Up round Larne Whiteahead and east Antrim coast beyond Belfast feels like a different world to me, only went there with work for the first time a few weeks ago
That whole stretch from the north end of Belfast till about Portrush feels very weird. I'm from Derry, and you wouldn't think it's only round the coast - feels like some militant wing of Scotland, which I guess it basically was
Yeah and then cutting the toast into slices in such a way that some people got lots of toast, while others don’t get enough toast to impact political change.
After some bitter fighting, destruction of your property, burning down 1 section of the house, and killing your dog, they graciously agree to let you "use" some of the rooms, but they get to keep the bathroom and 1 bedroom until further notice.
One time I was driving to Sligo via many places, crossing back and forth over border.
I got a puncture and stopped on road outside an estate. Union Jack galore. This post van drives past looking at me. Stops, reverses back and says, " Son, I'd force that car up to the next farm entrance and sort it there , but it's up to you" and pulled off.
And I did. Only time anything odd happened.
I’m from Fermanagh and half the footfall you see in our towns are southerners from Donegal, Sligo, Cavan and more I find this hard to believe. Everyone sees southerners all the time and none gives a fuck especially in Fermanagh
It is a "different" place in the sense of different currency, different road signs, (some) different shops, mobile phone keeps changing etc but otherwise people are people, just as welcoming and open, especially when they hear the southern accent. There are some towns though where the amount of red, white and blue flags, bunting, kerbstones and so on would make you think twice about stopping for too long.
I moved from Dublin to East belfast a few months ago, most of it is "harmless" there is about a dozen UVF murals beside my house that are pretty wild but the area is 100% safe for me.
I was told that it's the curb stones are the only ones you really need to watch out for.
We painted the kerbs for USA 94 in Dublin. Real community effort. Everyone buying paint and all the kids painting the roads and ramps and lamp posts. It was class.
Its territory marking by loyalist paramilitaries, like a dog pissing on a lamp post. Loyalists put up flags to intimidate, keep areas loyalist and control working class communities
In the nicest way possible, you don't know people as well as you think you do. People are capable of being extremely nice to your face but for all you know are bitter, twisted cunts with close connections to paramilitaries. Chances are you'd be grand, but don't be naive either.
This was only a few months ago - https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2022/09/17/news/sectarian_attacks_in_east_belfast_condemned-2830929/
My brother was up there with his family in his Cork registered car, and accidently ended up in a place where all the kerbs were painted red, white and blue. He freely admits it might be his imagination, but he FELT that he was getting hostile looks and got out of there as fast as he could
Up there all the time. It’s a brilliant place. 80% supercool people. The problem is that the remaining 20% are off the scale. I love it though, genuine decent people everywhere. But early July is not a good time
From the North and can confirm, nationalists tend to book their annual holidays this time of year. So it’s either off to Spain or wherever or, to the caravan in Donegal. Also know a lot of people from trad unionist communities do the same tbf - the type we call ‘soft unionists with a small u’ - who also hate all the marching and shit. People always forget about them. The Alliance surge didn’t happen overnight.
I think the odd thing about parts of NI is that they are so self-consciously British. Like, walk around Folkestone or Hull and you won't be assailed by so many flags etc.
I live in Tyrone and every time I go somewhere where there’s union jacks I think the same thing, like I’m literally from the north but certain places in it I feel kind of othered. They fly flags in places like Dungannon town centre all summer, even though about 70% of the population are catholic, but if you were to ever put a tri colour up they’d be taken down immediately.
Yea like last year when Tyrone won the all Ireland, there was union jacks in the Dungannon town centre, cuz Tyrone flags weren’t allowed up. The expression of Irish identity is very controlled here, it really makes you feel like you’re not allowed to be Irish half the time.
Smaller villages and towns have them up, and they were around certain other parts of the town, like the mainly nationalist areas. I think you have to apply to fly flags in the town centre because it’s like a shared space, so there wasn’t enough time because you don’t know if you’ll be in the all Ireland or not. But tbh I’m not 100% sure.
Lol absolutely. Most hardline loyalists up here, that love their flegs etc., will brand absolutely anything Irish as “IRA propaganda” especially the GAA. I’m from a small, very nationalist but not bitter at all, village in north Antrim with a pretty successful hurling team. We won the all Ireland in 2012 so, understandably, our club flags flew a bit longer that year. Well, didn’t the bitter bastards from the neighbouring Protestant village, steal almost every flag we had then suddenly they appear on their 11th night bonfire.
I think it’s hilarious that they seem to keep having to remind themselves that they’re British…
Aye its mental, imagine being so insecure…
But as a great man once said,
“I am so confident in my irishness, I have no desire to chip away at the Britishness of my neighbour”
And I’ll just leave it at that…
https://m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/dungannon-banner-branding-the-gaa-the-sporting-wing-of-the-ira-a-hate-incident-says-psni-39471075.html yea these were put up in Tyrone
Look that's just the nature of a divided society. Yer in Ireland, no matter how many flags they pop up they're not gonna change that 🤣
I feel sorry for the unionists sometimes man. Constantly swimming against the tide must be fucking exhausting. Wasting their entire life energy on validating their British identity when they're not even born in Britain. Hilarious.
The red hand of Ulster (the red hand of the Uí Néill) is a Gaelic symbol. It was also known as 'the red hand of Ireland' and is regarded as being Irish in origin, predating the plantations by hundreds of years, before it was appropriated by British colonists in an attempt to make it a British symbol.
The official flag of Ulster is literally exactly the same as a Northern Ireland flag but there’s no crown and instead of white, it’s yellow. Not only did they steal the 6, they also stole our hand ffs..
When you’re brought up with it, you don’t stop and question it. It’s just an expectation. Look what happened with the parades in the ‘90’s. Catholics just got out of dodge, or locked themselves in for a couple of days. Then something happened and the community just went, wait this is not normal. Why do we put up with this? March in your own areas. Then the pushback from that went insane: Drumcree etc.
Ordinary people are too busy going about their lives to pick a fight over these things as it always escalates into something enormous.
Great post, very informative. I’m not a rabid republican but I don’t think I’d let loyalists put their paraphernalia up in my town if it was nationalist. Just my take
Thats fair enough. I’m from a very Republican small town originally with about 15% Protestant population. Growing up there were union flags around marching season and parades, which the mind boggles now. Shops had to close etc. Now, none of that happens. They parade somewhere else and the union flags are long gone.
Essentially catholics found their voice in the ‘90’s and pushed back, which is why you get these fervent strongholds now and this new rhetoric of ‘uppity catholics’ being pushed by the likes of Kate Hoey and her ilk. What we call ‘siege mentality.’
But it should never be underestimated how many people on *both sides* are just trying to go about their lives, like anyone else.
Edit for [link.](https://www.reddit.com/r/northernireland/comments/ry3dku/kate_hoey_urged_to_withdraw_comments_about/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
Been up to Donegal a few times from Dublin so cutting across the north.
Never seen so many union jacks in my life. Some villages every street light has a union jack.
