Duke Engage – Belfast 2011

The term “recreational rioting” had been thrown around a lot, both before Belfast and since I arrived. As I understood, it was a form of intense anti-social behaviour where groups of young men from both sides of the community gathered to throw rocks, petrol-bombs, and, at times, shoot guns at one another, often resulting in serious injury or death. The police had little to no control when these riots occurred except, as I learned in the first few days of arriving in Belfast, to close the gates and hope for the best. But as mid-June approached, I began to think this recreational rioting was a myth. There had been nothing on the news or whispers on the bus or the train about any rioting, recreational or otherwise. While the lack of rioting was a sign that tensions were low and that the peace process was working, I was a little disappointed that I did not get to experience a part of the Belfast culture, albeit dangerous, that had been so heavily emphasized.

On June 20th, recreational rioting became a very real aspect of my time in Belfast. As I work late on Mondays at the youth club in Lisburn, I arrived back in city centre at 8:30 p.m. only to have to wait another hour to catch the bus back to Farset. It was a pretty nice day and still light out, as the sun doesn’t set until around 11:00 p.m. here, so I decided to walk back. When I was almost back to Farset and approaching one of the gates, I saw that there were more people on the streets than usual. I did not think anything of it as it was one of the nicer nights that we had had thus far.

All of a sudden, I saw a swarm of boys cross the Springfield Road across oncoming traffic and start throwing rocks at the boys on the other side of the opened gate. The boys were young, between the ages of 8 and 14, and were smiling as they hurled rocks at each other. Suddenly, one of the boys yelled, “Cops!”. The boys on both sides of the gate stopped throwing and took off sprinting in all directions as a police car came speeding down. I even caught the sight of one boy scaling a 10-foot fence and jumping down on the other side. I could not help but laugh to myself. So this was what they term “recreational rioting”. It was simply a group of young boys having fun. In high school, my friends and I used to steal cones off the side of the road, block off streets, and hide and watch as the cars drove up to the street we had blocked off and had to turn around. This recreational rioting is not much unlike the “antisocial behavior” my friends and I engaged in. Recreational rioting is the kids’ means of having fun when there isn’t much else to do. Although there is underlying sectarian tension between the two groups rioting, there is also an aspect of simple juvenile behavior and fun.

A few hours later, the BBC came out with news of more recreational rioting in East Belfast. At around midnight, between 100 and 200 masked men stormed a Catholic enclave in East Belfast and started raiding houses, throwing petrol-bombs, and shooting guns. We watched footage as these men climbed on top of the police cars and started beating them with sledge hammers. They were relentless in their hours of rioting. The news called this rioting not too dangerous for Belfast and even coined it “recreational”. As I watched the footage and compared it to the riot I had witnessed only a few hours later, I couldn’t help but think that the news people were wrong. These were masked men throwing large bombs and carrying dangerous weapons, not children laughing with each other as they threw small rocks. This rioting was far from recreational.

BBC coverage on the rioting: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-13851316

I celebrated my 21st birthday on last Wednesday, June 29!! It was great spending it with the group but what made it  truly special was the love from the locals, something I was not expecting.

On Wednesdays as a part of our work at Falls Women’s Centre, we attend a community music project with and residents of Sandy Row Day Center, an elderly home. For the project, led by local musicians, we actually wrote a song together called “Sweet Memories” and finished recording it last week! It was so much fun to be a part of!

As it was my birthday last Wednesday, I was with the Sandy Row group. Billy, a man who I’d grown to get to know over the past weeks and whom I was very fond of, remembered that I had told him my  birthday was approaching and he surprised me with a card! The group then decided to sing happy birthday to me. It was so special!!

Happy Birthday to me! (video)

Klodetta, an Albanian immigrant who I’ve also grown close to, sang to me in her native language!

Happy Birthday from Klodetta (video)

I came back to Farset to a pleasant surprise! The Farset staff decorated my room with lots of 21st birthday love!! The card and box of wine was the cherry on top!

Later on, the group went out to dinner at The Apartment (great food and great time!).

Ended the night with cake  from a Shankill bakery!

