2025 Galloway Ireland Civil Rights Program
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Blog 5
We left super early this morning and headed to Derry/Londonderry, a city that was basically ground zero for the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland. Derry is smaller than Belfast but feels like it has even more history packed into it. The walls around the old city are still completely intact, which is pretty rare.
Our first stop was the Free Derry Museum. The coolest (and most unexpected) thing happened – we randomly met this journalist who was actually there during Bloody Sunday! He shared his firsthand account of witnessing the violence. It was powerful hearing about it from someone who lived through it instead of just reading about it in history books.
The museum itself was intense. They have original artifacts from Bloody Sunday, including clothing from victims and photographs that didn’t hold back on showing what really happened. It definitely made the civil rights struggle here feel a lot more real.
After that, our local tour guide took us around to see all the murals and walked us along the city walls. The murals are massive and way more detailed than we expected. Each one tells a different story about the Troubles and the fight for equality. Walking on the historic walls gave us a view of both the Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods from above.
We had some free time to grab lunch and explore a bit. Then we got stuck in some serious UK traffic on our way to the hotel (some things are the same everywhere).
Our dinner tonight was really good – probably one of the best meals of the trip so far. Most of us are already organizing our notes for our final presentations on Friday when we get back to Atlanta. It’s crazy how much we’ve learned about civil rights in just a few days.
Tomorrow’s our last night in Ireland as we head back to Dublin. This trip has gone by way too fast yet it feels we’ve been here forever.
Blog 4
Finally got to sleep in a bit today! After the crazy schedule we’ve had, the extra rest was much needed.
Our morning started with a session at the Linen Hall library where this super knowledgeable librarian showed us their collection. The propaganda stuff was actually really interesting – seeing how both sides tried to convince people during the Troubles. It’s wild how much power words and images can have.
We got to explore for lunch and find our own food in the streets. Some of us grabbed quick bites while others found cool local spots. We also squeezed in some souvenir shopping (parents, expect some gifts!).
Next up was the Belfast Council Hall which was pretty impressive. Then we met Sean, who’s Ailbe’s cousin. Fun fact: Sean is the Irish version of John, and our guide explained how even names can tell you which community someone belongs to here. That’s something we never would have thought about before.
The Peace Wall was probably the most powerful part of the day. We left our own messages of peace alongside thousands of others. It’s one thing to hear about divisions in a city, but seeing an actual wall that separates neighborhoods hits different.
We also checked out the Titanic building site. Did you know the Titanic was built right here in Belfast? The museum was massive!
Dinner was at an all-you-can-eat place and we definitely made the most of it. Pretty sure we all went back for seconds… and maybe thirds on dessert. No regrets though!
Tomorrow we’re heading to Derry/Londonderry. Even the fact that the city has two names tells you something about the divisions here. Can’t wait to learn more.
Later!
Blog 3
Rise and shine (actually not)! We were up before the sun today, but the full Irish breakfast made it worth getting out of bed early. We loaded onto the bus and headed north, crossing from the Republic of Ireland into the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland).
Our first stop was the jail where both unionists and nationalists were imprisoned together. It was pretty intense seeing the cells and learning about all the different punishments they used. The history behind the Troubles really hit different when you’re standing in the actual places where it happened.
For lunch, we hit downtown Belfast. Some of us found this dome with amazing views of the whole city – definitely worth the climb! After eating, we toured around Belfast and saw the universities.
Our guide explained how parts of the city are still segregated, which was eye-opening. They showed us how to spot the differences between Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods (like the flags, colors painted on curbs, and murals). It’s wild to think that these divisions still exist today.
We ended the afternoon at the Ulster Museum. It had a surprisingly good collection of everything from ancient history to modern art. Not what we expected but definitely cool!
Dinner tonight was chicken kiev and toffee cake for dessert – no complaints here! It was actually really good. After all the walking and learning today, we’re heading to bed early. Tomorrow‘s another full day!
Blog 2
Seven. Miles. Of. Walking. Our feet are definitely feeling it! But honestly? It was worth it. The tenement museum showed us how people lived in Dublin’s poorest areas back in the day – it’s crazy to think about those conditions and how they connect to housing rights today.
We got lucky and caught some of the Six Nations rugby match between Ireland and Wales at lunch (Ireland won!). The energy in the city was amazing – everyone was so hyped about the game.
Later we visited Trinity College, which was giving major Hogwarts vibes. We learned about this super old book called the Book of Kells and saw the Trinity College Library – the Long Room is INSANE. Like, imagine the most beautiful library you’ve ever seen and multiply it by 100.
We finished the day with Irish stew for dinner. It hit different after all that walking! Now we’re back at the hotel, ready to see what tomorrow brings.
Stay tuned for more updates. Tomorrow we’re heading to Belfast!
Blog 1
Our flight to Dublin was delayed (ugh), but we finally made it! We split into smaller groups for lunch downtown, which was actually pretty cool because it let us explore a bit. Our guides Ailbe and Sara met up with us – they seem really nice and know so much about Ireland.
Even though we were super tired from the flight, we had a talk from Paul Kavanagh, who used to be Ireland’s ambassador. He told us about Irish history and made an interesting point about how in conflicts, it’s not as simple as one side being totally right. It really made us think about how this connects to civil rights movements everywhere.
We ended up getting burgers in the Temple Bar area for dinner. Not gonna lie – we were all basically zombies by then and crashed as soon as we got back to the hotel.