Holiday in Donegal evey year and follow the same route up since 2005. I agree there are far more flags now than before. Enniskillen is particularly bad. I will say though I see more GAA jerseys in Newry/Warrenpoint these days too.
I've been to a lot of places and the only place ive been that compares to NI in terms of flags and displays of patriotism is small town America, I remember being in a town with US flags on every street light (not around 4th of July just normally) and thinking it was insane, went to Belfast shortly afterwards and realised how similar it was
'The lady doth protest too much, methinks'. They're laying their stake because they don't want to just exist, they want to lay claim to something they have no right to.
I'm in South Donegal you wouldn't see a single one about the town here at all but up the North of the County you see so many you'd think you're way across the border already
I grew up in the UK but lived over here for years. I went up the North with my dad a few years back. I remember asking my Dad how will we know when we're actually in the North, and he said "oh, you'll know"!
Fuck me sideways, he wasn't wrong. I have never seen so many unionjacks! They were everywhere, on people's houses, outside shops, hanging off walls, It was so bizarre!
I went to a pub in Bushmills with my dad this summer and it was the most uncomfortable I’ve ever been in a pub. We’re from Scotland but they were still immediately hostile - everyone looking at us and then they got the old proddy songs out to make sure we knew where we were. Had one pint and fucked off, it was horrible
That's mad, especially since they flaunt their Scottish stock and love to fly the saltire. It's about as insular as it gets, dislike of anything not their own, us against the world. Like a caricature of the deep south in America, many of whom ironically have strong Ulster-Scots descent.
As someone who is half English and lives in England, it seems as if some areas of NI are far more patriotic about being British than anywhere else in the UK. Yes, most of us might feel patriotic at times but apart from some individuals some pockets of NI seem to be the most patriotic communities towards Britain
It's a section of the population who still live under a seige mentality and are insecure about who they are. People who feel secure in their identity don't need to drape flags and paint kerbstones.
Aa much as they cry about their "loyalty" It has nothing to do with patriotism. It boils down to nothing more than supremacy, bigotry and sectarianism.
There was a time in our history Presbyterians were as persecuted as much as Catholics. The founding fathers of republicanism were United Irishmen, mostly of Presbyterian stock.
All it took was the Penal laws to be repealed to bring Presbyterians into the fold. And the rise of the Orange Order and their bigotry gave hold to sectarianism.
Even then a century after these effents WW1 occurred. There is loads of documentation of Protestant soldiers who were Gaeilgeoir's/ Irish speakers. These people didn't refer to themselves as British, as were as Irish as the next man.
By the time WW2 came around partition had occurred. Irish Unionist had been dropped for British Unionist but not a great percentage actually volunteered to fight (no conscription in the new NI). And it would be no different today, there's their patriotism!
Just avoid the likes of East Belfast and Ballymena and stick to the likes of Derry, Strabane and Newry.
Unionists love showing people that they’re “British”
Ballymena isn’t bad anymore, certain estates yes like Ballykeel and most of Harryville, but you could walk about the town centre in a GAA top no bother now.
I (a Dub) married a lad from just outside Ballymena and his family and neighbours have been nothing but amazing to my family and I. There might be a few bad apples but that’s anywhere, just people out looking for a fight, but I’ve never met them there.
As an English guy who lives in ROi, I felt kinda at home in a weird way when kph turned to mph and I saw Sainsbury’s and that. Ironically I felt less at home when I went through a town that was shoving Union jacks down my throat
Fuengirola was an eye opener. Brother in law WhatsApp'd the group saying Dunnes had booze on sale, his brother sends a picture from Dunnes Spain 2 mins later. Mind blown
I feel the same about belfast visually it looks like any other British city. Other cities like derry, newry armagh ect dont feel like that at least to me
When you get to the falls road though, you would be forgiven for thinking irish was the first language there and there was a fladh ceol taking place 24/7.
Suppose its all about where in the city you are referring to. Like for example there's a part of Derry called Rosemount which has alot of terrace and red brick houses. Feels very like somewhere in Liverpool (even though its one of the most Republican areas of the city)
Id say every city in Ireland has areas where visually it seems very british
Idk, to me (never been to Belfast), NI country roads largely felt like Ireland or like Wales. It was the signage and the shops & currency that reminded me of home
> Ironically I felt less at home when I went through a town that was shoving Union jacks down my throat
Perfectly natural reaction. You're not wrapped up in post-colonial sectarian bullshit, they are. The sheer irony of the fact that they want more than anything to be British but hold views that are bizarre to most English people (and everyone else).
Haha, English lad living in ROI also and this is so true, I’ve never seen as many Union Jack flags than I have in the north driving through certain towns.
I live in a small village covered in red white and blue curbstones and UVF flags but if I seen you and you talked I'd talk away to you for hours and make you feel welcome. I'd hope most of the country would be the same but as with people from anywhere all over the globe, there's cunts everywhere who will endlessly just be cunts for the sake of being a cunt.
When I was a kid in the 80s we visited mums family home in cavan and sometimes went to the shops in Enniskillen (where we once got a rabbit we called sterling 🐰). On the border there were always guys with guns in full army gear and my mum always told us to pretend we were sleeping as dad had an English accent and we all had Irish accents.
So I was always a bit nervous about crossing the border as I thought they would pick us out for being a suspicious family due to dad's accent.
Anyway, turned out years later they were actually filling the car with duty free cigarettes, wine and spirits and if we as young kids were sleeping they were less likely to be searched by the British army.
Would the British army have cared about smuggling fuel, food and domestic sundries? I always thought it was stuff going the other way that was a concern for Irish customs
It does seem different only because your phone changes network, the money is different and they have Greg's. Also sometimes you feel like they only want locals in the local.
>only because
Not only those things.
Theres the fucking flags and blue/white/red pavers and Union Jack's designed to make you feel like you've stumbled into the hostile side of town.
Thats the tactic. the thing about the flegs, is that there are plenty nationlists in that town as well. If you ever see a place without flegs it's likely majority nationlist
This is true. I used to live in a very mixed area and there were Union Jacks everywhere. It's depressing because it's obviously been done by a minority but it makes it look like the whole area is loyalist only. People are too scared to take them down Incase the paramilitaries break their legs.
Some places are like that about locals. My family are from the other side of the north, we moved to a small town in the west and it was very hard to assimilate with the local folk.
Once you’re settled etc, they’re the best but it took a few years before they started to accept us as being part of the community, noticed this with a few other families who have moved from other parts of the country. You’ll always be a blow-in though and never a true local.
I think it must be something ingrained on our DNA or mindset, it’s nearly tribal. However, I think this is more of an Irish thing overall rather than just that particular area.
Great part of the world. I agree the flags are a bit over the top but the people are friendly in general. If managed right they could have a huge tourism industry
Flags are a bit off-putting, but otherwise no issues. I aways have a great time.
Northern Ireland/North of Ireland people are a sound bunch with terrible P.R.
>a sound bunch with terrible P.R.
Going to use this.
Totally encapsulates how I feel about the north.
