Looking Forward
Founded in 1788, the Linen Hall Library in Belfast is home to a collection of over 350,000 items, most of which pertain to Irish studies. It is certainly a destination not to be missed when visiting Northern Ireland's capital city.
Awash in history, the facility - the oldest of its kind in the area - is linked to an era when keen minds were bringing forth ideas of social and parliamentary reform, freedom, and independence. As the original home to the Belfast Society for the Promotion of Knowledge (which, at the time, was seen as an extreme, albeit enlightened organization), the building's first librarian was Thomas Russell - a revolutionary and a founding member of The Society of United Irishmen, a sworn association dedicated to securing equal representation for all people in national government.
By all accounts, Russell was a man ahead of his times - rejecting slavery, promoting women's rights, and revulsed by the region's deeply entrenched religious inequities. During a period when the majority of the population was excluded from political participation on religious and property ownership grounds, his views were considered radical and revolutionary.
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 would see the United Irishmen defeated during a summer of uncoordinated - and mostly failed - bloody uprisings. Although Russell would be sidelined in prison, others took up the fight, including Beauchamp Bagenal Harvey, Chairman of The United Irishmen, and a Commander in the Battle of New Ross.
Harvey's family lived in Bargy Castle - a Norman fortress near the village of Tomhaggard, Wexford County. Interestingly, almost a century and a half later, my mum would spend the war years away from London with her Aunt Hetty and Uncle Jim Harvey in Bargy Castle. Aunt Hetty and Uncle Jim were the last Harveys to live there. Mum's memory was so rich that her retelling of Bagenal's tragic story blurred the lines between past and present.
Many lives were lost in the 1798 uprisings, including that of Bagenal, who was hanged from Wexford Bridge on June 28 of that year. In true Irish fashion, however, he and The United Irishmen are still remembered to this day in the haunting lyrics of Bagenal Harvey's Lament, sung by traditional singer Seán Garvey.
Just down the street from the Linen Hall Library is The Garrick pub. Established in 1870, the tavern is still in operation and as busy as ever with both locals and tourists. A sign atop the pub's door is a testament to Belfast's bittersweet legacy; “A nation that keeps one eye in the past is wise. A nation that keeps two eyes on the past is blind.”
As our Editor-in-Chief Stephen Patrick Clare notes in the cover story for our MayJune edition, Belfast is no longer an “English” city, nor is it an “Irish” city - it is now an international city. As such, it is a place that has reconciled its past, with its eyes firmly focused on the future.