Clandeyboye O'Neill Inauguration Stone Chair Ulster Museum
We are in the Saints and Scholars section of the Ulster Museum Belfast. This section contains a lot of medieval Irish history/antiquities.
We are here to find and film the ancient Clandeboye O'Neill inauguration Stone chair made from one complete piece of sandstone that probably was originaly quarried from near Cultra Bangor. I believe that this special 'crowning' chair was dug out of the field in 1750 at Castlreagh where we believe that Con O'Neill's Grey Castle stronghold fort/castle was sited. The chair itself is lob-sided and doesn't look very comfortable but it does remain unlike the Tyrone O'Neill 'chair' from Tullaghoge which was smashed up in 1605 by Lord Mountjoy. This curious but very special chair would have held great symbolic resonance to people of the time.
'The Clandeboye O'Neills were a branch of the O'Neills of Tyrone who settled in south Antrim and north Down in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in what had been the Anglo-Norman earldom of Ulster. The name Clandeboye, or Clann Aodh Buide, refers to their descent from Aodh Buidhe, or Hugh the Yellow-Haired, who died in 1283. Their chair may have been modelled on that at Tullaghogue, on which the O'Neills of Tyrone were inaugurated, and is the only surviving example of its kind. The Clandeboye O'Neills lost their independence with the rest of Gaelic Ulster as a result of the Nine Year's war. But the family survived, and in 1680 Cormac mac Airt Oig O'Neill sponsored the compilation of Leabhar Cloinne Aodha Buidhe, the Book of Clandeboye, a manuscript collection of O'Neill genealogies and praise poems.'
'Con O'Neill, head of the Clandeboye O'Neills, is a fascinating character. He was the last of the great clan to own the massive areas of Upper Clandeboye, Lower Clandeboye and the Great Ards - which stretched from almost Ballymena to Killyleagh and included the whole of north Down and the Ards Peninsula.
Con's lifetime saw the end of old medieval Anglo/Irish Ireland and the emergence of a new modern Ulster with Scotland at the centre of Ulster's development. During his latter years Con moved from his grand castle of Castle Reagh to Ballylenaghan / Knockbracken (around 1608), and then to the lower tip of the Ards Peninsula to the remote townland of Tullycarnan (around 1616). Con died around 1618, and was said to have been buried at the old church of Knockcolumbkille, which was situated in what is now Glenmachan or Garnerville in east Belfast.
Con O'Neill bridge and the Connswater Greenway
Around 1606 when anything that's useful began, Ballyhackamore was acquired by Sir James Hamilton from Con O'Neill. As was Ballymacarrett. The maps which Thomas Raven drew for Hamilton, for both places and many more, are held at North Down Museum. Slightly south, the townland of Ballyrushboy was given by Con O'Neill to Thomas Montgomery, the man who had carried out Con's dramatic jailbreak from Carrickfergus. And slightly further south again, up in the hills that overlook east Belfast, was Con's home castle of Castle Reagh. The castle is long gone now, but the Presbyterian church (first built in 1650) is said to be pretty close to where the castle once was. Today all of this area is urban East Belfast, packed with rows of houses, shops, small businesses, schools, churches and factories. However, not all of the history has gone. Along the Beersbridge Road, tucked in between Elmgrove Primary School and the local Elim Pentecostal Church, still stands Con O'Neill's bridge.
If you do a search on this blog for Con O'Neill you'll find out lots about him, which I'll not repeat here. He gave the river, Connswater its name (which of course is a common Scottish naming form for rivers, ie Conn's Water), which centuries later (1984 to be precise) became the name of the main local shopping centre (or 'mall' for US readers!). Notes on con O' Neill are lifted from the Mark Thompson Blog ( )
Belfast and the Best of Northern Ireland
Rick Steves' Europe Travel Guide | We start in bustling Belfast's City Hall and Ulster Museum, then head out to Northern Ireland's favorite resort: Portrush, along the Antrim Coast, where we taste-test Irish whiskey, scramble over some six-sided geology in the Giant's Causeway, drop in on a world-class golf course, and stomp our feet to some traditional music.