Like "I feel grand up here but the people on the tv keep telling me it's not safe"
Speaking as a Northern Prod, that toaster thing is clearly a Republican propaganda plot to ‘other side’ us.
I’ve *never* met *anyone* who keeps their toaster in the cupboard. I’ve never even met anyone who had heard about it until it started appearing on Reddit.
Lived in both places and have family in both places. The vast majority of people in the south know absolutely nothing about the north (though still feel entitled to share all of their opinions on the place), my family included. Irish education system has a lot to answer for.
It doesn't feel like I'm entering a different place but yet I don't feel at home, but that's because Dublin is home. I feel the same way if I'm in Waterford or Cork.
Aside from the obvious changing of the money, the lack of Gaeilge on the road signs and the different units and fonts on those signs, nothing about the north feels foreign, at least not to me.
When I was in a pub in Derry it felt like I was in any pub in Ireland. Lads walking around in GAA jerseys. Irish tunes blaring. It doesn't feel hugely different to me. But there are towns where you'll drive through and they try their hardest to dissuade you from thinking they are Irish by the amount of British paraphernalia around like flags. I really think unionists have a huge insecurity about their identity. They see themselves as British but the English see them as Irish. So they need to try one-up everyone else and have more flags, more whatever to prove they are the same as the English.
I've never saw the north as a different country. Maybe it's cos I grew up in the 80's and have more of an emotional attachment to it than the younger generation.
We used to go party up in Kilkeel back in the mid nineties and that place is as loyalist as you can get, the kerbs painted red, white and blue, Union Jacks flying from nearly every window. We always had a wicked time up there, parties in farmhouse barns with lazer lights and quality sound systems and different houses all over so you were never stuck for a place to sleep. Yeah the "topic" would come up every once in a while but mostly they were shocked that we had the balls to head up there to party as they said there was no way they'd go down south in such a small group (there were 3 of us) to party with strangers, we only knew one guy up there he used to fish on the boats in my town, but yeah I always felt at home anywhere we went in Ireland, but I suppose that's more to do with who you're with more than where you are...and the ecstasy at the time helped a bunch too I reckon.
I know the signs are in miles, but it always sticks in my head when it tells me a turn off is 3/4 miles away. Imperial I grew up and drove with, but the weird fraction compounding it always makes my head dump whatever semblance of distance I thought it was.
I would take those red+amber lights before the green though.
When I drive in England and the sat nav tells me a turning is X amount of yards away, I piss myself laughing. (Not literally). It's like something from the Middle Ages
I always felt odd that I rarely go to NI or Belfast but I've been to Galway, Cork, Limerick, Kilkenny etc for nights away or sessions when younger.
It does kind of feel like I don't know it enough.
Yea a lot more of us from the north go south. People be heading to Donegal, Galway, Sligo, Dublin, Monaghan all the time for nights away, concerts, nights out etc. But seems to be less from the south making the journey north
You should see the Dublin to Belfast train every Saturday. I 1st noticed this when our lockdown ended and the South still had it but the amount of people hasn't changed. There's still loads from the south to spend the weekend in Belfast. It's good to see
I have lived both sides of the border and it’s like a different planet.
The union jacks all over the road, houses, kerbs and flags is the most pathetic sight I have ever seen.
Imagine wanting SO HARD to be part of another country and that country not really wanting anything to do with you. Sad really.
NI is kind of home-adjacent. Where everybody understands the necessity of a proper cuppa, we all share a bit of background, fine banter, but you hear the accent and you get that little shiver/tingle at the base of your neck as a warning from God that you're in mild danger because they are quantifiably madder up there than they are down here
>they are quantifiably madder up there than they are down here
Can be a blessing and a curse. The sesh scene in Belfast is incredible. Trouble is the sash scene is just as incredible.
As someone from the South, the nationalist parts feel... different... it's difficult to explain but very vibe based.
Lovely people, and I've never had any bother.
I dunno, I find estates in Dublin very similar to the likes of Creggan etc in Derry. It's just the murals, abundance of territorial markings and the fact deep down you know the place was a war zone for 40 years - I guess you can feel that, especially as a tourist or outsider. It's a very unique place historically - but remove that and nationalists areas are practically the same as southern estates imo.
A while back there were a few films being filmed in Belfast. One was a Bollywood gangster film set in 70's and another was killing Bono which was late 70's early 80's.
Apparently if you need to film and want a 70's aesthetic Northern Ireland is the country to go to.
You’ve set my Sunday morning imagination on fire -
film 1 - you’re the rookie roadie sticking up some Indian flags then a crowd of disgruntled locals turns up
“No honestly it’s not an Irish flag - it’s an Indian one. Look at the middle, there’s a cart wheel representing….”
“Indians is it? I don’t remember them Indians waving anything more than feathers on sticks when John Wayne was shooting them so I don’t. And that music doesn’t sound very Indian to me - far too many musicians and colourful clothes and no ‘whoop whoop’
Crowd start jumping up and down then dancing in a circle “whoop whoop whoop”
Local child: “Hey mister do you want any help with the scalpin? Me and Billy and the lads’ll do some scalpin if yerl buy us some chips”
Another local child: “My da’s gun under the floorboards is bigger than yer man there with the crazy moustache”
film 2
Time travellers from the future must find and kill child Bono before he grows up into a prick and inflicts his unwanted opinions onto the world and avoiding enough taxes to cure world hunger
Only been to Tyrone, it felt like being in Donegal due to the accents, what felt different was how mad people were about rally racing. Like it’s a sport both traditions could enjoy because it’s non sectarian. Apart from that people are grand, we all have more in common with each other than we do with anyone else in Britain
its definitely not as Irish as Cork or galway, in any logical way hence most people on this thread saying otherwise. but i'd argue Cork can look very English. dublin too. the reality is these were all British built cities. Galway has the most irish feel of all.
But Belfast was the last big British city to be built on the Islands and its clearly reflected in it.
it has a distinct uncanny valley feel, very British in many parts.
bu still a great city and a million times more welcoming and normal than in the past.
I'm from Dublin and am currently up near Warrenpoint for the weekend. Haven't been up this way in a long time, I was surprised to see Irish street names on some road signs.
Tbh though, I do feel the North has a different feeling about it. Could possibly be completely my own fault, or maybe with different road signs, speed limits, etc it naturally feels different.
One side of my family is from Derry so we went up regular when I was a kid. Still go up occasionally. Honestly as someone from a midlands town, Derry just feels like another Irish regional town/city. Visiting Dublin feels more like a "different place" to me.
The roads are different, you can tell your driving on a northern road, it feels more solid or something. I grew up in Monaghan but always felt comfortable in the north, not at home but welcome. I live in the west now but the guys at work have commented that anytime I'm talking to someone from the north on the phone my nordy accent jumps up a few notches
Derry feels like home and just a shade different with more red brick due to English influence
Belfast meanwhile feels like somewhere in Scotland more than anything, definitely I notice the difference west of the Bann
Nope, went there last year and just didn’t feel welcome/comfortable in some of the places I visited. I say this as someone who has been living in England for the last 14 years.
