The meeting of the waters

At first sight we could think that the little village of Avoca (564 persons in 2002), County Wiklow, harbours nothing particular and that the elevated rate of commutative workers among its inhabitants makes it a dormitory town.
But as the famous Irish poet Thomas Moore said about Avoca and its valley:
"There is not in the wide world a valley so sweet
As that valley in whose bosom the bright waters meet".
Centuries before Moore wrote these words, some communities had already understood it and lived in this area. But the few traces of them suggest that they were also interested in the place because of its mining deposits. Besides, broad copper mining began in 1720 and finished only in 1982. Numerous rock waste spoil heaps surrounding Avoca testify of its industrial past. The copper coloured stones on the Avoca River are other signs of it. At the same time of the rapid development of the mines, since the creation of Avoca Handweavers in 1723, clothing manufacturing became one of the main activities of the town.

Nowadays the company is present in several Irish cities but its headquarters are still located in Avoca. It is possible to visit the factory and the place has become a well-known tourist attraction.

Recently, a BBC's TV serie called Ballykissangel was shot in the village, making it famous in Britain.

Dublin Town

On Wednesday, 17th of August I and John passed the day in Dublin, the capital of the Republic of Ireland. We took on board on the train in Rathdrum, near Avoca. One hour and a half of a magical journey along the sea after that, the Liffey river appeared in front of us. We walked on some yards until arriving up O'Connell Street.

Our desire was to visit Kilmainham Gaol, where a lot of leaders of independence movements were incarcerated. But we were also interested in the Dublin's cultural neighbourhood: Temple Bar. So, we decided to stride along the avenue. There we visited the Dublin Post Office, a key building during the 1916's uprising, and passed in front of the Spire, the tallest sculpture in the world. Arrived in Temple Bar, we admired a photography exhibition, next-door the Irish Film Institute. Afterwards we took the direction of the Chester Beatty Library and, once arrived we drunk a coffee. Before following the river towards the West we paced in Dublin Castle's yard where sand sculptures were erected.

Half an hour later, we started the guided visit of the jail. It was both interesting and emotional to go through the rooms where so many people were confined in horrible conditions and sometimes executed. Eamon de Valera, third president of Ireland was the last prisoner of Kilmainham Gaol.

After this deeply moving visit we went back to the city center, walking along the Phoenix Park. At last we saw in the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art the studio of Francis Bacon.
We came back at 6:30pm and contemplated once more the Irish shore.

The Irish from the other side of the border

Nowadays the island of Ireland is divided into two countries: Eire (Republic of Ireland) and Northern Ireland (United Kingdom). This scission is the result of the treaty signed by the Irish leader Michael Collins on the sixth of December 1921, which founded the Irish Free State. Because of the opposition from the Unionist Protestants of Ulster the Counties of Derry, Antrim, Down, Tyrone, Armagh and Fermanagh were left under British authority. From this moment this part of the island developed independently. Nevertheless tensions between the Unionists (in favour of the union with Great Britain) and the Nationalists (in favour of a 32 Counties Irish Republic) intensified. Religious discrimination toward Catholics led to the first expressions of discontentment of part of the society: civil rights demonstrations (October 1968).

The violent repression of these peaceful marches by the British army (particularly on the 30th January 1972 with Bloody Sunday) was the starting point of the deadly decades of "The Troubles". When the "Good Friday Agreement" was signed in 1998 in order to defuse the situation, 3000 people had already died.

Nevertheless, as the bomb attack in Omagh in August 1998 reminds us, extremist groups still constitute a potential risk.

The struggle for independance

From the first Mesolithic settlers the history of Ireland demonstrates its multicultural foundations: Viking invasion, arrival of the Anglo-Normans... Nevertheless an Irish identity has been able to emerge, and this is an undeniable step toward the foundation of a nation. The numerous uprisings of the Irish population against English occupation have proven its will to emancipate itself. For a long time the revolts didn't aim anything else than the end of British's harrasment. In 1798 a rebellion shook the island: the "United Irishmen", inspired by the French revolution tried unsuccessfully to expel the colonisers. From that time Ireland's home rule became a conceivable objective. Contrary to popular belief, to achieve this challenge Catholics and Protestants were expected to struggle shoulder to shoulder. Charles Stewart Parnell, an Irish Protestant member of the British parliament in the late 19th century is the best example of this partnership.

From the moment he was elected in 1875 he pursued in association with the British Prime Minister William Gladstone several reforms in order to ratify the "Home Rule Bill".

However the failure of this political path to freedom due to to the opposition of the English conservatives led to new violent uprisings in Ireland. The one which occured in 1916 was decisive: the murder of young men by the Royal Irish Constabulory legititimised the revolt. Finally after a war with Great Britain from 1919 to 1921 Ireland became an independant country.

Irish roots

Ireland and Britain which today are not very close were connected thousands of years ago by a strip of land, an unswerving link. As a result of it around 8000 bc, in the Mesolithic period a group of human beings were able to settle in the country of the shamrock. Their descendants had the first real impact on the landscape: they built dolmens, for example.

But it's really from the 5th century that we have the first important historical data. At this time Christianity was introduced to Ireland and the country acquired its nickname of "island of the saints". The famous site of Tara can testify to the relevance of religious ceremonies during this period. Nevertheless the political organisation of the country was weakened by the competition between the various chiefs who were seeking the high-kingship. Meanwhile, bands of Scandinavian warriors arrived on the irish beaches and founded numerous cities and among them Dublin, Limerick and Cork.

This contentious cohabitation between the Vikings and the Christian feudal lords perpetuated until the Anglo-Norman invasion during the 12th century. Then, with Richard de Clare, the famous Strongbow, the English rule over Ireland started.

Ghost Economy

After the collapse of Lehman Brothers, one of the biggest banks of the planet, in September 2008, the entire world awoke after a long dream of easy money. The weakness of the financial derivatives on which artificial growth was built led us to a credit crunch. The consequences were the increase of the interest rates on mortgages and a huge number of house repossessions. Ireland is a perfect example of how violent the slump was. After a period of sane growth (the first half of Celtic Tiger period) speculation on properties led to an economic bubble. Reading the newspaper of this time is enough to understand it: the prices were higher than in Manhattan! But a few years ago the bubble burst, and the wild animal turned into one of the most endebted countries in Europe. The effects on the economy are terrible: 15 percent unemployment, big cuts in social benefits...

Rocky Road to Dublin

From Sunday 31st of July to Tuesday 2nd of August I was with John on a short journey to the English city of Chester, crossing first the Irish sea and after that the region of Wales. It permits me now to understand the extent to which Ireland has a specific place in the British Isles. Ireland distinguishes itself from its neighbours: it seems to be more favorable than the United Kingdom to the growth of an economic and political Europe.

However Ireland shares with Wales Viking roots and a Celtic language, so, is the Republic more linked with the UK than we might think? The special immigration agreement between the two countries suggests this (we were able to travel from one to another pratically without being checked). But the recent economic crisis might lead to less human and commercial exchange. A risk for the links between these two island nations?