Silver Linings: Travels Around Northern Ireland

When I get a few minutes these days, I try to dip into a book by Martin Fletcher called Silver Linings. Fletcher was a journalist for The Times, sent to Northern Ireland to cover the ‘Troubles’. Despite having seen us at our absolute worst, he managed to see a lot of the good in Northern Ireland and recorded a lot of his tales for us to share. The book is a wonderful celebration of the people, culture and history of Northern Ireland that doesn’t try to erase it’s quarrelsome past, but celebrates those who have overcome it.

Anyway, I read a passage in the book today about James Galway, who grew up in East Belfast and has risen to become a world-renowned flautist.

He looks and sounds like an Ulster Prod, but certainly no longer thinks like one. As a practising Christian who has long since shed the convictions of his youth, he no longer has any time for Northern Ireland’s bigotry. He considered the Troubles ‘ridiculous’, believes it is high time Ireland was reunited, and insists the people have to put the past behind them.

I think his stance is interesting, to say the least. His background should pre-dispose him toward all-out Unionism, yet he favours a United Ireland.

I’m not a quarter of the way through the book yet, but there’s so much I’ve learned already about the ‘alternative’ Northern Ireland (did you know we invented the pneumatic tyre? - John Boyd Dunlop, a vet in Belfast developed the idea for his son’s bike in 1888). Apparently Belfast had something to do with building the Titanic, but that sounds like a rumour to me.

I’ll keep you updated on the book - it’s looking promising so far.