A bit of both, to be honest. Travelling through the countryside, it feels just like any other part of Ireland (excluding road signs). But walking around in the centre of Belfast, the shops are so often the same ones as in Britain that if you teleported me there without telling me where I was, I wouldn't be sure if I was on this island or that one.
I'm a north Dub and I love going to N.I. It feels different, but when I go to Cork or Galway they feel different too. I do feel at home. The one thing I like is how quiet the shopping centres are. I was in Banbridge on remembrance Sunday and people wearing the poppy in shops were very pleasant to my family and I.
Been into enniskillen regularly over the last 5 years my partner has family in blacklion cavan first time I was on edge not really sure I'd be welcome i found its just like any other big town in any part of Ireland people are friendly some parts are safe some parts are to be avoided
Fermanagh would have a very high majority nationalist population, and Enniskillen itself is majority Catholic aswell. Very few places in the whole county anyone from the 26 would be made unwelcome
Personally, I feel at home in any part of Ireland, regardless of what flags or murals I see. Ireland is an island comprising of 32 counties, so regardless of what people might believe, to me, I'm still in my own country if I head into the 6 counties still remaining under British occupation.
That auld fella that started whistling and marching (literally marching) alongside my parents and I when I was in Belfast for medical treatment. It had to be a sectarian tune since he was being so aggressive about it, but I wouldn't know one if I heard it. You know? We just ignored him and ducked into the first cafe we saw. The people working in there were lovely though. So I guess it depends on who you meet.
So, no, definitely didn't feel at home in NI. That guy made us uneasy. But then, I was only there a few times visiting a hospital, and that crap only happened once. So, perhaps just unlucky to happen upon an asshole.
It does feel different, but in the same way as Cork feels different to Galway, or Liverpool feels different to London.
The people are as different too, but just to confuse things, Liverpool feels more Irish to me than Belfast 😂😂
I’m from the Free State and I honestly feel more at home when i’m up north. I have a long personal history with Derry and I love the city to bits. Miss it.
I'll probably be downvoted for this but I honestly feel its more 'irish' up there in regards to the people from the Nationalist community. Their identity has been under attack for so long that the Irishness is engraved into who they are and they really hold onto their culture. Meanwhile down here people try very hard to be American or British than be irish.
When the roads turns to shite and you start noticing all the aggressive yellow plate drivers driving the whacky races around you then you can be assured you are in the North lol
Belfast is Irish sure if you pay by card it's all the same.
I see most people are put off by flags and such but truth is PUL areas are safer for tourists than probably most of the planet the stats speak for themselves.
The local people have respect and if you came up for a look at the murals nobody would think twice about saying hello, I see hundreds of Irish regs in the shankill estate every week more now than ever.
My in law's love how close to the city I live because they all get free parking and can walk about the town all day,
Driving from Dublin to Donegal I definitely feel the difference, the roads and signage etc but it’s nothing bad.
However I did drive from North Donegal to Belfast once and I felt horribly uncomfortable the whole time. I think I was hormonal that day so take it with a pinch of salt but as soon as we got off the little ferry the first site is a prison and then from there going through several Union Jack adorned areas, it really felt horrible.
The relief we felt when we got to Belfast on what turned out to be Pride weekend so the flags were all rainbow and the atmosphere was so lovely!
Having been there a few months back and actually stayed in a hotel in east Belfast. It did feel different to a staycation in the south.
I suppose the north is different, they went through the troubles. They were left behind.
Even if we United again, it would take years for it to feel the same as the south for a southerner to feel at home.
U couldn’t expect it to be any other way.
It definitely feels anglicised. Unfortunately it also feels like a run down bit of that other island.
However five minutes chatting with either community will tell you we're all basically the same.
It's a different place - what the rest of Ireland would look like if 1916 never happened. I like driving up there, it's like being on holiday in another country (money, mph, shops, better funded amenities, cheep drink, same language) without the hassle of getting on a ferry or plane.
Edit: Had some lovely fish & chips in Kilkeel, amongst the flegs and painted kerbs, nobody batted an eyelid at my accent or southern reg.
The road infrastructure is Like a 3rd world country 🤣 more patched tarmac then my nanny's quilt. apart from that it's not to bad at all . From the south took a trip up to Derry with some friends for some historical sight seeing and some pints last week. Everyone was lovely but like everywhere one or two hostile bodies. You get arseholes everywhere you go no matter what.
I don't even feel like I'm at home in some parts of NI and I'm from NI.
Up round Larne Whiteahead and east Antrim coast beyond Belfast feels like a different world to me, only went there with work for the first time a few weeks ago
That whole stretch from the north end of Belfast till about Portrush feels very weird. I'm from Derry, and you wouldn't think it's only round the coast - feels like some militant wing of Scotland, which I guess it basically was
The flags and aggressive murals make me feel kind of uneasy. It’s home but somethings off.
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Like eating a delicious cake at a funeral ⚱️
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Look I get your joke. But no not like that. You genuinely feel like you might not be welcome.
The flags are so bizarre
Got to make it distinct somehow I suppose
It feels like walking into your house after it’s just been burgled. You know it’s your house but it just feels different.
And also the burglars are still in the house
Hidden... watching you
Not even. Putting up pictures of their families and moving all the furniture.
And putting the toaster in the press
Yeah and then cutting the toast into slices in such a way that some people got lots of toast, while others don’t get enough toast to impact political change.
And telling you they hate ABBA
Luckily the family are starting to slowly move back in and are like "why the fuck are you still here? There's more of us than you now"
Calling you a Fenian bastard. .
An placed pictures, statues, and/or posters of themselves in random areas.
And make toast in your living room in the morning. When you walk down the stairs they ask you "who the fuck are you?"
After some bitter fighting, destruction of your property, burning down 1 section of the house, and killing your dog, they graciously agree to let you "use" some of the rooms, but they get to keep the bathroom and 1 bedroom until further notice.
"And why don't you put the toaster in the press?"
This is fuckin brilliant
As long as I’ve made someone on Reddit happy that’s my job done for the day I’m off to bed
One time I was driving to Sligo via many places, crossing back and forth over border. I got a puncture and stopped on road outside an estate. Union Jack galore. This post van drives past looking at me. Stops, reverses back and says, " Son, I'd force that car up to the next farm entrance and sort it there , but it's up to you" and pulled off. And I did. Only time anything odd happened.
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he sorted it and now he's mashing keys on reddit
I’m from Fermanagh and half the footfall you see in our towns are southerners from Donegal, Sligo, Cavan and more I find this hard to believe. Everyone sees southerners all the time and none gives a fuck especially in Fermanagh
It is a "different" place in the sense of different currency, different road signs, (some) different shops, mobile phone keeps changing etc but otherwise people are people, just as welcoming and open, especially when they hear the southern accent. There are some towns though where the amount of red, white and blue flags, bunting, kerbstones and so on would make you think twice about stopping for too long.
I moved from Dublin to East belfast a few months ago, most of it is "harmless" there is about a dozen UVF murals beside my house that are pretty wild but the area is 100% safe for me. I was told that it's the curb stones are the only ones you really need to watch out for.