© 2004 Rick Steves' Europe
THE QUEEN IN ULSTER!
Visiting Northern Ireland, the Queen opens Belfast's new Road Bridge and attends Parade to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Battle of The Somme.
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NORTHERN IRELAND: BELFAST: ROYAL ULSTER CONSTABULARY POLICE FORCE
English/Nat
When politicians from Britain and Northern Ireland sit down in a fortnights time to debate the province's future, one of the most sensitive topics will be the future of the Northern Ireland Police Force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (R-U-C) .
Republicans want it disbanded. They say with only ten per cent of its membership being Roman Catholic its biased against them.
The RUC has had nearly 300 officers killed since political violence in Northern Ireland erupted more than 25 years ago.
APTV has talked to new recruits and long serving officers about the future of a force that may have to adapt to lasting peace.
These cadets, half-way through their course, are the latest batch of men and women who will become officers of the R-U-C.
It takes 18 months to get a place on this course, one of the toughest in the United Kingdom.
For years the R-U-C has been at the frontline of the sectarian violence that has racked Northern Ireland.
This violence, called the Troubles, has cost 32,000 lives with nearly 300 of them R-U-C officers.
As this republican demonstration shows, working in a divided community causes divisions between the police and the public.
Of the 8,500 full time serving officers, only 10 percent are Catholic.
Republicans want an end to British-rule in Northern Ireland and want the R-U-C, a force they see as oppressors of the nationalist community, disbanded.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
At the moment it can be quite difficult going to different area, you are a new face, they don't know you, they don't know whether they can trust you or not. But with a bit of effort and a bit of time, I think the people will come to be able to approach you happily and have confidence that you will deal with their problems.
SUPER CAPTION: Colin Beattie, R-U-C recruit
In an R-U-C car-park, a role-playing exercise is one of the ways new recruits are taught how to deal with the public.
Here they approach a man suspected of tampering with cars.
Watching from the sidelines the training officer reviews progress.
The R-U-C itself is under review.
Deputy Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan admits it is an uncertain time for his officers.
He will have to adapt the structure and size of his force depending on whether there is peace in the province or a return to violence.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
Well for 25 years because of the vicious terrorist campaign we have had to operate from four to five police stations, we've had to drive armoured police vehicles, our officers even on foot patrol have had to wear body armour. So all of that created unwanted barriers between us and the community we serve. In a peaceful environment we want to work to be increasingly close to the community. We want to devise a whole network of policing areas where local police commanders have a high degree of autonomy to deliver a tailor made local policing service.
SUPER CAPTION: Ronnie Flanagan, Deputy Chief Constable, R-U-C
Although the R-U-C has not yet abandoned its armoured patrol vehicles, they have largely abandoned protecting the British army.
Before the I-R-A and Loyalist cease-fires, the police were flanked by British soldiers as they toured Belfast's estates.
And also before the ceasefire it would have been unthinkable for a local police officer to talk to a republican in the street.
UPSOUND: (Woman talking to R-U-C officer)
Elections is when Thursday? There is five votes out of here going to Sinn Fein. I never would have voted for them but I am voting for them this time.
Another sign of the changing times is the absence of road blocks and vehicle checkpoints in Belfast city centre.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
SUPER CAPTION: Constable James Galloway
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Woven in Ulster
Woven in Ulster. Ulster-Scots and the Story of Linen
BELLE OF BELFAST CITY - Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty Maccoll singing the classic 'The Belle of Belfast City' - 'Tell Me Ma'
LYRICS
Tell me ma when I go home,
The boys won't leave the girls alone,
They pulled my hair and stole my comb,
But that's all right 'till I go home.