Overall, a great way to celebrate. I had a great time with the group! The generosity and hospitality of Norn Iron people was exemplified that day and I am truly grateful for their kindness and for making the day that much more special!

Famous Duke professor Dan Ariely wrote in his book about the importance of remembering the past not just as an exercise of respect, but as a way to create the present and future. Basically, he says that we make decisions not so much based on what we think is the right thing to do but by unconsciously asking ourselves, “What would I do in this situation?” Moment to moment, we don’t necessarily have much personality; instead we recall everything that we’ve previously thought, learned, said and done to come up with a sense of who we are and apply that to the present situation. In a way, this means that the present has to do a lot for us: it has to perpetuate (or, if we want, change) who we are, it has to become part of the story we’ve created so far, and maybe most importantly of all, it has to justify the past. No one wants to go through life with a sense that they haven’t learned or grown at all, or that they wasted a lot of time and made a lot of bad decisions for nothing, so we use the present as proof that our mistakes, sacrifices, or choices have made us better.

Before coming to Belfast, I believed that each side of the deeply-rooted conflict here was ready to move on, and it was all too clear and simple in my mind that they should. But in order to “move on,” many people believe that they would have to forget their past, and in the absence of heritage and history, who will they be? And where will that leave the people who lost their lives in the conflict? Murals, monuments and museums commemorate the dead, often while implying that their sacrifice will have been pointless if everyone manages to move on. A quote from Bobby Sands, “Our revenge will be the laughter of our children,” is painted on a wall near where I work– but the quote refers to a certain kind of laughter, as it would be hard to imagine that he meant for the Catholic children to be laughing with Protestant children. And then there are the people who didn’t die or weren’t physically harmed by the conflict, but who lost some part of their lives to it in a more figurative, but still very visible, sense. It negatively impacted Northern Ireland’s economy, and still does; it has made it harder for many citizens to get education, jobs, housing and more; it has cost many people years of their lives spent in prison. With the damage from the conflict still growing in nuanced and indirect (as well as direct) ways, I can understand why it would be hugely uncomfortable for people to ask themselves what might have been if the Troubles had never occurred, and nearly impossibly painful to move on. In the absence of easy explanation for why the Troubles happened, the past at least provides a strong sense of identity.

We’ve often asked ourselves, over the past 7 weeks, what will happen to Northern Ireland “eventually,” because to our eyes, the climate here seems unsustainable. We were lucky enough to grow up without violence in our neighborhoods on the scale that it has existed here, so our idea of integration may not be culturally relevant in Northern Ireland. The country is in a period of peace, and though there may be occasional conflict, everyone got to keep their identity. Integration may increase over time, but more importantly, I believe that the truth that neither side was entirely good or evil will become more clear over time. As long as violence isn’t glorified and children aren’t given the impression that they need to make the same choices and sacrifices that others before them made, there is nothing wrong with preserving a strong sense of heritage-based identity. The children probably won’t be laughing in revenge, or with their peers from the other side of the conflict, but at least they will know who they are. It’s not for me to say whether that justifies the damage of the Troubles, but I will definitely hope that each community feels it’s enough.

When you think Northern Ireland and sports, if you ever think about Northern Irish sports, you’re first thought probably isn’t basketball. Nor should it be. Globally, Rory McElroy, Darren Clarke, and Graham McDowell are the nation’s most famous sporting exports, three of the finest golfers in the world. For the culturally Irish, there are the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) sports like hurling (an insane mash-up of lacrosse and rugby?) and Gaelic football, which are huge. Football (soccer) is big in both communities, even if the Rangers v. Celtic rivalry is still a bit touchy. In the local papers, tennis, rugby, boxing, and lawn bowling all receive coverage. Basketball? Nowhere to be seen. The occasional outdoor courts I do see are inevitably dilapidated, and sit forlornly, empty and unused.
So you can excuse me for thinking that if I somehow did find my way into a basketball game this summer in Northern Ireland, I’d be one of the best players on the court? As a former high school varsity starter, standing 6’4” and weighing nearly 14 stone, I’d have to be up there. Nobody in Belfast plays basketball. Right?

