreme flooding events, with often tragic consequences, are not rare.

"Climate change affects us all, but not equally.

Those who suffer first and worst are those who did least to cause it: the poor and most vulnerable members of society.  While they did not do much, they are effected much more severely than developed world. Of course, they do not have any means or resources to mitigate and adapt to this changing situation.

Around the world, I have seen how floods, droughts, rising sea levels and increasingly severe storms are causing terrible harm, and prompting families to migrate, often at great peril."

UN Secretary -General Ban Ki-moon's Remarks at Workshop on the Moral Dimensions of Climate Change and Sustainable Development "Protect the Earth, Dignify Humanity" Vatican City, 28 April 2015.

It is up to each of us now to stop all of this. We due this to ourselves, to the populations that were not so lucky as us to born in developed countries (and that often have to face also political and religious conflicts), and to the future generations.

What we can do:

http://ec.europa.eu/clima/citizens/tips/index_en.htm

http://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/

Nelson Mandela

IN MY COUNTRY WE GO TO PRISON FIRST AND THEN BECOME PRESIDENT

(Nelson Mandela, "Long Walk to Freedom", 1995)

South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician, Nelson Mandela was firstly a political prisoner from 1963 to 1990, and then he served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.

This mural was unveiled in 2013, on the day before his 95th birthday. Mandela died on the 5th of December 2013.

As background of Mandela's portrait and his famous quote, there are the Irish and South African flags.

Mandela was a friend of Ireland and he is the symbol of the Fight for Freedom for the Irish and all the World.

Northumberland Street, Belfast, 2015

Francis Hughes

“It is not those who can inflict the most but those who can endure the most who will conquer"

Northumberland Street, Belfast, 2015

This mural was painted on the 30th anniversary of the 1981 Hunger Strike and put at the centre of the image Francis Hughes, an IRA revolutionary from Bellaghy, Country Londonderry, who followed Bobby Sands on the Hunger Strike.

He died 59 days later, on the 12th May, at the age of 25.

In the mural he is surrounded by IRA fellows and Republicans from previous eras (see the picture of entire mural with the list of the names of all the people represented at http://extramuralactivity.com/2014/01/page/2/)

Read more on Hughes in Wikipedia :)


Northumberland Street, Belfast, 2015

James Connolly

In the wall in Rockmount Street there are two murals.

Rockmount Street, Belfast, 2015

In the upper part of the wall, the mural is dedicated to the republican women. At the centre there is the image of Countess Markievicz, of whom I have already spoken here.

In the lower part of the wall, there is the image of James Connolly.

Connolly was a political thinker who came to Belfast as union organiser in 1911. He was living in Dublin when the republican revolutionary armed rising was decided, in 1916.

When the rebels surrendered, as commander of the Dublin Brigade he was brought before a British military tribunal and sentenced to death.

On the day of the sentence, the 12th of May 1916, he was so badly injured from the fighting that he was unable to stand before the firing squad at the  Kilmainham Gaol: he was carried to a prison courtyard on a stretcher, tied to a chair and then shot.

Connolly is also well remembered for his socialist and Marxist theories.

You can find more information on James Connolly in Wikipedia, and some of his quotes in wikiquotes.

In the video below, the song dedicated to Connolly makes feel a sadness that I am sure is only a drop of all the sadness that the Irish people felt at the moment of Connolly's death.

"A great crowd had gathered outside of Kilmainham
Their heads all uncovered they knelt to the ground
For inside that grim prison lay a brave Irish soldier
His life for his country about to lay down

He went to his death like a true son of Ireland
The firing party he bravely did face
Then the order rang out: "Present arms and fire"
James Connolly fell into a ready-made grave

The black flag was hoisted, the cruel deed was over
Gone was the man who loved Ireland so well
There was many a sad heart in Dublin that morning
When they murdered James Connolly, the Irish rebel

Many years have gone by since the Irish Rebellion
When the guns of Britannia they loudly did speak
And the bold l.R.A. they stood shoulder to shoulder
As the blood from their bodies flowed down Sackville Street

The Four Courts at Dublin, the English bombarded
The spirit of freedom they tried hard to quell
But above all the din rose the cry "No Surrender"
'Twas the voice of James Connolly, the Irish rebel

(lyric from http://www.kinglaoghaire.com/lyrics/663-james-connolly)

In the heart of the Irish culture

West of Belfast, and more specifically the area around Falls Road, is a Gaeltacht Quarter (An Cheathrú Ghaeltachta).