She is handsome, she is pretty
She is the belle of Belfast city,
She is courting, one two three
Please won't you tell me who is she?
Albert Mooney says he loves her,
All the boys are fighting for her,
Knock on the door and they ring the bell
Oh my true love, are you well?
Here she comes, as white as snow,
Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes,
Old Johnny Mary she says she'll die
If she doesn't get the boy with the roving eye.
Tell my ma when I go home,
The boys won't leave the girls alone,
They pulled my hair and stole my comb,
But that's all right 'till I go home.
She is handsome, she is pretty
She is the belle of Belfast city,
She is courting, one two three
Please won't you tell me who is she?
Let the wind and the rain and the hail blow high
And the snow come tumbling from the sky
She's as nice as apple pie
She'll get her own boy, by and by
When she gets a lad of her own,
She won't tell her ma 'till she comes home,
Let the boys stay as they will,
For it's Albert Mooney she loves still.
Tell my ma when I go home,
The boys won't leave the girls alone,
They pulled my hair and stole my comb,
But that's all right 'till I go home.
She is handsome, she is pretty
She is the belle of Belfast city,
She is courting, one two three
Please won't you tell me who is she?
Tell my ma when I go home,
The boys won't leave the girls alone,
They pulled my hair and stole my comb,
But that's all right 'till I go home.
She is handsome, she is pretty
She is the belle of Belfast city,
She is courting, one two three
Please won't you tell me who is she?
Tell my ma when I go home,
The boys won't leave the girls alone,
They pulled my hair and stole my comb,
But that's all right 'till I go home.
She is handsome, she is pretty
She is the belle of Belfast city,
She is courting, one two three
Please won't you tell me who is she
Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland or historic Ulster. Modern life on the streets of Belfast
PSNI Pipe Band - Worlds Medley Final @ Glasgow Green 2017
The Mastodon/ Dr Kenneth Noisewater / Caber Feidh / Alisdairs Reel / Humours of Tulla / Mountains of Pomeroy / Drops of Brandy / Queen of the Rushes
Belfast Suitcase Stories
Stories from the Indian Community
Part of ArtsEkta's Creative Legacies project supported by Belfast City Council and the European Regional Development Fund
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Explore TV Ireland - Belfast City Food and Drink
Experience the surprise factor of the food and beverage scene in Belfast when you are surrounded with amazing restaurants and fresh produce. Check it out at St George’s Market. The market has been operating since 1604 and in the early 19th century it became a major trading hub. In 1997 St George’s underwent a transformation, taking it to a new level of providing fresh food, crafts, entertainment and a variety of goods on sale.
UK: NORTHERN IRELAND: UNIONIST PARADE TURNS VIOLENT
English/Nat
A unionist parade through the mostly Catholic city of Londonderry, in Northern Ireland, on Saturday turned violent when a group of bandsmen broke away and attacked nationalist onlookers.
Riot police quickly intervened to separate the two sides following the incident, which came at the end of the annual Apprentice Boys of Derry parade - one of the most tense dates on Northern Ireland's marching calendar.
Riot police were already on standby on Saturday in case of trouble as the pro-British Apprentice Boys fraternity marched through the mainly Catholic city of Londonderry.
As the 12-thousand strong procession passed by, violence flared up when a group of Protestant bandsmen broke away from the march and attacked nationalist onlookers.
Scuffles broke out between the two sides as police held enraged bystanders back.
The street mayhem capped the procession of fife-and-drum bands which had snaked from Londonderry's predominantly Protestant east side across the River Foyle into the walled city centre and back.
Earlier, Catholic protesters had permitted several hundred local members of the Apprentice Boys to march along the city walls before the main parade, in return for the police ban on three Apprentice Boy marches elsewhere.