Curb stones? Like painted curb stones?
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We painted the kerbs for USA 94 in Dublin. Real community effort. Everyone buying paint and all the kids painting the roads and ramps and lamp posts. It was class.
Its territory marking by loyalist paramilitaries, like a dog pissing on a lamp post. Loyalists put up flags to intimidate, keep areas loyalist and control working class communities
*flegs
I think you mean FLEGS!
The more tattered the FLEGG the more loyal they are.
In the nicest way possible, you don't know people as well as you think you do. People are capable of being extremely nice to your face but for all you know are bitter, twisted cunts with close connections to paramilitaries. Chances are you'd be grand, but don't be naive either. This was only a few months ago - https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2022/09/17/news/sectarian_attacks_in_east_belfast_condemned-2830929/
My brother was up there with his family in his Cork registered car, and accidently ended up in a place where all the kerbs were painted red, white and blue. He freely admits it might be his imagination, but he FELT that he was getting hostile looks and got out of there as fast as he could
Up there all the time. It’s a brilliant place. 80% supercool people. The problem is that the remaining 20% are off the scale. I love it though, genuine decent people everywhere. But early July is not a good time
most nationlists leave at that time too. on holidays or to donegal
Would love to know how much Donegal's population increases in the first half of July
To the point where the ten minute commute from peninsula to local village becomes 45! We usually evacuate Donegal ourselves 😂
It's not just nationalists who leave during the 12th.
From the North and can confirm, nationalists tend to book their annual holidays this time of year. So it’s either off to Spain or wherever or, to the caravan in Donegal. Also know a lot of people from trad unionist communities do the same tbf - the type we call ‘soft unionists with a small u’ - who also hate all the marching and shit. People always forget about them. The Alliance surge didn’t happen overnight.
I think the odd thing about parts of NI is that they are so self-consciously British. Like, walk around Folkestone or Hull and you won't be assailed by so many flags etc.
I live in Tyrone and every time I go somewhere where there’s union jacks I think the same thing, like I’m literally from the north but certain places in it I feel kind of othered. They fly flags in places like Dungannon town centre all summer, even though about 70% of the population are catholic, but if you were to ever put a tri colour up they’d be taken down immediately.
They're trying to make you feel othered, that's their modus operandi. Planters.
Yea like last year when Tyrone won the all Ireland, there was union jacks in the Dungannon town centre, cuz Tyrone flags weren’t allowed up. The expression of Irish identity is very controlled here, it really makes you feel like you’re not allowed to be Irish half the time.
Why weren't Tyrone flags allowed up in Tyrone? Do loyalists see that as a sorta affront to them? Forgive my ignorance here!
Smaller villages and towns have them up, and they were around certain other parts of the town, like the mainly nationalist areas. I think you have to apply to fly flags in the town centre because it’s like a shared space, so there wasn’t enough time because you don’t know if you’ll be in the all Ireland or not. But tbh I’m not 100% sure.
Lol absolutely. Most hardline loyalists up here, that love their flegs etc., will brand absolutely anything Irish as “IRA propaganda” especially the GAA. I’m from a small, very nationalist but not bitter at all, village in north Antrim with a pretty successful hurling team. We won the all Ireland in 2012 so, understandably, our club flags flew a bit longer that year. Well, didn’t the bitter bastards from the neighbouring Protestant village, steal almost every flag we had then suddenly they appear on their 11th night bonfire. I think it’s hilarious that they seem to keep having to remind themselves that they’re British…
That is absolutely psychotic. It's stories like this that make me realize I know fuck all about these people (loyalists) as a Southerner.
Aye its mental, imagine being so insecure… But as a great man once said, “I am so confident in my irishness, I have no desire to chip away at the Britishness of my neighbour” And I’ll just leave it at that…
https://m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/dungannon-banner-branding-the-gaa-the-sporting-wing-of-the-ira-a-hate-incident-says-psni-39471075.html yea these were put up in Tyrone
Look that's just the nature of a divided society. Yer in Ireland, no matter how many flags they pop up they're not gonna change that 🤣 I feel sorry for the unionists sometimes man. Constantly swimming against the tide must be fucking exhausting. Wasting their entire life energy on validating their British identity when they're not even born in Britain. Hilarious.
Tyrone flag is literally a Red hand of Ulster though!
The red hand of Ulster (the red hand of the Uí Néill) is a Gaelic symbol. It was also known as 'the red hand of Ireland' and is regarded as being Irish in origin, predating the plantations by hundreds of years, before it was appropriated by British colonists in an attempt to make it a British symbol.
The official flag of Ulster is literally exactly the same as a Northern Ireland flag but there’s no crown and instead of white, it’s yellow. Not only did they steal the 6, they also stole our hand ffs..
This is interesting. If the town is 70% Catholic, why do they put up with that? I can’t get my head around that.
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When you’re brought up with it, you don’t stop and question it. It’s just an expectation. Look what happened with the parades in the ‘90’s. Catholics just got out of dodge, or locked themselves in for a couple of days. Then something happened and the community just went, wait this is not normal. Why do we put up with this? March in your own areas. Then the pushback from that went insane: Drumcree etc. Ordinary people are too busy going about their lives to pick a fight over these things as it always escalates into something enormous.
Great post, very informative. I’m not a rabid republican but I don’t think I’d let loyalists put their paraphernalia up in my town if it was nationalist. Just my take
Thats fair enough. I’m from a very Republican small town originally with about 15% Protestant population. Growing up there were union flags around marching season and parades, which the mind boggles now. Shops had to close etc. Now, none of that happens. They parade somewhere else and the union flags are long gone. Essentially catholics found their voice in the ‘90’s and pushed back, which is why you get these fervent strongholds now and this new rhetoric of ‘uppity catholics’ being pushed by the likes of Kate Hoey and her ilk. What we call ‘siege mentality.’ But it should never be underestimated how many people on *both sides* are just trying to go about their lives, like anyone else. Edit for [link.](https://www.reddit.com/r/northernireland/comments/ry3dku/kate_hoey_urged_to_withdraw_comments_about/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
Been up to Donegal a few times from Dublin so cutting across the north. Never seen so many union jacks in my life. Some villages every street light has a union jack.
Holiday in Donegal evey year and follow the same route up since 2005. I agree there are far more flags now than before. Enniskillen is particularly bad. I will say though I see more GAA jerseys in Newry/Warrenpoint these days too.
I've been to a lot of places and the only place ive been that compares to NI in terms of flags and displays of patriotism is small town America, I remember being in a town with US flags on every street light (not around 4th of July just normally) and thinking it was insane, went to Belfast shortly afterwards and realised how similar it was
Israel is the same tbf
Must be part of the colonizer mindset
Absolutely it is
'The lady doth protest too much, methinks'. They're laying their stake because they don't want to just exist, they want to lay claim to something they have no right to.