A Gaeltacht Quarter is a quarter where Irish is widely spoken and where the diffusion of the Irish culture is promoted.

The same name of "the Falls Road" (as usually it is called) comes from Irish and means 

"Bóthar na bhFál", meaning "the road of the hedgerows", and reminds the fact that originally the road was a country lane leading from the city centre.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the area expanded rapidly with the construction of several large linen mills (all of those now closed). The employment of thousand of local men and women led to the construction of back-to-back houses for their accommodation.
Read more on the history of the Falls Road here.

The heart of this Gaeltacht Quarter is the Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich. This is the centre dedicated to the Irish culture, which promotes its diffusion through music sessions, poetry reading, concerts, expositions.

Hosted in a former Presbyterian church, inside you can find an excellent restaurant, book and gift shops, theatre and gallery. It is also the home of the official Irish touristic information point: it was here that I found the so useful and needed map with the location of all the murals, as already described in a previous post. The person responsible for giving information was Gerard, and he was so kind and helpful :).

I had my lunch there, a fantastic Chicken Caesar salad (probably the best that I never had) and home-made brown bread.

Lunch at the Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich (photo taken with the compact camera)

I also loved the tap water that I could drink as much as I wanted (they brought me a jug after the moment of the picture where I had 'only' a glass ;))...and this for a person coming from a country where it is not well seen if you ask tap water and where a litre of bottled water costs 6 euro,..is inspiring....:)

So stop there if you will be around. You will not be disappointed! :)

Finally, as last but not least information that I am delighted to give you, as supporter of both the Irish culture and of the European Union, Irish is an official working language of the EU since 1 January 2007.

Kieran Doherty

Kieran Doherty was an IRA volunteer, who died on the 2nd of August 1981 during the Hunger Strike at the Maze prison.

When he died he was 25, and he died after 73 days on hunger strike, the longest of the 1981 hunger strikers.

He is buried in the Milltown Cemetery.

Kieran Doherty, Slemish Way - Andersonstown Road, Belfast 2015

The mural, as it appears now, is the result of the new painting of 2014 which replaces a previous mural of Doherty.

This new mural reports scenes of Doherty's funeral, which took place on the 4th of August 1981. On the left corner, there are the portraits of Doherty’s parents.

Several criticisms followed the inauguration of this mural, mainly because it reports masked gunmen. Read some of them in the BBC channel and the Belfast Telegraph.

On the other side, the Republican community celebrated the inauguration of the new mural dedicated to Kieran Doherty, as it is possible to follow in the video

Below some details of the mural:

Kieran Doherty's hearse, Slemish Way - Andersonstown Road, Belfast 2015

The volley at the Kieran Doherty's funeral, Slemish Way - Andersonstown Road, Belfast 2015

Kieran Doherty's funeral, Slemish Way - Andersonstown Road, Belfast 2015

The real photos of the funeral, which served as insipation for the mural, are shown in the hungerstrikes.org website.

The Milltown Cemetery

If you walk walk walk in Falls Road, and you have already walked 4.1 km from the City Hall,...then you will arrive (probably wet, tired, but having seen a lot of beautiful things already) to the Milltown Cemetery....."entered into service" in 1869 as primary Catholic cemetery in the Belfast area.

The cemetery is in an area of 62 acre and host the graves of almost 500000 Belfast's citizens.

A part is dedicated to the victims of the endemic flu of 1918, and they are buried in unmarked graves. Here also 100 British soldiers from the first and second world war are buried.

But  the cemetery is more well-known for the graves of some of the most important Republican revolutionaries, as Bobby Sands, Joe McDonnell and Kieran Doherty, who died in the Hunger Strike of the 1981.

Unfortunately, I could not spent much time in the place (rain coming and will to see the remaining murals) and I have not seen their graves....I had also a "small" accident changing for the first time the lens  ("what are these black spots that I see???....mmmmm") which made me a little not in the mood of searching... and to be honest at that time I was not so aware of all the Belfast history,...I am a little sorry for this...

Anyway, a relaxing place...with also a toilet (not to undervalue after hours of walking ;))..

At the end of the cemetery, a nice panorama of the city...

More photos here! :)

Celtic Cross at the entrance of the Milltown Cemetery, Belfast 2015

The read more about the Milltown Cemetery:
http://www.milltowncemetery.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milltown_Cemetery

Finally, I have found in internet the photos of the IRA volunteers' graves.