Catholic residents were furious that some of the marchers turned violent.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
Well you have to put this in context. The people of Derry entered into an accommodation with the Apprentice Boys organisation, that they wouldn't oppose their party this morning, their parade on the walls and their parade through the town, and the Apprentice Boys actually broke every aspect of that agreement. You had bandsmen attacking people going about their business, you had people throwing bottles, you had Apprentice Boys attacking people with swords, with pikes. What happened was a total disgrace and it actually puts into question the future of any Apprentice Boys parades in this city.
SUPER CAPTION: Donncha MacNiallis, leader of Bogside Residents' Group
SOUNDBITE: (English)
What happened here today was that shortly after two o'clock, as the main parade was passing around the Diamond, a small group of bandsmen from one particular band broke away from the main parade and they ran over to Butcher Street here where they attacked a group of onlookers. Police quickly intervened to form a cordon between the two groups and order was very soon restored.
SUPER CAPTION: Inspector Norman Hamill, Royal Ulster Constabulary
In another incident, riot police drove drunken Protestants out of downtown Londonderry after they pelted police armored cars and Catholic onlookers with bottles and rocks.
They were angry that police prevented the fraternal group from marching as usual in the three other predominantly Catholic areas of the British-ruled province.
The marches commemorate Londonderry's resistance against a besieging Catholic army in 1689.
Last year, British soldiers barricaded the walls with barbed wire to prevent confrontations after Catholics threatened to block the march around the battlements.
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Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) - Flowers of the forest
This video is just a snap shot of the troubles in Northern Ireland. Many of those responsible for murder and hurt now appear to have developed a conscience in their mature years. They attempt to find inner peace through rewriting history for themselves. I take comfort in the knowledge that God will not fall for it.
Between 1969 and 2000 terrorists murdered 302 police officers, 655 soldiers and 2370 citizens; men, women and children. In our own government the murderer shouts to be heard, drowning out the unheard voices of the victims.
The brave sacrafice of Ireland's ordinary police officers remains appreciated by all law respecting people.
Equalities and Human Rights Committee - 28 September 2017
1. Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Bill: The Committee will take evidence on the Bill at Stage 1 from—
Bill Thomson, Commissioner, and Melanie Stronach, Public Appointments Officer, Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland;
Lynn Welsh, Head of Legal for Scotland, Equality and Human Rights Commission;
Liz Scott, Equalities Manager, Highlands and Islands Enterprise;
Prof. James McGoldrick, Convener, Scottish Social Services Council;
Fiona Moss, Head of Health Improvement and Inequalities, Glasgow City Integration Joint Board;
and then from—
Ken Milroy, Chair, Colleges Scotland;
Sheena Stewart, University Secretary, University of Abertay Dundee, and Convener of Secretaries' Group, Universities Scotland;
Stephanie Millar, Senior Policy Adviser, Equality Challenge Unit;
Mary Senior, Scotland Official, University Colleges Union Scotland;
Andrea Bradley, Assistant Secretary for Education and Equalities, The Educational Institute of Scotland.
2. Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Bill (in private): The Committee will consider the evidence received.
3. Work programme (in private): The Committee will consider its work programme.
Published by the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body.
parliament.scot // We do not facilitate discussions on our YouTube page but encourage you to share and comment on our videos on your own channels. // If you would like to join in our conversations please follow @ScotParl on Twitter or like us on Facebook at facebook.com/scottishparliament
2003 BELFAST QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY DRUMBEG NORTHERN IRELAND
FROM WHEELCHAIR NOMAD DIARY... NI 2003 As we approached Belfast, I lectured Richard. Belfast has about a half million people and is capital of Ulster, or Northern Ireland which is British and mainly Protestant. It uses the British Pound and Northern Irish Pound for currency. Erie or Southern Ireland is an independent and largely Catholic country with a couple of million people but we wont visit there now. In Ulster, there was extreme sectarian violence between Protestants and Catholics, but a peace process has terminated the bombings and shootings. Well be visiting the Dunlops. (Robert Dunlop, with family 1956, letter 1966) On landing, we were unloaded by a lift as the air bridge failed to work, and we were assisted with our luggage to the Hertz car rental. Youve reserved your car at the Belfast International Airport, twenty kilometres from here, not at the Belfast Harbour Airport, I was told. Ok, I said, What can you do to help me? Hertz cancelled the other reservation and rented me a new Volvo S60 diesel, like Lilys, my wifes car with leather upholstery. Richard drove us down a freeway to the City Centre, identified by the Belfast City Hall, and I directed Richard up Malone Street, passed Queens University to Queens Elms Residences.
