Excursion to Northern Ireland

On the way to Northern Ireland on Wednesday the 6th we stopped by W.B. Yeats' grave. Interesting tidbit: Yeats actually wrote what he wanted found on his headstone, "Cast a cold eye on life, on death. Horseman, pass by." We also stopped by a megalithic court tomb which was recommended by our archeology professor shortly afterward. We arrived in Derry and ate dinner before having an excellent night out on the town, some of which I admittedly don't remember.
The next morning we headed off to the Grianan of Aileach, an ancient ring fort which has the view of a lifetime. Miles and miles are visible from this outpost. It also was a patronage location for many people since it had the holy well of St. Patrick as well. After that we toured through the Bloody Sunday Museum. It was extremely powerful with all kinds of pieces from the day contributed from the family. The facilitator of the tour was the brother of one of the men shot on Bloody Sunday too so his input was extremely powerful. After that Garvin toured us through the Bogside murals and then around the walls of the city. Garvin gave us the best tour ever, I offered to buy him a pint after we were done. He declined because he needed to drive but he told me as a season ticket holder of Derry Football since 1985 he was a member of the Derry Football Social Club and invited me and a few others to join him and his wife there that night. It was a great night, we played trivia and downed a few pints. The best question: "What do Americans call Knots and Crosses?" Answer - Tic Tac Toe, but we though he asked, "What do Americans call Nazi Crosses?" so our answer was Swastikas. Luckily, the host of a radio station was there so our laughable answer at least made it to the Irish radio!
On Friday we headed off from Derry on to the Bushmills Distillery to tour the Whiskey's birthplace and learn about the production. Of course, included in this was a free sample at the end. From there we took off for the Giant's Causeway which was extremely cool. This geological feature has been cause for astonishment for eons. Giant basalt columns shoot up from the earth forming along the Atlantic coast. The story behind it is  that the Irish warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill built the causeway to walk to Scotland to fight his Scottish counterpart Benandonner. After that we headed for Belfast.
In the morning on Saturday we toured around Belfast stopping along the Falls and Shankill roads (Catholic and Protestant areas, respectively), at one of the "peace walls" (which was very powerful), the location the Titanic was built and launched, and at the Parliament Building. A few of us hopped off the bus and toured through the City Hall, the Church of St. Patrick, St. Anne's Church, Victoria Square, Queens University, and the Botanical Garden. Belfast was pretty cool but it was way too big-city feel for me.
After leaving Belfast on Sunday, we headed to Strokestown Park, home of the Famine Museum. We toured the house, which was home to tenants of land during the famine time, and then walked through the museum looking at original documents and accounts of the tragedies that occured. Then we headed to the estate's "Pleasure Garden." From there it was back to Galway and on to Spideal.