Before we get to that, there’s the not so insignificant challenging of actually finding a game. I wasn’t exaggerating about the paucity of basketball courts in Northern Ireland. No gym I’ve seen has them, and in a nation so wholly unenthused about basketball I was unlikely to stumble into a pickup game.
It would’ve been much easier for me to find some soccer, but I was in a basketball kind of mood before I left the States, and something about the idea of playing what would be such a niche sport was appealing. So before I headed to Belfast I took a few shots in the dark. A quick Google search for “Belfast Basketball” yielded a few different local clubs, and I decided to try and make contact with a few.
Thankfully, and shockingly, one of them decided to respond. A couple days before I arrived, I received an email from Breda Dick, a director for the Lisburn Basketball Club, asking me about my playing and coaching experience. Coincidentally her son Paul was playing basketball at a university a few hours from my hometown, and after a few correspondences it was arranged that I’d meet her on a Tuesday after work to come coach a clinic. Afterwards, her son Paul had organized some pick-up ball.

I met Breda at the Finaghy train station, in between Lisburn and Belfast, on my way home from work one night. I didn’t know what to expect—but the welcome was better than anything I could ever have anticipated. Breda picked me up at the station and took me back to her house, where I got to eat dinner with her family. Incredibly, five of the seven members had played for the Irish national basketball team at some point. After the meal, we headed over to De La Salle College for the clinic.
As the newcomer, I expected just to assist Paul, who’d been spending the summer coaching youth clinics. Instead, after a brief warm-up session, he sent 14 kids my way and told me to get to work.
It was a beginner’s clinic, and Paul had said not many of the kids were experienced players. So I started with the most basic drill I could think of; lay up lines. It was—difficult. Coming from an area where almost everyone had played basketball, or at least seen the sport, I guess I underestimated just how difficult the sport can be for an absolute newcomer. I planned on starting with the basics; layups, dribbling, passing. Instead, I had to take it even farther back; I needed to just get the kids used to having a basketball in their hands.
After my initial hesitancy I got caught up in the enthusiasm of the kids. The skills needed work, but all the kids (a mix of boys and girls aged 6-12) had a passion for the sport, or at least had some steam they needed to blow off. Most of the night was spent corralling wayward players and convincing a particularly intransigent boy that you could not in fact run with the ball. Regardless, I quickly realized my mission wasn’t teaching basketball; it was instilling some understanding and love for the game. Beyond that, it was incredible to interact with Northern Irish kids in a new setting. Whatever fun they had was matched by my own.

As the kids were shuffling out, a group of more experienced basketball players began to make their way into the gym. Appearance wise, they would have fit right in at Wilson Gym. And as the players started to loosen up, I immediately noticed two things; the deadeye accuracy everyone seemed to shoot with, and the number of t-shirts with “Irish National Team” on them.
The game got started though, and all of a sudden it was just basketball. I forgot the fact that I was in Belfast, that the lane was a trapezoid and not a rectangle, and that I couldn’t understand my teammates. Although I was a bit rusty—a couple weeks had passed since my last session at Duke—I worked through the early nerves and settled into the game, hitting the first shot I took (a corner three, right in front of photographer/professor Robin Kirk), and then had a nice spin move through the lane for a lefty layup. The biggest difference between my run here in Belfast and your average pickup game at Duke was the style of play. Because most of the people I played with had played together before, there was far more off the ball movement than I was used to. It almost felt like a soccer game, the way people were cutting, and after about twenty minutes, I was wiped.
Luckily, the Tuesday basketball sessions continued for another couple weeks. They were a great way to interact with the Northern Irish community and continue doing something that I really love. Was I one of the best players on the court? For the lack of Irish prominence on the global basketball stage, the talent assembled in the gym was incredibly impressive. So no. I held my own, but scattered amongst the group was a 6’10” forward headed to play at the University of Pennsylvania, a couple D2 players, and a bunch of youth national team players. Regardless, the competition and the craic were well worth it. Thanks to Breda and Paul for giving me the opportunity! And thanks to Robin for taking video and pictures!

