Several month ago I took a 23andMe DNA test to learn about my heritage. It was my understanding prior to the test that I was Swedish, Norwegian and German in equal parts. What did I learn? I learned I was in fact Swedish and Norwegian in very large part, but my third most dominant origin was British/Irish. What? No one in my family ever talked about an emerald isle legacy so this was a complete surprise to me, but it also answered a few questions about my disposition. Disposition details I’ll keep to myself but suffice it to say, it all made sense now…I made sense now!
A few months later, a business trip to Belfast, Northern Ireland popped up in my schedule and I was delighted. I was quick to extend the trip with a couple of vacation days so I could explore. Now, I’ve been to the Republic of Ireland and had a fantastic time, but there is something about going somewhere once you understand that your roots connect you there. Your eyes and your heart see things differently. It’s personal and rich with insight. It feels a bit like you are not just seeing new things, but that you are collecting the missing puzzle pieces of your own soul. That’s how this trip to Belfast felt. It felt like each site I visited and each person I met felt strangely “connected”. Take for example the name of the city itself.
Belfast comes from the Irish term “Beal Feirst” which means “River Mouth of the Sandbanks”. Typing this makes me laugh out loud because, after a pint or two, my mouth has a tendency to run like a river and the quality of my utterances could be measured in sand! See? Connections! Giggles aside, the city’s name is byproduct of River Lagan entering an inlet to the Irish Sea which at one time, positioned it to be an industrial centre that produced a variety of products, most notably, ships. In fact, the RMS Titanic was built-in Belfast at the Harland and Wolff shipyard. I don’t think I need to recap the story of the Titanic but it’s safe to say its sinking aided to the unfortunate sinking of the shipbuilding trade in the city.
Today, Belfast is still a major port with commercial and industrial docks along the Lough shoreline but it’s also home to the Titanic museum (featured image) and studios. Studios not only used in the production of the movie Titanic but also the HBO series Game of Thrones. I bet the workers building the actual Titanic would have never imagined that location would be turned into a studio that would produce stories, both real and imagined, that would be watched by millions of people! It speaks to the beauty of this region and the resilience of these people. They didn’t just raise the wreckage…they resurrected it in an entirely new form. Now THAT is something I connect with!