The following is written in a plaque on the grave of Bobby Sands:

In Loving Memory of a Special Son.

I often lie awake at night when others are asleep,

I take a walk down memory lane with tears upon my cheeks.
No one knows the heartache, I try so hard to hide,

some people say as time goes by the heartache will subside.
But the feelings in my heart today, are the same as the day you died.
It broke my heart to lose you, your parting caused such pain,

but the greatest day has yet to come

when we will meet again.

Hope should never die

"All things must come to pass as one
So hope should never die
There is no height or bloody might
That a freeman can't defy.
There is no source or foreign force
Can break one man who knows,
that his free will nothing can kill
And from that freedom grows"

Bobby Sands

 



This quote is reported in a canvas attached to the external wall of the Falls Library.

The original murals is in East Harlem (New York) and marked the 20th anniversary of the 1981 Hunger Strike.

 

The murals is a tribute to all of those who fought for justice, as also the quote reminds.

 

Bobby Sands

I believe that Bobby Sands is the IRA revolutionary who is better known by who followed the Troubles.

He participated at the Hunger Strike of the 1981, and he was the first of ten men to die in the prison that year.

With the aim to give a signal to the British government and to save the lives of those in the Hunger Strike, it was decided that he should have stand for election (as prisoner) to become Member of the Westminster Parliament. On the 9th of April he was elected as Member of the Parliament, receiving over 30.000 votes, more than those received by the Prime Minister at that time - Margaret Thatcher - in all her own constituency.

On the 5th of May he died after 66 days of hunger strike.



Bobby Sands, Sevastapol Street, Belfast 2015
- painted by Dan Devenny -

Bobby Sands' quotes:

"Our Revenge Will Be The Laughter of Our Children"

"Everyone, Republican or Otherwise has their own particular role to play. No part is too great or too small; no one is too old or too young to do something"


Bobby Sands died in the H-Blocks of Her Majesty's Prison Maze in Long Kesh.

The chorus of a song dedicated to the men died in the H-Block and written by Francie Brolly in 1976 is reported in the right part of the mural:

So I’ll wear no convict’s uniform
Nor meekly serve my time
That Britain might brand Ireland's fight
Eight hundred years of crime

Sevastapol Street, Belfast 2015

The entire lyrics:

I
I am a proud young Irishman.
In Ulster’s hills my life began;

A happy boy through green fields ran;
I kept God’s and Man’s laws.
But when my age was barely ten
My country’s wrongs were told again.
By tens of thousands marching men
And my heart stirred to the cause.

Chorus:
So I’ll wear no convict’s uniform
Nor meekly serve my time
That Britain might brand Ireland's fight
Eight hundred years of crime.

II
I learned of centuries of strife,
Of cruel laws, injustice rife;

I saw now in my own young life
The fruits of foreign sway:
Protestors threatened, tortured, maimed,
Divisions nurtured, passions flamed,
Outrage provoked, right’s cause defamed;
That is the conqueror’s way.

Chorus

III
Descended from proud Connacht clan,
Concannon served cruel Britain’ s plan;
Man’ s inhumanity to man
Had spawned a trusty slave.
No strangers are these bolts and locks,
No new design these dark H-Blocks,
Black Cromwell lives while Mason stalks;
The bully taunts the brave.

Chorus

IV
Does Britain need a thousand years
Of protest, riot, death and tears,
Or will this past decade of fears
Of eighty decades spell
an end to Ireland’ s agony,
New hope for human dignity;
And will the last obscenity
Be this grim H-Block cell?

Chorus


More info on Bobby Sands can be found here
http://bobbysandstribute.weebly.com/life.html
http://www.bobbysandstrust.com/bobbysands
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Sands (in Italian)

The Falls Memorial Garden

Located in Falls road, close to the International Wall, this is one of the first memorial gardens of this kind in Belfast.

It was opened in 2001 and it is dedicated to the memory of local IRA members and residents of the area who died during the conflicts.


The Falls Memorial Garden, Belfast 2015

The mural contains the images of young IRA men of the area who died on Active Service, and the map of the area, as it was in the early '70s, showing the places where they died.

The Falls Memorial Garden, Belfast 2015

The Falls Memorial Garden, Belfast 2015

 The Falls Memorial Garden, Belfast 2015

 "the fools, the fools, the fools! they have left us our Fenian dead, and while Ireland holds these graves, Ireland unfree shall never be at peace."