Yesterday was my second Dublin disaster.

The first time my trip to Dublin with Intercomm fell through, it wasn’t so much of a disaster as a fortunate change of plans, as that was the day that I got to meet the Secretary of State.

Wednesday, though, was actually a bit of a disaster.  My Intercomm co-worker Sean and I had planned to catch the 8 AM train to Dublin, which would put us in to the downtown at around 10 AM, in time for the two meetings he had scheduled with some of Intercomm’s partners.  I was happy to tag along for the day, since I had been wanting to see Dublin for awhile and trips into the Republic on DukeEngage Belfast are best organized through work opportunities.  We planned to meet up outside of Farset around 7:15 AM, so when the clock hit 7:30 I thought it was probably time to give him a call.  He answered in a panic, having slept through all three of the alarms he set for the occasion!  ”I even went to bed extra early”, he told me as he picked me up in the Farset parking lot around 8:30.  ”I guess I just went into a deep sleep…”    In any case, we decided, driving would probably work out better since we could see more of the sites of the city that way and return whenver we wanted instead of being bound to the rigid train schedule.

All was well for a time, and I closed my eyes for a few minutes as we rolled along the green countryside of Northern Ireland.  Suddenly, the dashboard of the car emitted a loud beeping noise and Sean let out a cry of alarm!!  The oil light had gone on and apparently the engine was overheating as well.  We pulled over to the side of the road and opened the hood to let everything cool down for a bit.  Sean discovered a dead bird from inside of the engine which was probably part of the problem, we reflected later.  Still, the oil light remained on… Ultimately we decided that the trek into the Republic wasn’t worth the risk and so we turned around back to Belfast.

As we approached the city and the huge yellow cranes came into view, I felt a strange sense of relief.   I would love to see Dublin at some point, but I was far from disappointed about spending another day in Belfast.  After 6 weeks, I’m becoming comfortable here and as we drove up to Farset, I was even beginning to look forward to the restful day ahead and the chance to recover from the morning’s surprises!  That afternoon, I had the chance to attend Akshatha’s going away lunch at WAVE Trauma Center as well.  Although (sort of) disastrous, the day was far from a loss!

A starling, one of my favorite kinds of birds, and also the unfortunate victim of Sean's engine!

June 21^st 2011, the 5^th annual Day of Reflection

The cross-community organization with whom I work, Healing Through Remembering, hosted a special event honoring the Day of Reflection in the Linen Hall Library in downtown Belfast.  The event was organized by Kate Turner, Aongus O’Keeffe, and myself.  HTR describes the annual event as:

a day to acknowledge the deep hurt and pain caused by the conflict, to reflect on our own attitudes, on what more we might have done or might still do, and to make a personal commitment that such loss should never be allowed to happen again. This follows positive evaluations of the Day of Private Reflection held each year since 2007.

Significant changes were made to the day this year.  The Day was changed from “Private Reflection” to “Reflection” to reflect the changing nature of the initiative, from a focus on persuading individuals to privately take time to reflect to expanding to a broad range of community group-led opportunities.  There were over two dozen organizations that honored the Day of Reflection this year, with opportunities ranging from group discussions to readings to exhibitions.  The goal for this year’s DoR was to accumulate enough public rapport that Educational Institutions are inspired to include themselves in future Days of Reflection, which will then pave the way for a government-sanctioned official Day of Reflection.  Not compulsory, but sort of along the lines of Memorial Day.  Some of this was not explicitly stated to me, but it’s not too difficult to figure out the long-term ambitions of the project.

My role in this year’s Day of Reflection was to coordinate the project, acting as a liason between the several parties involved, as well as setting up the event itself at the Linen Hall Library.  We had photos donated for exhibition by two renowned photographers of the Troubles, masks donated by Suzi and her women’s group, which tell their personal stories, books available for perusing, singer/songwriter Gerry Creen on guitar periodically, with several poetic and literary readings throughout.  The centerpiece of the exhibit was a Thought Wall, on which people posted yellow leaves bearing their thoughts.