UK: N. IRELAND: UNIONIST REACTION TO PEACE PROCESS DIFFICULTIES (2)
English/Nat
The Northern Ireland peace process has once again been thrown into turmoil, with Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble saying there will be no change in his party's policy towards power sharing in a devolved government with the I-R-A.
Trimble emerged from a party executive meeting on Wednesday saying they would not accept British Prime Minister Tony Blair's so-called fail-safe mechanism on the decommissioning of weapons - a proposal passed by the House of Commons.
He said the Ulster Unionist position was unchanged from what had been spelt out last Friday, and restated in the Commons on Tuesday.
Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble emerged from a reconvened party executive meeting in Belfast on Wednesday evening.
He said his party would not accept British Prime Minister Tony Blair's so-called fail-safe mechanism on the decommissioning of weapons, which was passed by the House of Commons in London in the early hours of Wednesday.
Trimble said there would be no change in his party's policy towards power sharing in a devolved government with the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
He said the Unionists wouldn't accept a role in a devolved Irish parliament until there was clear evidence of the I-R-A turning in its weapons.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
Good evening ladies and gentlemen, as you know we had hear this evening the resumed party executive meeting from last Friday, which adjourned last Friday until seven pm tonight and concluded its business in the course of the last fifteen minutes. You will recall that last Friday that the executive of the party adopted a resolution giving its view on the way forward. What I have to tell you tonight is that this executives view remains unchanged. I have not sought, nor will I seek a change in the party's policy. It remains as it has been in regards to that...the same as we expressed last Friday, the same as I expressed in the House of Commons yesterday. That is all I have to say.
SUPER CAPTION: David Trimble, Ulster Unionist leader
For the peace process to move forward, all parties will have to nominate their ministers for a power-sharing executive in Northern Ireland by the end of Thursday's debate.
But Trimble has said he has no intention of trying to persuade his Protestant supporters to drop their demand for I-R-A disarmament in advance of the formation of an executive, making it seem unlikely that they will nominate any ministers.
Belfast-based academic, Professor Paul Bew, said the announcement would now make it very hard to keep the peace process alive.
But he said there was no doubt that Trimble's personal standing in the Unionist community had been strengthened by his tough stance.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
No it's not a meltdown because a lot of people in the nationalist community are going to be quite understandably frustrated especially, and I can understand the frustration, because this could have been done. But they're going to feel that at a certain point over the past two or three weeks we were close to doing it this week, but it's going to be extremely difficult to keep this alive. But the upside of what's happened is that Trimble's position has strengthened, that Trimble's position in Unionism is stronger, his critics who said he would fold and buckle under this pressure are demonstrated to be completely wrong. He wants to do this deal passionately, and therefore there is the chance this deal will be done, a serious chance the deal will be done before too long.
SUPERCAPTION: Professor Paul Bew, Professor of Politics, Queens University, Belfast
Another Unionist, Ken Maginnis, said the party's decision was the correct one, and to give ground on the issue would be to sell short the people of Northern Ireland.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
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ScottishPower Pipe Band, Forres 2015.
via YouTube Capture
NORTHERN IRELAND: BRITISH GOVERNMENT AND SINN FEIN TALKS
English/Nat
Tomorrow (Wednesday) the British government and Sinn Fein meet for the first time in 22 years for official face to face talks on the future of Northern Ireland.