 (oration of Patrck Pearse at the funeral of Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa on 1 August 1915 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland_unfree_shall_never_be_at_peace)

My Irish dinner #2

 

Well, of course, I could not offer only bread to my friends, so here comes the rest..
The two recipes are both based on potatoes, which is one of the main elements of the Irish cuisine.

Leeks and potato soup

First note, I think that I had never consciously eaten leeks, and I have to admit that I like them a lot..as sweeter than onions (and I think also more digestible).

What you need is:

- 500 gr of leeks, cut in small slices avoiding to take also the green part which has a much stronger taste
- 200 gr of onion, cut in small slices
- 50 gr of butter
- 3 litres of vegetable stock
- 500 gr of potatoes, cut in small cubes
- herbs (I have used only parsley, but the recipe suggests also basil, thyme, laurel).

In a big casserole, let the onions and the leeks sauté (why the English does not have proper terms when comes to cooking and they have to take French words? ;( ) with the butter. I waited until the onions and leeks were really well cooked as I do not like the taste that they have when they are raw, so in my mind ;) this would have decreased it...but well, I am not a chef ..;)

Add the stock and the herbs and wait until it boils.

Skim it (and it is still a mystery how to do this! ;)), add the potatoes and cook slowly,...until the ingredients are melted as in a cream....this last part is what the recipe says, I would tell you to cook for one hour more or less.....

Now the recipe (which comes from the same source as that of the soda bread and of the next recipe) does not suggest to whip the ingredients, but I did as I preferred a more creamy soup.

On the contrary, the recipes suggests that, if wanted, liquid cream or béchamel can be added....I didn't....ehm, am I becoming too much rebel? ;)..

The result was perfect and my friends liked it a lot! :)

 



Leek and potato soup on the plate (photos taken with the compact camera)

More recipes (in Italian) here:
http://www.cookaround.com/ricetta/crema-di-porri-e-patate.html
http://blog.giallozafferano.it/thebigdreamfactory/zuppa-di-porri-e-patate/#

Irish stew
(Irish: stobhach / Stobhach Gaelach)

Here another rebellion ;): the Irish stew is commonly prepared with mutton or lamb: for the first I have no idea where to find it and if I like the taste....for the second...well, I know that this is a kind a racism over animal species (I mean, why the pork or the beef yes and the lamb no?)...but I do feel more guilty eating these animals, as well horses or birds...Of course, I do feel guilty eating also all the rest, but the 7-year of vegetarianism taught me that my body needs the meat...and then this is my compromise.

So, I have used beef, feel free to use the meat you prefer! :)...if you use lamb, they suggest the shoulder or the thigh.

Ingredients:
- 2 kg of meat cut in pieces of an average size
- 1.5 kg of potatoes clean and cut in pieces
- 4 onions and 4 leeks (I have used only onions as my estimation at the supermarket was not really good and the leeks bought were enough only for the soup...moreover, I think I used less than 4 onions)
- 8 carrots
- parsley, salt, pepper if wanted
- 1,7 litres of meat stock.

How to prepare it:
Boil the pieces of meats, drain them and throw away the water (I would say 20-30 mins in total).
In a pan or a casserole, put together the meat, the onions, the carrots, the herbs and the stock.
Cook slowly for one hour.
Add the potatoes and cook for other 40-45 minutes.
The maximum cooking time for Irish stew is 2 hours! ;)
Serve with fresh parsley.

 

 

Irish stew (photos taken with compact camera)

Another recipe can be found here (in Italian)
http://www.irlandaonline.com/cultura/cucina/ricette/irish-stew-stufato-irlandese/

Some history here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_stew
http://homecooking.about.com/od/foodhistory/a/irishstewhistry.htm ...do not ask me why the stew in the picture in this website is so dark brown...I guess because of the Guinness, which is sometimes added as traditional ingredient...I saw a lot of pub serving Irish stew with Guinness...no, I do not like beer, if wondering ;)...

So if you fancy a Guinness stew, here you find the recipe.
According to the author..."By the time you're done cooking the stew down, the bitterness is largely gone and you're just left with nice flavors of caramel, a little bit of caramel chocolatey with a roast to it."
So it may worth a try! :)

The Dessert

Not Irish, but fantastic as well....yogurt cake and ice-cream!

Yogurt cake and ice-cream (photo taken with compact camera)

Shooting for Socrates

This evening I will not be there, as other things are planned....