Putting all of this together was really engaging and honestly a lot of fun.  I met with the curators of the Linen Hall Library as well as Lawrence, a field worker/aesthetic consultant, Nikki, our PR agent, and Patricia, the annual evaluator of the DoR to set it all up.  Kate has got a ton of stuff going on, basically because she’s the bee’s knee’s in the national realm of truth and reconciliation, so she basically only set aside about six days to put together the DoR.  This meant that my role was to keep everyone on track and keep things rolling smoothly.  I was pretty sure I had everything under control, but every time I met with Kate and Lawrence, I had to second guess myself.  “Why are they so stressed out? Should I be stressed out too?!”  Nope, it was fine.

Everything came together quite nicely, with an opening attendance of over 50 people, and a total of around 100.  People were very appreciative of the opportunity, and it was one of the highlights of my engagement here in Northern Ireland.  This is something that I will definitely take with me moving forward with my life.

One of the most surprising aspects of daily life in Belfast is that finding friendly people is not too difficult. I thought I might jot down a few interesting people and moments that I have experienced here. So here it goes in particular or coherent order:

I met Joe while I was waiting at a bus stop in front of Tesco (a grocery store chain), and he told me about how he likes to sit at bus stops and watch life pass by (an interesting pastime). He then began to tell me about how he originally lived on the Falls Road in west Belfast during the Troubles and how bullets and petrol bombs had been a daily part of life. “I didn’t do anything clever to survive the Troubles,” he assured me. “It was all pure luck.”

Michael comes every Thursday to WAVE Trauma Center to cook lunch for the women’s small group meeting—a good idea since he used to be a chef on cruise lines all over the world! After learning that I was Indian, one of the first things he mentioned to me was how an Indian woman he once knew had stolen 16,000 pounds from him. But I don’t think he holds it against me since he still cooks good food for me and the rest of the women every Thursday.

Patsy is one of the regulars at women’s small group meetings which are held every Thursday in WAVE Trauma Center. Her story is a rather sad one—she was living in Canada when her father was murdered in Belfast. She regretted not coming back to Belfast more often and spending time with him. I helped her make a quilt square to honor her father—a surprisingly fun experience since I don’t really do much arts and crafts.

We were watching a parade in this small city/town called Dunmurry, and it had been raining pretty much the whole time we were there. I wanted to find a restroom, but the nearest one was inside this pub. I was pretty apprehensive about going in because there were a bunch of men standing in the doorway of the pub and staring me down. I asked them whether I could use the pub’s restroom, and they were surprisingly very nice. It was probably the American accent that won them over haha.

A few weeks ago, we went to a pub on the Shankill for trivia night and here were some of the questions:

1.What is the most populous state in Australia?
2.What is Princess Diana’s middle name?
3.Who sang “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers” with Barbara Streisand?
4.Who or what did Winston Churchill describe as “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”?
5.What is the country that lies in between Spain and France?
6.What is a samovar used for?
7.When was the tea bag invented?
8.What type of meat is eaten by Muslims?
9.What does the word “decimate” literally mean?

As you can see, there was clearly a European slant to some of the questions. And yet we somehow managed to get almost half of the questions right. I think that’s an accomplishment.

Northern Ireland’s great sporting hero right now is 22-year old Rory McIlroy, a golfer from Holywood, a suburb of Belfast located five miles east of the city centre.  Rory has always had a lot of potential, as evidenced by his television appearance at age 9, setting a course record at Royal Portrush at the age of 16, and being the low amateur at the (British) Open Championship at Carnoustie in 2007 at age 18.  As the 2011 season started, McIlroy had won two tournaments (one in Europe and one in America) and had tied the major championship record by opening with a 63 in the 2010 Open Championship (he eventually finished third), and had risen to the top 10 in the World Rankings.  In the first major of the year, the 2011 Masters, Rory held the lead following each of the first three rounds, and held a four-stroke lead heading into the final day following rounds of 65-69-71.  Even though he struggled on the first nine on Sunday, he was still tied for the lead with 9 holes to play.  A drive hooked over 50 yards offline on the 10th led to a triple bogey, and a 4-putt on the 12th left the poor young man in tears, his chances of winning a tournament that had seemed in the bag for him all week ruined.  He eventually closed with an 80, a horrendous score for a professional, and plummeted into 15th place.

