By NVC Faculty Diana Bradford
I had the pleasure of accompanying five students from Northwest Vista College to Bally Castle Northern Ireland in the summer of 2024 (along with faculty Neil Lewis). Each of these students wrote an essay describing why they wanted to attend the Seeds of Hope Conference.
As I got to know each of the students, I could clearly see why they were chosen. These students have a passion for activism and want to make a difference. We met with the students before we left San Antonio to discuss the history of the area we were to be visiting. I learned along with the students. I was aware of “the troubles” and of the violence that occurred during the late eighties and early nineties, but I wasn’t aware how this problem started, or how far back it extends. I assumed that “the troubles” were over with. Several of the students we were traveling with had never left the United States so the entire trip including navigating through airports was a valuable learning experience.
Our trip started out a little rocky, once we arrived in London, we found out our flight to Belfast had been canceled. We spoke to the airline and tried to figure out alternative ways of getting us to Ballycastle but because of the size of our group we had to wait until Wednesday morning. Neil and I wanted to make the most of our unexpected stay in London. We took the students down to Trafalgar Square and showed them some of the sights around London. We wanted to make it educational, so we opted for a guided tour of the Tower of London. Everyone enjoyed our time together in London, but they were looking forward to getting to Corry Meela. Even though London wasn’t on our original itinerary I felt it was a nice addition for them. We took them on the river tour along the Thames and they were able to see more of London than we could have covered just by walking.
When we finally arrived in Belfast, we were exhausted but it was so nice to see Andy Hill and his cowboy hat waiting to greet us. As we drove along on the way to Bally Castle, I was glued to the window amazed at how green the landscape was. We arrived at Corry Meela, and I have to say it was such a warm welcome. Paul Lee smiled at us and knew all of our names. He showed us to our rooms and invited us to lunch. I was so grateful we had two free hours so we could shower and rest before our first session.
Mary Lynne Hill took a group of us down to the beach and she caught us up on what we had missed. The view was breathtakingly beautiful. I have visited Ireland before, but I had not seen views like this. There were flowers everywhere and many flowers I had never seen before. I could easily see why this place was chosen for a peace center. Our students jumped right into the first session where we were discussing how different groups hang on to their pain and are not open to forgiveness and reconciliation.
Duncan Morrow from the University of Ulster was discussing the situation in Northern Ireland between the Irish Catholics and the English Protestants, but the two groups could have been replaced with the Palestinians and Israelis or the Hutus and Tutsis. There are many groups throughout history that have lived in conflict this way for many years. In the evening, we were invited to a talent show where we enjoyed Irish music, poetry, and dancing. Our students were smiling and dancing with the group, it made me happy to see that. There were so many talented people within that group it made for a lovely evening. A group from Corry Meela got together in the morning for a very chilly swim. I admired them for being so brave and having that experience.
The next evening, we had a choice of activities. I participated in a drum circle. I’m not musically inclined but we had a lot of fun and I enjoyed it. There was such a good mixture of learning and fun… the week just flew by. I want to thank both Northwest Vista and the Rotary Club of San Antonio for allowing me to be a part of this experience. I felt sad when it was over, and it was time to return home. I learned so much about Northern Ireland and the work different groups are doing to try and end the tensions there. I hope that eventually the history of “the troubles” will be a distant memory.