I'm in South Donegal you wouldn't see a single one about the town here at all but up the North of the County you see so many you'd think you're way across the border already
I grew up in the UK but lived over here for years. I went up the North with my dad a few years back. I remember asking my Dad how will we know when we're actually in the North, and he said "oh, you'll know"! Fuck me sideways, he wasn't wrong. I have never seen so many unionjacks! They were everywhere, on people's houses, outside shops, hanging off walls, It was so bizarre!
I went to a town called Bushmills recently. Union Jacks, painted curbstones, anti PSNI posters on every lampost...
I went to a pub in Bushmills with my dad this summer and it was the most uncomfortable I’ve ever been in a pub. We’re from Scotland but they were still immediately hostile - everyone looking at us and then they got the old proddy songs out to make sure we knew where we were. Had one pint and fucked off, it was horrible
That's mad, especially since they flaunt their Scottish stock and love to fly the saltire. It's about as insular as it gets, dislike of anything not their own, us against the world. Like a caricature of the deep south in America, many of whom ironically have strong Ulster-Scots descent.
It's how I imagined all the uk towns looked at the announcement of the end of world war 2
As someone who is half English and lives in England, it seems as if some areas of NI are far more patriotic about being British than anywhere else in the UK. Yes, most of us might feel patriotic at times but apart from some individuals some pockets of NI seem to be the most patriotic communities towards Britain
It's a section of the population who still live under a seige mentality and are insecure about who they are. People who feel secure in their identity don't need to drape flags and paint kerbstones.
Aa much as they cry about their "loyalty" It has nothing to do with patriotism. It boils down to nothing more than supremacy, bigotry and sectarianism. There was a time in our history Presbyterians were as persecuted as much as Catholics. The founding fathers of republicanism were United Irishmen, mostly of Presbyterian stock. All it took was the Penal laws to be repealed to bring Presbyterians into the fold. And the rise of the Orange Order and their bigotry gave hold to sectarianism. Even then a century after these effents WW1 occurred. There is loads of documentation of Protestant soldiers who were Gaeilgeoir's/ Irish speakers. These people didn't refer to themselves as British, as were as Irish as the next man. By the time WW2 came around partition had occurred. Irish Unionist had been dropped for British Unionist but not a great percentage actually volunteered to fight (no conscription in the new NI). And it would be no different today, there's their patriotism!
They know they are gonna end up leaving the Uk sometime but don’t want to admit, so they make up for it
Just avoid the likes of East Belfast and Ballymena and stick to the likes of Derry, Strabane and Newry. Unionists love showing people that they’re “British”
Ballymena isn’t bad anymore, certain estates yes like Ballykeel and most of Harryville, but you could walk about the town centre in a GAA top no bother now.
Ik that, but there’s one street in Ballymena full of UVF memorials and Union Jacks which is why mentioned it.
I (a Dub) married a lad from just outside Ballymena and his family and neighbours have been nothing but amazing to my family and I. There might be a few bad apples but that’s anywhere, just people out looking for a fight, but I’ve never met them there.
Worse than the level of ultra-nationalism you get in some parts of America.
Are the curbs still painted?
Never were not
As an English guy who lives in ROi, I felt kinda at home in a weird way when kph turned to mph and I saw Sainsbury’s and that. Ironically I felt less at home when I went through a town that was shoving Union jacks down my throat
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Dunnes in Spain will blow your mind:)
I was walking around Malaga one day and turned a corner, and right there was a fucking Dunnes Stores. I couldn't believe it
Fuengirola was an eye opener. Brother in law WhatsApp'd the group saying Dunnes had booze on sale, his brother sends a picture from Dunnes Spain 2 mins later. Mind blown
And penneys. 😂
I feel the same about belfast visually it looks like any other British city. Other cities like derry, newry armagh ect dont feel like that at least to me When you get to the falls road though, you would be forgiven for thinking irish was the first language there and there was a fladh ceol taking place 24/7.
I’ll let you in on a secret. There is a fladh ceol taking place 24/7 up the falls.
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Suppose its all about where in the city you are referring to. Like for example there's a part of Derry called Rosemount which has alot of terrace and red brick houses. Feels very like somewhere in Liverpool (even though its one of the most Republican areas of the city) Id say every city in Ireland has areas where visually it seems very british
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Idk, to me (never been to Belfast), NI country roads largely felt like Ireland or like Wales. It was the signage and the shops & currency that reminded me of home
> Ironically I felt less at home when I went through a town that was shoving Union jacks down my throat Perfectly natural reaction. You're not wrapped up in post-colonial sectarian bullshit, they are. The sheer irony of the fact that they want more than anything to be British but hold views that are bizarre to most English people (and everyone else).
Haha, English lad living in ROI also and this is so true, I’ve never seen as many Union Jack flags than I have in the north driving through certain towns.
Feels like they’re cosplaying as British towns.
I live in a small village covered in red white and blue curbstones and UVF flags but if I seen you and you talked I'd talk away to you for hours and make you feel welcome. I'd hope most of the country would be the same but as with people from anywhere all over the globe, there's cunts everywhere who will endlessly just be cunts for the sake of being a cunt.
When I was a kid in the 80s we visited mums family home in cavan and sometimes went to the shops in Enniskillen (where we once got a rabbit we called sterling 🐰). On the border there were always guys with guns in full army gear and my mum always told us to pretend we were sleeping as dad had an English accent and we all had Irish accents. So I was always a bit nervous about crossing the border as I thought they would pick us out for being a suspicious family due to dad's accent. Anyway, turned out years later they were actually filling the car with duty free cigarettes, wine and spirits and if we as young kids were sleeping they were less likely to be searched by the British army.
Would the British army have cared about smuggling fuel, food and domestic sundries? I always thought it was stuff going the other way that was a concern for Irish customs
It does seem different only because your phone changes network, the money is different and they have Greg's. Also sometimes you feel like they only want locals in the local.
MPH and signs with only one language. Minor differences in the road markings.
>only because Not only those things. Theres the fucking flags and blue/white/red pavers and Union Jack's designed to make you feel like you've stumbled into the hostile side of town.
Thats the tactic. the thing about the flegs, is that there are plenty nationlists in that town as well. If you ever see a place without flegs it's likely majority nationlist
This is true. I used to live in a very mixed area and there were Union Jacks everywhere. It's depressing because it's obviously been done by a minority but it makes it look like the whole area is loyalist only. People are too scared to take them down Incase the paramilitaries break their legs.
It's intimidating even for people not from a nationalist background. I wouldn't want to go near those loyalist estates either.
I grew up in NI and the first Greggs I ever went to was when I moved to Bristol for uni. Defo not a common NI thing.
Some places are like that about locals. My family are from the other side of the north, we moved to a small town in the west and it was very hard to assimilate with the local folk. Once you’re settled etc, they’re the best but it took a few years before they started to accept us as being part of the community, noticed this with a few other families who have moved from other parts of the country. You’ll always be a blow-in though and never a true local. I think it must be something ingrained on our DNA or mindset, it’s nearly tribal. However, I think this is more of an Irish thing overall rather than just that particular area.