The way that Rory handled himself in post-round interviews following his Sunday collapse at the Masters won him a lot of supporters around the world.  Unlike Tiger Woods, who has always been gruff and not friendly to the media, McIlroy generally came off as very classy, particularly following what could have been, for a more fragile player, a career-shattering event.  McIlroy was quoted as saying,

“I’m very disappointed at the minute and I’m sure I will be for the next few days, but I’ll get over it,” he said.

“I have to take the positives and the positives are I led this golf tournament for 63 holes. I’ll have plenty more chances, I know that. It’s very disappointing what happened today and hopefully it will build a little bit of character in me as well.”

At 22 years old, his performance (for most of the tournament) and how he handled himself afterwards made it clear to everyone he had a bright future ahead.  Just a month ago, he visited Haiti as an ambassador for UNICEF Ireland, which really gave him even more perspective regarding what occurred in Augusta in April.

Additionally, McIlroy is incredibly close to his family, who he thanks every day for his success. Coming from a middle-class family, and with golf being an expensive game, at one point, his dad worked three jobs to help support his golfing career-they could tell that Rory had the talent to succeed, as his work ethic towards practicing golf was incredibly strong, starting from as young as age 3.  His mom also worked full time at a factory-and some of this money went to putting a putting green in the family’s front yard.

So when it came time for the second major of the year (professional golfers are judged primarily on how many majors-the four are The Masters, US Open, (British) Open Championship, and (US) PGA Championship that they win over their career), Rory had a new mindset.  After getting some putting lessons as well, which gave him more confidence in his stroke, which had also plagued him down the stretch at Augusta, Rory was extremely confident.

Paired with two top American golfers, Phil Mickelson, who has infamously finished runner-up at the US Open five times but has never won it, and Dustin Johnson, widely considered the top young American player today (who had battled some demons at majors of his own over the past year-blowing a final round lead at the 2010 US Open with an 82 on Sunday, and getting penalized on the 72nd hole of the 2010 PGA, costing him a shot at a playoff), McIlroy waxed both of them in the first round.  Firing a nearly flawless, bogey-free round of six-under par 65, McIlroy held a 3 shot lead following the first round (Mickelson and Johnson shot 74 and 75, respectively).

In round 2, McIlroy continued his phenomenal play, becoming just the fifth player ever at the US Open to reach double digits under par (and the fastest to do so, in 26 holes), when he holed out for eagle on the 8th hole to reach -10.  At this point, Mickelson was even applauding him, as he could tell that Rory’s performance for the week was dominant, and that no one else was going to have a chance.  McIlroy eventually reached -13, which was the most under par any player had ever been at the US Open, through 35 holes.  Although he double-bogeyed the 18th, his first hiccup of the week, he stood at -11 after 2 days, with rounds of 65-66.  His lead was 6 shots over Y.E. Yang (who is most famous for being the only person ever to come from behind to beat Tiger Woods at a major on Sunday, and the first Asian winner of a major) following Round 2.  McIlroy tied a major championship record for largest lead after 36 holes, and also for the lowest score over 36 holes at a US Open.

Round 3 was more of the same.  While McIlroy was not quite as good as the first two days, his incredibly consistent and steady play continued.  He made only one bogey in round 3, and finished with a round of 3-under par 68 which left him at 14-under par for 54 holes:  65-66-68-for a total of 199.  He increased his lead to 8 strokes over the nearest competitor (still Yang), and set further records for lowest score ever in the US Open in relation to par (-14), and lowest 54 hole score.