Actually I should stay at home since I am ill :(....

but this evening, in the context of the British and Irish film festival they are showing this film:

Shooting for Socrates (NI)
Director : James Erskine
Starring : John Hannah, Barry Ward, Conleth Hill, Ciarán McMenamin
Genre : Drama - Duration: 91 mins
Synopsis: Set around the Northern Ireland football team’s qualification and
play at Mexico World Cup in 1986, set with the Troubles as a backdrop. 9 year
old Tommy, nonchalantly dribbles a ball through the troubled streets of Belfast
during rioting. Whilst politicians argue over the peace process, there’s only
one thing on young Tommy’s football-mad mind - the forthcoming World Cup,
where tiny Northern Ireland will take on the mighty Brazil in the biggest game
of their lives. On the football field, eccentric Northern Ireland coach Billy Bingham
(they call him Mr FIFA - «a fee for this and a fee for that») must plug
together a bunch of misfits and third division players.

It will be at 7pm in Utopia....8:80 the tickets!

Enjoy! :)

My Irish dinner..and my supportive friends! :)

Today a jump to the close close past, well yesterday...when I cooked an Irish dinner for some special friends..

As already said, the trip on Ireland was my first real solo trip....and I was a little scared, mostly of feeling lonely...or that something could have gone wrong..etc..

I did not tell a lot of people of this trip....superstitious reasons? maybe ...(well, the KLM flight cancelled the day before leaving was an input to this decision..;) ;)).....I did not share in the social network anything of my trip...and the main reason was that I wanted to live the trip really deeply and no need to 'social' sharing experiences, eventually I would have preferred sharing it with real people met during the trip...;)

And even less people known of this blog...I was not sure about its longevity ;), and if I had the time to write on it (which in fact I did not had!)...

But there were some special people who, for one reason or another, known almost all and cared how I was up there...so the dinner was for them (who also consciously played the role of tester...anyway fettuccine and sauce were at hand)...even if a couple of them were missing!! :)

PS: I love the look of this post ....;)....I feel a little like my friend Naima of Cucino da Vicino who cooks and writes sensations....(Naima, this is free publicity eh! ;* ;*)

So the DINNER.... :)

Irish dinners often begin with bread and butter....

The typical bread is the

SODA BREAD

(Irish: arán sóide) 

 

According to Lonely Planet, the soda bread born in the XIX century as consequence of the characteristic of the Irish flour to be "impalpable" which did not ensure good final results if mixed with the common yeast.

 

So in place of the yeast, the bakers began to use the sodium bicarbonate (also known as baking soda) which reacts with the acidity of added lactic acid, giving tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide (- and also the chemistry lesson is done ;) -).....these bubbles act as leaving agent...

 

My recipe of (brown) soda bread comes from some pages of an old magazine which I stored (- see mammy why I do not throw away anything???.;) -) ...specifically I Viaggi di Repubblica of 27 April 2000 ....(oh my God, the fact that I do not live in Rome anymore means that my life there stopped more or less when I left ;))....       

 

 Ingredients:

500 gr of whole wheat flour

500 gr of white flour

around 15 gr of salt

around 13 gr of sodium bicarbonate

800 ml of sour cream (panna acida in Italian)...this is the most expensive ingredient...I think 800 ml will cost you around 5.5 euro...- in Luxembourg)
25 gr of butter

How to prepare the bread:

Mix the two flours with the bicarbonate and the salt.

Add the butter and the cream...mix all the ingredients quite fast until the dough becomes soft and compact.

Give a nice shape, cut a deep cross on the surface to let the reaming bubbles to go out during the cooking, and put in the pre-heated oven for 30-35 minute at 200 °C (around 185 °C for a convection oven)..before turning off the oven check that it is light brown outside and that it makes a sound vacuum!

ready for the oven
(photo taken with compact camera)

 

 The result :):

 

out from the oven
(photo taken with compact camera)

  My friends loved it....I had never seen before Manu eating so happily ;) 

 

Brown soda bread
(photo taken with compact camera)

Suggestions:

This bread is perfect as salty bread (with the soup is fantastic) with butter on the top...but try also with butter and jam..you will never forget it! :)

Alternative recipes
(in Italian):

http://ricette.giallozafferano.it/Soda-bread.html

http://www.irlandando.it/cultura/cucina/ricette/pane-e-scones/ricetta-brown-soda-bread/
(In Irish and English...as suggested by an Irish colleague :)...thanks! :))
http://blogs.transparent.com/irish/oideas-i-ngaeilge-aran-soide-eireannach-agus-aistriuchan-bearla-and-an-english-translation/