Despite the violent demonstrations against British Prime Minister John Major when he visited Londonderry last week, the mood in the province is one of cautious optimism.
Belfast eight months into the peace process is a city with a newfound confidence, scarred by twenty-five years of violence it is starting to rebuild.
Today the city's councillors from both sides of the religious divide met with the Mayor of Boston Thomas Menino. He's among several prominent Irish Americans who have pledged economic aid to the province.
There are new projects in West Belfast, once the battleground of the troubles. Ventures like this shopping centre could never have been imagined five years ago.
There's a new sense of pragmatism among Northern Ireland's politicians, although most accept that a lot of work still needs to be done.
SOUNDBITE:
I think it's a historic day. I very very much welcome it. As the MP for West Belfast, the vast majority are nationalist but there is a significant who are Unionist and I should say that both communities....people are coming together now more than ever before. So there's a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of politicians and particularly on people like Martin McGuinness.
SUPER CAPTION: Dr Joe Henderson, MP for West Belfast SDLP
Even so, scenes like last week's disturbance caused by Sinn Fein supporters in the city of Derry have set alarm bells ringing.
All over West Belfast the message from Sinn Fein is clear, they want the protestant dominated Royal Ulster Constabulary off the streets.
SOUNDBITE:
Well quite clearly we need a police force that enjoys the support of the entire community and these people don't enjoy that support. They are a police force drawn up from one section of the community and expected unfairly from their point of view to police the entire community. S we need to develop an effective and efficient and accountable policing service.
SUPER CAPTION: Joe Austin, Sinn Fein councillor West Belfast
The recent disturbances have heightened tension in a region renowned for volatility.
On the streets of Belfast life continues to return to normal. There are visible signs of investment from Britain and abroad.
But as the peace process enters its most critical phase there are constant reminders of the fragility of the peace.
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Grave of William Drennan Chief Architect of the United Irishmen
There are many historcally significant graves dotted around Clifton Street Cemetery and this is one of them.
William Drennan M. D. 1754 – 5 February 1820
He was a physician, poet and political radical, was one of the chief architects of the Society of United Irishmen. He is known as the first to refer in print to Ireland as the emerald isle in his poem When Erin first rose.
Born in Belfast in 1754, William was son to Reverend Thomas Drennan (1696–1768), minister of Belfast's First Presbyterian Church. Thomas Drennan was an educated man from the University of Glasgow and was ordained to the congregation of Holywood, County Down in 1731. Drennan was heavily influenced by his father, whose religious convictions served as the foundation for his own radical political ideas. His sister, Martha, married fellow future United Irishman Samuel McTier in 1773.
Education
In 1769 he followed in his father's footsteps by enrolling in the University of Glasgow where he became interested in the study of philosophy. In 1772 he graduated in arts and then in 1773 he commenced the study of medicine at Edinburgh. After graduating in 1778 he set up practice in Belfast, specialising in obstetrics. He is credited with having been one of the earliest advocates of inoculation against smallpox, and of hand washing to prevent the spread of infection. Drennan also wrote much poetry, coining the phrase Emerald Isle and was the founder and editor of a literary periodical, Belfast Magazine. He moved to Newry in 1783 but eventually moved to Dublin in 1789 where he quickly became involved in nationalist circles.
Politics
Like many other Ulster Presbyterians, William was an early supporter of the American Colonies in the American Revolution and joined the Volunteers who had been formed to defend Ireland for Britain in the event of French invasion. The Volunteer movement soon became a powerful political force and a forum for Protestant nationalists to press for political reform in Ireland eventually assisting Henry Grattan to achieve home rule in 1782. However Drennan, like many other reformers, quickly became dismayed by the conservative and sectarian nature of the Irish parliament and in 1791 he co-founded the Society of United Irishmen with Wolfe Tone and Thomas Russell.