With an 8-stroke lead headed into the last day, McIlroy’s lead seemed to be insurmountable.  But with what had happened at Augusta two months earlier still recent, Rory was not taking it for granted this time.  He had learned from his experience, and was much calmer and more confident before the final round, according to both him and his father.  McIlroy was never threatened on Sunday, as he continued his record-setting play with a final round of 69, which left him at 16 under par for the week, and a total of 65-66-68-69=268.  He won by 8 strokes over another young promising golfer from Australia, Jason Day (who ended up finishing second at the Masters which McIlroy squandered), and throughout the course was greeted with “Let’s go Rory” chants from the Washington DC crowd.  He set a record for the most under par ever in a US Open at any point (he had reached -17 before a late bogey), most under par to finish at the US Open (his -16 bettered Tiger Woods in 2000 by four), and the lowest number of strokes taken over 72 holes (also lowering the previous mark by 4).

McIlroy’s performance at Congressional was truly legendary.  While the course had been criticized for playing too easily (20 players finished under par-easily a record at the US Open, which regularly features less than five players finishing under par), it was very clear that McIlroy was by far the best player in the field that week.  At the age of 22, his performance drew numerous comparions to Tiger Woods’ triumph at age 21 at the Masters in 1997, where he shattered all the scoring records and won by 12, and Tiger’s 15-stroke victory at the 2000 US Open, which is the largest margin of victory ever at a major.  With Tiger’s struggles with both injuries and his mental state following his extramarital affairs, golf has been looking for the next dominant force.  With Rory’s blitzkrieg at the US Open at the young age of 22, the sky is truly the limit for him.  In addition, it is quite apparent that he will be a popular force, as he is truly family-oriented person who is very humble and respected.  He has also dated a girl from his hometown for over six years.  His class and maturity in both victory and defeat has won over golf fans across the world, particularly in his homeland of Northern Ireland, and also in America.

Graeme McDowell, from Portrush, Northern Ireland, and the winner of the 2010 US Open, lauds McIlroy as being the best player he’s ever seen, and Jack Nicklaus, the all-time leader in major victories, also sees great things for his future as well. It is quite remarkable that Northern Ireland, with a population of 1.8 million people, has produced the last two US Open champions (both players are also ranked in the Top 10 in the world)-and this has been a huge source of national pride.

McIlroy, who is younger than McDowell, represents a gigantic opportunity for Northern Ireland to gain positive press.  McIlroy, who is Catholic, grew up in a predominantly Protestant town, and has done his best to avoid “choosing a side” in the sectarian controversy that embroils the land.  He went to a non-sectarian school, and it is clear that his parents raised him to have a post-conflict mindset.  Thus far, Northern Ireland has embraced his success story, as he has been all over the newspapers, was honored by politicians from both sides of the aisle at Stormont, and is set to receive a parade in Holywood.  McIlroy has also said since his victory that he looked forward to coming home and sharing his happiness with his town.

However, with this being Northern Ireland, some people have to try and frame McIlroy as a potentially political figure.  As McIlroy walked off the 72nd hole at Congressional to sign his scorecard, a fan threw a tricolor (the flag of Ireland) at him, and he brushed it off him and generally ignored it.  This has led to a Facebook group called “Rory McIlroy turning down the tricolour,” which has over 5000 fans already  I think it is much more likely that he was just in a hurry to get and sign his scorecard and enjoy his celebration.  McIlroy has said, however, that he would play for Great Britain and Northern Ireland when golf comes to the 2016 Olympics. On the other hand, McIlroy has also been seen with a tricolor at the 2007 Walker Cup, which was played in Northern Ireland at Royal County Down (an amateur match between the US and UK/Ireland), and also played for the Ireland team at the World Cup of Golf with Graeme McDowell (the whole island of Ireland has a team, it is not differentiated)-despite the fact that both players are from Northern Ireland.  There is another picture with McDowell and McIlroy holding up the “Northern Irish flag”-the white one with the Red Hand of Ulster and a crown.  His personal website also indicates