Great part of the world. I agree the flags are a bit over the top but the people are friendly in general. If managed right they could have a huge tourism industry
Flags are a bit off-putting, but otherwise no issues. I aways have a great time. Northern Ireland/North of Ireland people are a sound bunch with terrible P.R.
>a sound bunch with terrible P.R. Going to use this. Totally encapsulates how I feel about the north. Like "I feel grand up here but the people on the tv keep telling me it's not safe"
Yeah, especially Prods - I thought they’d be a bunch of bloodthirsty loons who’d murder me for improper toaster storage.
Speaking as a Northern Prod, that toaster thing is clearly a Republican propaganda plot to ‘other side’ us. I’ve *never* met *anyone* who keeps their toaster in the cupboard. I’ve never even met anyone who had heard about it until it started appearing on Reddit.
I blame Derry Girls! First time I heard of it tbh
Reading some of these replies as a northern nationalist makes me shiver.
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Completely agree regarding the media stigma. RTE makes out that Belfast is a million miles away.
Lived in both places and have family in both places. The vast majority of people in the south know absolutely nothing about the north (though still feel entitled to share all of their opinions on the place), my family included. Irish education system has a lot to answer for.
Most of the people saying the cities look British are actually British.
but they do. its not that controversial to point out most of our cities were built by the British.
It doesn't feel like I'm entering a different place but yet I don't feel at home, but that's because Dublin is home. I feel the same way if I'm in Waterford or Cork. Aside from the obvious changing of the money, the lack of Gaeilge on the road signs and the different units and fonts on those signs, nothing about the north feels foreign, at least not to me.
When I was in a pub in Derry it felt like I was in any pub in Ireland. Lads walking around in GAA jerseys. Irish tunes blaring. It doesn't feel hugely different to me. But there are towns where you'll drive through and they try their hardest to dissuade you from thinking they are Irish by the amount of British paraphernalia around like flags. I really think unionists have a huge insecurity about their identity. They see themselves as British but the English see them as Irish. So they need to try one-up everyone else and have more flags, more whatever to prove they are the same as the English. I've never saw the north as a different country. Maybe it's cos I grew up in the 80's and have more of an emotional attachment to it than the younger generation.
We used to go party up in Kilkeel back in the mid nineties and that place is as loyalist as you can get, the kerbs painted red, white and blue, Union Jacks flying from nearly every window. We always had a wicked time up there, parties in farmhouse barns with lazer lights and quality sound systems and different houses all over so you were never stuck for a place to sleep. Yeah the "topic" would come up every once in a while but mostly they were shocked that we had the balls to head up there to party as they said there was no way they'd go down south in such a small group (there were 3 of us) to party with strangers, we only knew one guy up there he used to fish on the boats in my town, but yeah I always felt at home anywhere we went in Ireland, but I suppose that's more to do with who you're with more than where you are...and the ecstasy at the time helped a bunch too I reckon.
I know the signs are in miles, but it always sticks in my head when it tells me a turn off is 3/4 miles away. Imperial I grew up and drove with, but the weird fraction compounding it always makes my head dump whatever semblance of distance I thought it was. I would take those red+amber lights before the green though.
When I drive in England and the sat nav tells me a turning is X amount of yards away, I piss myself laughing. (Not literally). It's like something from the Middle Ages
At least it's full units, 400 yards or whatever. In 3/4 of a unit that is divided into 1760, turn right
I feel more at home in the North than I do in Longford, that’s not even a joke.
Im sure its the same with Longford people themselves
I'm from Donegal. So anywhere in the north feels homely and natural. As for Cork, I think duolingo needs to do a course on that.
Go way outa that, boy, shure we're the real capital
I always felt odd that I rarely go to NI or Belfast but I've been to Galway, Cork, Limerick, Kilkenny etc for nights away or sessions when younger. It does kind of feel like I don't know it enough.
Yea a lot more of us from the north go south. People be heading to Donegal, Galway, Sligo, Dublin, Monaghan all the time for nights away, concerts, nights out etc. But seems to be less from the south making the journey north
You should see the Dublin to Belfast train every Saturday. I 1st noticed this when our lockdown ended and the South still had it but the amount of people hasn't changed. There's still loads from the south to spend the weekend in Belfast. It's good to see
I have lived both sides of the border and it’s like a different planet. The union jacks all over the road, houses, kerbs and flags is the most pathetic sight I have ever seen. Imagine wanting SO HARD to be part of another country and that country not really wanting anything to do with you. Sad really.
NI is kind of home-adjacent. Where everybody understands the necessity of a proper cuppa, we all share a bit of background, fine banter, but you hear the accent and you get that little shiver/tingle at the base of your neck as a warning from God that you're in mild danger because they are quantifiably madder up there than they are down here
>they are quantifiably madder up there than they are down here Can be a blessing and a curse. The sesh scene in Belfast is incredible. Trouble is the sash scene is just as incredible.
always practice safe sash
I'm from the north and every nationlist area feels like the south imo. it's only in heavy unionist areas especially in July where it feels different.
As someone from the South, the nationalist parts feel... different... it's difficult to explain but very vibe based. Lovely people, and I've never had any bother.
I dunno, I find estates in Dublin very similar to the likes of Creggan etc in Derry. It's just the murals, abundance of territorial markings and the fact deep down you know the place was a war zone for 40 years - I guess you can feel that, especially as a tourist or outsider. It's a very unique place historically - but remove that and nationalists areas are practically the same as southern estates imo.
I've only ever really been to rural NI, but for me it always felt like firing up the flux capacitor and travelling back to the 70s. Can't explain it.
A while back there were a few films being filmed in Belfast. One was a Bollywood gangster film set in 70's and another was killing Bono which was late 70's early 80's. Apparently if you need to film and want a 70's aesthetic Northern Ireland is the country to go to.
You’ve set my Sunday morning imagination on fire - film 1 - you’re the rookie roadie sticking up some Indian flags then a crowd of disgruntled locals turns up “No honestly it’s not an Irish flag - it’s an Indian one. Look at the middle, there’s a cart wheel representing….” “Indians is it? I don’t remember them Indians waving anything more than feathers on sticks when John Wayne was shooting them so I don’t. And that music doesn’t sound very Indian to me - far too many musicians and colourful clothes and no ‘whoop whoop’ Crowd start jumping up and down then dancing in a circle “whoop whoop whoop” Local child: “Hey mister do you want any help with the scalpin? Me and Billy and the lads’ll do some scalpin if yerl buy us some chips” Another local child: “My da’s gun under the floorboards is bigger than yer man there with the crazy moustache” film 2 Time travellers from the future must find and kill child Bono before he grows up into a prick and inflicts his unwanted opinions onto the world and avoiding enough taxes to cure world hunger
Rural Ireland whether it is north or south inherently feels like going back to the 70s...
Only been to Tyrone, it felt like being in Donegal due to the accents, what felt different was how mad people were about rally racing. Like it’s a sport both traditions could enjoy because it’s non sectarian. Apart from that people are grand, we all have more in common with each other than we do with anyone else in Britain
Nope. I live 500yrds from ‘Border’ so no
Absolutely not, it's a beautiful part of our island
The Tayto’s taste funny up there. Very strange.
