Armagh Project 2015

Even long after my first impressions of Armagh, I find it to be a lovely place. Better than Belfast, better than Dublin, Armagh is quaint and perfectly reflects the “small town” definition. One of my favorite video games is Legend of Zelda Majora’s Mask, where game play goes over three days and the townsfolk complete theor own sequence of story over those three days. I have been walking around Armagh quite a bit, visiting different shops and seeing some of the same people on all environments. Armagh is the first real small town I have spent a significant amount of time in on my own. I am fascinated. It’s not a video game, but I am able to see the lives of people over the week, for better than I can in a city like baltimore with lots of visiting tourists and the like. I have been contemplating the thought of moving to Armagh in a few years, or some place similar. The idea of being able to spend a week in the glens of Antrim is very enticing, and those towns are even smaller still. I have been down almost every street of Armagh proper and a few random neighborhoods, seeing the various treasures tucked into the smallest niches of the town. I won’t be able to look at cities like Baltimore again, as I will always be trying to relive what I achieved here in Armagh: the microcosm of culture and personal experience played out by the citizens I have grown to know well.

P.s. Derry is a lovely city; I think the program should spend a week there during the trip. There is tons of history regarding the troubles and the siege of 1689.

My earlier post about my first impressions of Ireland was about the thin line of darkness and lightness, sadness and happiness that happens simultaneously through the exchanges I had with a few people I had met and my relationship with nature and learning about the history. I still stand by that observation that the Irish people, “…treat a joke as serious thing and a serious thing as a joke,” as O’Casey put it in The Shadow of a Gunman.

Upon learning more about the history of Ireland, with it being an island that has experienced waves upon waves of conquerors, along with gaining deeper understanding of the troubles and the conflicts between Catholics and Protestants, it is completely understandable why dark humor is essential to the way Irish people communicate. Being a Black American, I could completely relate to this way of viewing the world and communication. When faced with oppression and a history of violence, all one can do is laugh to keep themselves from crying or to allow the woes of the world consume you. Being able to connect with people in a different country by understanding and relating to some of the plight to experiences of my own, has made this country feel like a temporary home.

You get used to the long hauls up and down the hill. You get used to the 9 o’clock ultimatums, morning or nightfall, set by nearly every establishment that is not a bar. With every passing day, living in Armagh becomes more and more natural. Now that the severe burden of writing and editing is off my shoulders, I find myself cozied up in my bed despite it being mostly taken up by my backpack, luggage, and other whatnot, lounging in the quiet room of the youth hostel, enjoying myself without doing anything. Some people don’t appreciate doing nothing all day. Coming from a town where, as certified by Billy Joel, there’s not much to do, Armagh isn’t a town of excitement. It’s a town of unwinding.

Armagh is just a small little town I thought it was and I love it. Even though it’s small it has almost everything I need in the square. There is not much to say about what I first thought of this town, because it is the small little peaceful town.

When I first came to Armagh, I had no notions of Ireland as a whole. Armagh was all I knew of the country. Now that we have traveled to Belfast and Dublin, I have different ideas about Armagh.

Firstly, it is a very small place. I feel as though I learned how to get everywhere in Armagh within a week, but Belfast was much more complicated and Dublin stretched as far as the eyes could see. Secondly, Armagh has its own type of people and environment. In Armagh, we are quite unusual because we are young and diverse.

Armagh is charming because it has beautiful buildings, friendly people and it is safe and cozy. But, because I am a city person, I have to say I prefer to be in a place where I can’t find the end of the road.

Initial impression: King Conchobar was a dipwad.

Current impression: King Conchobar is still a dipwad, but I have yet to have a bad experience in Armagh. Despite the paucity of outlets, I like having everything (e.g., grocery stores, bus station, Embers) within walking distance, and I like having the run of the quiet room in the hostel. I like being able to get a 5-piece breakfast for £2.95 at Rumours, and I especially like having a library literally next door. I’m glad we’ve had a month here, because it’s given me time to settle in and adjust to Armagh as a home away from home. It’s a little annoying that almost everything closes early in the evening (excepting the pubs), but that’s a minor detail.

When I first arrived in Armagh, I was extremely anxious and scared. I remember being on the bus and looking out the window, thinking what the hell did I get myself into? Where am I ? Where are all the buildings, people, and traffic pollution? I wanted to get on the first plane ride back to New York before the bus even dropped us off. Now, 3 weeks later, it is the complete opposite feeling. I don’t want to leave, believe or not I don’t miss New York at all. Armagh is absolutely beautiful and very serene. At first the quietness drove me a little crazy, being a city girl and all, but now I have actually grown to enjoy it. The calmness of the town has helped me gain control of anxieties I had dealt with most of my life. Living in Armagh has been an absolute blessing, I love everything about this town, the kind-hearted people, the 7 hills, my “wee” crossfit family, and of course Embers. Armagh has treated me very well and I can’t wait to come back.

Here is the list of which workshop you will be attending.  A few people were moved to their second preference:

The workshops will be in these locations.  There will be guides/signs to direct you:

Poetry – Niall: Theatre – Workshop 1 Upperr Foyer
Poetry – Sioibhán: Theatre Workshop (behind Box Office)
Prose Fiction: Theatre Meeting Room 1. Upstairs
Crime Ftction|: AmmA Centre
Scriptwriting – AmmA Centre
Short Story _ Armagh Pipers’ Club, across from Sainsbury’s
Memoir – Ulster Council GAA offices, down below restaurant, red door.