The question of whether Irish sports teams should be united is a whole other can of worms that I’m not going to get into.  But arguing about McIlroy’s political allegiance is a complete shame that detracts from what is truly a great accomplishment from a truly humble person who values his family above anything else.  McIlroy considers himself Northern Irish, from what I can tell, and we will leave it at that.  Whether you believe that politically Northern Ireland should be part of the United Kingdom or Ireland, or its own nation, right now, McIlroy identifies with the political entity where he was born, which is Northern Ireland.  I do not believe that Rory cares about choosing a side here-I feel as though he has been raised as a post-conflict figure, considering that he went to a non-sectarian school as a Catholic in a predominantly Protestant town.  He has probably come to the realization (and he is far too humble to admit it) that he truly represents hope for a peaceful Northern Ireland.  He has a chance to be the next Tiger Woods, and having the most successful golfer in the world will bring lots of positive press and tourism to Northern Ireland-a figure that can unite hopeful citizens of this area.  Juxtaposed against the riots that are again starting in East Belfast, McIlroy’s success shows that unlike the few people who are trying to make life hell in Northern Ireland again-most should identify with him, and hope that he brings along a future that will end sectarianism.  Tiger Woods’ dad said he would be as large as Gandhi through his impact; however, Rory McIlroy, like it or not, represents a figure that can truly transcend the boundaries that remain in Northern Ireland, as his humility makes him a perfect ambassador for this wee place.

I did not get to watch that much of the golf tournament-as Farset does not get Sky Sports 2, the channel that the US Open was broadcast on over here.  I finally found an online feed to watch the third round on Saturday.  After I played golf on Sunday (and met Darren Clarke, a pro golfer from Northern Ireland who Rory often described as his hero and largest influence in the golfing world) and got back to Belfast, I realized that I needed to head to a pub to catch the end of Rory’s display of history.  I ended up at one of the few pubs open in Belfast late into a Sunday night (due to the time change, the US Open ended at around 12:30 am here), as I wanted to see the local make history with local people.  The pub was pretty crowded, with everyone cheering for McIlroy.  A lot of people left before he finished, because the result was assured and it was getting late, but I could tell that no matter whether you had a side in the conflict or not, everyone in Northern Ireland was rooting from the 22 year old from Holywood to triumph in America.  And so he did.  The world awaits to see what further history he can make, as he truly could be the greatest golfer who ever lived.

Yesterday, my Intercomm co-workers picked me up at Farset at 9am to go on an official visit to Stormont with them.  Liam and John had an appointment to talk with the British Secretary of State Owen Patterson about a current grant project they were co-heading called the Joint Area Ardoyne Project.  I was actually very excited that this would be the topic of conversation, as I’ve sat in on several of Intercomm’s meetings on the Joint Area project and so I have a fairly good sense of what the program entails.  Essentially, the Joint Area project will bring together youth from Ardoyne (primarily a Catholic/Republican area) and the Shankill (a Protestant/Loyalist area) in leadership development program.  There are about 15 different community workers who have thus far played vital roles in the development of this project, which aims to bring up young community leaders who can in turn mentor other young people.  This program is, to me, both very exiciting in its scope (I love youth work) and also a vessel of hope.  The future of Belfast and Northern Ireland as a whole lies, of course, in the hands of its young people, who will soon rise up to take ownership of the social and political environment and the trajectory of the peace process.  As my co-workers communicated to the Secretary of State in terms far more eloquent than I can here, this kind of program has the potential to really shape the future of peaceful relations in the region.

At Intercomm, which is in summary a non-profit organization that works primarily at interfaces between Catholic and Protestant communities and employs prominent community leaders from both backgrounds, I have been fortunate in the variety of peace work that I have witnessed.  I have attended conferences, sat in on city council meetings, recorded minutes for community safety meetings, and now I’ve even met the Secretary of State!  I’m starting to understand that reconciliation work must come both from the grassroots up and from the top down, from local residents and from statutory organizations.  I’m so thankful that the range of experiences that my co-workers have made available to me have been so varied and so interesting, and I know that there will be more adventures to come.

The road to Stormont - though the Stormont house where we met Owen Patterson was actully on a little path through the trees on the right. Is it bad that my first association with this view was the road to Pemberley (Mr. Darcy's house) in the the newest film version of Pride and Prejudice!? I guess that's what they get for admitting English majors to this program!!