He wrote many political pamphlets for the United Irishmen and was arrested 1794 for seditious libel, a political charge that was a major factor in driving the United Irishmen underground and into becoming a radical revolutionary party. Although he was eventually acquitted, he gradually withdrew from the United Irishmen but continued to campaign for Catholic Emancipation.
RBAI or Inst.
Drennan settled in Belfast in 1807 after inheriting a large fortune. In 1810 he co-founded the non-denominational Royal Belfast Academical Institution. As a poet, he is best remembered for his poem The Wake of William Orr, written in memory of a United Irishman executed by the British. Despite Drennan's links with revolutionary republicans, he gradually became alienated from the post-Union nationalism of the period.
SYND 28 5 74 NORTHERN IRELAND'S PRIME MINISTER, BRIAN FAULKNER, RESIGNATION STATEMENT
(28 May 1974) Resignation statement from spokesman of Northern Ireland's Prime Minister, Brian Faulkner, as a result of the general strike
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NORTHERN IRELAND: BELFAST: ST PATRICK'S DAY CELEBRATED
English/Nat
Thousands of Catholics participated in the first-ever St. Patrick's day parade in Belfast on Tuesday.
St. Patrick is honored throughout the Republic of Ireland every year for his role in bringing Catholicism to the country.
But such a parade had never been staged before in the largely Protestant city in Northern Ireland.
In a break from the past, participants in Belfast's first St. Patrick's Day parade marched peacefully on Tuesday to the tunes of local reggae singers and a visiting Brazilian salsa band.
There were images of Celtic witches, bulls and snakes - the ones said to have been banished from Ireland 16 centuries ago by its patron saint.
In an effort to include every constituency, organisers allowed all types of marchers - from festively decked-out young children to a group demanding the release of Irish Republican Army (I-R-A) prisoners.
Good weather led to an estimated ten-thousand people turning out for the festivities.
But there was little involvement from Protestants, whose favoured patriotic colour is orange not green, and who fly the British flag.
With Belfast's mayor, Alban McGuinness, in Washington, D-C for a meeting with President Clinton, his wife kicked off the ceremonies.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
Happy St. Patrick's Day (cheers from crowd).
SUPER CAPTION: Carmen McGuinness, Wife of Belfast's Mayor
Despite the troubles which have plagued Northern Ireland, the message was clear - lets party!
Many people recognised that event was successful because of the current efforts towards peace.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
Q: Are you enjoying St. Patrick's day?
A: We are indeed.
Q: Is this the first time you've had it like this in Belfast?
A. This is the first time in the city centre
Q. Why do you think that is?
A. It's just a change really, that's it. Probably the cease-fire helped it out a bit anyway.
SUPER CAPTION: Vox Pop
SOUNDBITE: (English)
We are a happy bunch of people. And we like to enjoy ourselves too, along with the rest of the world.
SUPER CAPTION: Vox Pop
Many Catholics were happy to have their own public event in Belfast.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
It just means that everyone can be together. And celebrate together. It makes a change from, like, the twelfth, when it's just the other side, but now you can get together more and all sides can do it. It's a good laugh, it's going real well, it's a brilliant turn out.
SUPER CAPTION: Vox Pop
All types of dances were performed, adding colour and excitement to an often depressed city.
The event was not without its critics.
Many took offence to the I-R-A sympathisers and the welcome given to a contingent from Belfast's chapter of Gay Pride.
But event organiser Catriona Ruane defended their inclusion.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
Well this parade was for all communities. It was for the Gay community, the Lesbian community, the people with disabilities, the Protestant community, the Nationalist community, and people from all different ethnic minorities that live here. We're very happy with who turned out, this was the first parade ever in the city centre for St. Patrick's Day. We'll be building on this for next year and the year after.
SUPER CAPTION: Catriona Ruane, Parade Organiser
The successful parade takes on special significance in light of the Northern Ireland peace talks taking place in Belfast, and Washington.
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