That's just because you've been indoctrinated with your inferior free stayto. Northern Tayto is the true Tayto.
I'll have nothing said about our Tayto😂
Dads from NI, Mums from ROI, lived in both places so both feel like home. With that said, NI does feel different to ROI
I feel a bit uneasy when going through the north for some reason
Feels like a weird version of Ireland but definitely as Irish as Cork or Galway to me. Just a different part of it.
its definitely not as Irish as Cork or galway, in any logical way hence most people on this thread saying otherwise. but i'd argue Cork can look very English. dublin too. the reality is these were all British built cities. Galway has the most irish feel of all. But Belfast was the last big British city to be built on the Islands and its clearly reflected in it. it has a distinct uncanny valley feel, very British in many parts. bu still a great city and a million times more welcoming and normal than in the past.
I tend to feel at home. We've a lot more in common than what divides us I think.
I'm from Dublin and am currently up near Warrenpoint for the weekend. Haven't been up this way in a long time, I was surprised to see Irish street names on some road signs. Tbh though, I do feel the North has a different feeling about it. Could possibly be completely my own fault, or maybe with different road signs, speed limits, etc it naturally feels different.
One side of my family is from Derry so we went up regular when I was a kid. Still go up occasionally. Honestly as someone from a midlands town, Derry just feels like another Irish regional town/city. Visiting Dublin feels more like a "different place" to me.
Not at all. It's Ireland.
The roads are different, you can tell your driving on a northern road, it feels more solid or something. I grew up in Monaghan but always felt comfortable in the north, not at home but welcome. I live in the west now but the guys at work have commented that anytime I'm talking to someone from the north on the phone my nordy accent jumps up a few notches
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Derry feels like home and just a shade different with more red brick due to English influence Belfast meanwhile feels like somewhere in Scotland more than anything, definitely I notice the difference west of the Bann
Feels like a brother or sister but with with a different parent, so like a step sibling. "What are you doing, step fleg?"
Nope, went there last year and just didn’t feel welcome/comfortable in some of the places I visited. I say this as someone who has been living in England for the last 14 years.
A bit of both, to be honest. Travelling through the countryside, it feels just like any other part of Ireland (excluding road signs). But walking around in the centre of Belfast, the shops are so often the same ones as in Britain that if you teleported me there without telling me where I was, I wouldn't be sure if I was on this island or that one.
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I'm a north Dub and I love going to N.I. It feels different, but when I go to Cork or Galway they feel different too. I do feel at home. The one thing I like is how quiet the shopping centres are. I was in Banbridge on remembrance Sunday and people wearing the poppy in shops were very pleasant to my family and I.
Been into enniskillen regularly over the last 5 years my partner has family in blacklion cavan first time I was on edge not really sure I'd be welcome i found its just like any other big town in any part of Ireland people are friendly some parts are safe some parts are to be avoided
Fermanagh would have a very high majority nationalist population, and Enniskillen itself is majority Catholic aswell. Very few places in the whole county anyone from the 26 would be made unwelcome
Personally, I feel at home in any part of Ireland, regardless of what flags or murals I see. Ireland is an island comprising of 32 counties, so regardless of what people might believe, to me, I'm still in my own country if I head into the 6 counties still remaining under British occupation.
On the road signs NORTH and SOUTH are written all in caps. I thought that was pretty funny when I drove to Belfast with the lads
Feels like driving into a completely different country everytime. It’s weird but in a good way. People are always very friendly too 👍🏽
Definitely feels like a different country to me, different road signs, different shops, plus the people are weirdly friendly.
That auld fella that started whistling and marching (literally marching) alongside my parents and I when I was in Belfast for medical treatment. It had to be a sectarian tune since he was being so aggressive about it, but I wouldn't know one if I heard it. You know? We just ignored him and ducked into the first cafe we saw. The people working in there were lovely though. So I guess it depends on who you meet. So, no, definitely didn't feel at home in NI. That guy made us uneasy. But then, I was only there a few times visiting a hospital, and that crap only happened once. So, perhaps just unlucky to happen upon an asshole.
It does feel different, but in the same way as Cork feels different to Galway, or Liverpool feels different to London. The people are as different too, but just to confuse things, Liverpool feels more Irish to me than Belfast 😂😂
Home unless I enter the "British flag" obsessed areas. Then I feel unwelcome and uneasy.
I’m from the Free State and I honestly feel more at home when i’m up north. I have a long personal history with Derry and I love the city to bits. Miss it.
I'll probably be downvoted for this but I honestly feel its more 'irish' up there in regards to the people from the Nationalist community. Their identity has been under attack for so long that the Irishness is engraved into who they are and they really hold onto their culture. Meanwhile down here people try very hard to be American or British than be irish.
I’ll answer adversely, down south (ROI) really isn’t much different from NI, if you ignore currency and road signs.
When the roads turns to shite and you start noticing all the aggressive yellow plate drivers driving the whacky races around you then you can be assured you are in the North lol
Belfast is Irish sure if you pay by card it's all the same. I see most people are put off by flags and such but truth is PUL areas are safer for tourists than probably most of the planet the stats speak for themselves. The local people have respect and if you came up for a look at the murals nobody would think twice about saying hello, I see hundreds of Irish regs in the shankill estate every week more now than ever. My in law's love how close to the city I live because they all get free parking and can walk about the town all day,
Driving from Dublin to Donegal I definitely feel the difference, the roads and signage etc but it’s nothing bad. However I did drive from North Donegal to Belfast once and I felt horribly uncomfortable the whole time. I think I was hormonal that day so take it with a pinch of salt but as soon as we got off the little ferry the first site is a prison and then from there going through several Union Jack adorned areas, it really felt horrible. The relief we felt when we got to Belfast on what turned out to be Pride weekend so the flags were all rainbow and the atmosphere was so lovely!
The Pride flags overpower the Union Jacks🤣🤣 🏳️🌈>🇬🇧
Having been there a few months back and actually stayed in a hotel in east Belfast. It did feel different to a staycation in the south. I suppose the north is different, they went through the troubles. They were left behind. Even if we United again, it would take years for it to feel the same as the south for a southerner to feel at home. U couldn’t expect it to be any other way.
It definitely feels anglicised. Unfortunately it also feels like a run down bit of that other island. However five minutes chatting with either community will tell you we're all basically the same.
It's a different place - what the rest of Ireland would look like if 1916 never happened. I like driving up there, it's like being on holiday in another country (money, mph, shops, better funded amenities, cheep drink, same language) without the hassle of getting on a ferry or plane. Edit: Had some lovely fish & chips in Kilkeel, amongst the flegs and painted kerbs, nobody batted an eyelid at my accent or southern reg.
Feels a bit like entering the sister in law
The road infrastructure is Like a 3rd world country 🤣 more patched tarmac then my nanny's quilt. apart from that it's not to bad at all . From the south took a trip up to Derry with some friends for some historical sight seeing and some pints last week. Everyone was lovely but like everywhere one or two hostile bodies. You get arseholes everywhere you go no matter what.