Hi my dear friends. Today we're going to look at Ireland. I'll show you around Carlingford and the divide between the two Irelands. I hope you'll like it!
Hola mis queridos amigos. Hoy vamos a mirar a Irlanda. Os mostraré Carlingford y la división entre las dos Irlandas. ¡Espero que os guste!
Info: From Speak Up magazine.
Photos: hogranada.es / tripadvisor.es (3) / wikipedia.org
IRELAND - KAYAKING THE DIVIDE
The small medieval village of Carlingford is in the Republic of Ireland, close to Northern Ireland. The border in fact runs through Lough Carlingford! During the "Troubles" a British minesweeper patrolled the sea inlet, but today you can paddle across the border without realizing it. On a sunny day, the lough is full of red, yellow and orange kayaks, and kids jump into the water from large pontoons. The two communities are now good neighbours. People might live in the South and work in the North, or vIce-versa. Southern Irish shoppers certainly like to cross over for some goods deals on groceries!
In Carlingford you can find and see,
The Mint, which is over 400 years old and where they used to make money.
King John's Castle, on the waterfront, which was built in 1267 but allegedly for King John of England and the Abbey, the
Dominican Abbey, which is maybe 500 metres away, and it is over 800 years old. And there would have been a big community of monks back in the time when...going back to the Viking times, there would have been monks there.
In Carlingford, if you go round the village, you will enjoy its narrow streets, the old houses, the old walls and a lot of medieval buildings because this village has been occupied for thousand years.
ON THE BORDER
Carlingford Lough is a fjord that marks the coastal border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. During the times of the Troubles, which began in 1969 and continued for many decades, it could be a scary place. A British minesweeper was permanently moored there and it would routinely stop and search any boat that crossed the lough, but today you are more likely to see schoolchildren kayaking. They will have come from the
Carlingford Adventure Centre. This is in County Lough, on the Republic side of the border.
ADRENALINE ADVENTURE
For over 20 years, one local company, Carlingford Adventure Centre, has been doing its bit both for providing employment in the area and for good relations between the communities. Most of their work is with schools. In Northern Ireland the vast majority (90 per cent) of schoolchildren are still educated in segregation, with children of their own faith. So when two schools, one from the North, one from the South, meet here for the day, it is also a political gesture. In summer, language students come from Spain and other European countries to learn English, combining their studies with outdoor activities. There is a scary highrope walk, to get the adrenaline flowing, and cool activities like zorbing: rolling down the hill in a giant plastic bubble -an activity imported from New Zealand.
PAST AND PRESENT
With its narrow scenic streets, Carlingford is over a thousand years old. Today, one flourishing local business is
oyster farming. Conditions here are ideal for oysters, which are then exported to France. A few years ago the peninsula was designated a European Destination of Excellence. This means continuing investment in infraestructure, services and facilities on both sides of the border. This is good for the locals and good for visitors!
THE TROUBLES
This term describes the conflict that broke out in Northern Ireland in 1969. Northern Ireland was created in 1922 when the rest of Ireland obtained independence from Great Britain. The Protestants in the northern region of Ulster didn't want to become part of the new "Irish Free State", which was predominantly Catholic. As a result, six of the nine Ulster counties that had a Protestant majority became "Northern Ireland".
Catholics in Northern Ireland were treated like second-class citizens and in the late 1960s they started to campaign for their civil rights. The Protestants, who ran the local police force, reacted with violence and the British army was sent in. This was officially to protect the Catholics, but the army soon began to see the Catholics as the enemy.
IF YOU GO...
**HOW TO GET THERE. Carlingford Lough is about halfway between Dublin and Belfast. There are buses from Belfast or Dublin.
www.translink.co.uk / www,buseireann.ie
**WHERE TO STAY. Right by the Lough, Ghan House also serves fabulous dinners and wines.
**WHAT TO DO. Friendly Carlingford Adventure Centre in Tholsel Street offers days of adventure, kayaking, a highrope course, Ireland's largest rock-climbing site, zorbing... language courses for students aged 10-18 as well as for families. The Carlingford Oyster Festial is in early August.
www.carlingfordadventure.com
** MORE INFO: www.carlingford.ie / www.discoverireland.ie
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VOCABULARY
-LOUGH: lago
-SIDEBAR: recuadro
-MINESWEEPER: dragaminas
-SEA INLET: brazo de mar
-TO PADDLE: remar
-TO DO ITS BIT: contribuir
-TO MOOR: amarrar
-TO SEARCH: registrar
-TO IMPROVE: mejorar
-MINT: Casa de la Moneda
-MONK: monje.
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EXERCISES
1 CHOOSE THE CORRECT OPTION.
a) The fjord of Carlingford Lough
makes/marks the Irish coastal border.
b) A British minesweeper used to be permanently
moored/mired there.
c) Relations between the two sides are much
different/improved now.
d) The history of Carlingford Lough goes back
to/beyond the Troubles.
e) The Mint building located in Carlingford is
200/400 years old.
f) A big community of monks lived there in
Medieval/Viking times.
2 DECIDE WHICH WORD DOESN'T BELONG IN THE GROUP.
a) scary, heartening, frightening
b) lough, fjord, river
c) aggression, rage, violence
d) programme, assignment, project
e) border, verge, frontier
f) history, past, record
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SOLUTIONS
EXERCISE 1- a) marks b) moored c) improved d) beyond e) 400 f) Viking
EXERCISE 2- a) heartening b) river c) rage d) programme e) verge f) record
SEE YOU , MY FRIENDS!
KEEP SAFE AND HEALTHY!
