Racing in the Streets: Belfast from a Runner's Perspective

I've been back in Belfast since Friday afternoon and wanted to get this going again, hopefully with more consistency than during the fall.  One of the pieces of advice I received over the break was to shorten these entries, so they wouldn't seem so daunting to write (or I'm sure to read). To that end, I want to give a brief account of my run because it helps with the lay of the land.  I was running my truncated route today because I took way too much time off during the holidays.  This route takes me past several iconic Belfast landmarks: Queen's University Belfast, City Hall, the Crown Liquor Saloon, the Grand Opera House, and the Europa.  Over the course of several blog entries, I want to create a better picture of Belfast, a street-level view.




The Queen's University of Belfast (QUB) was chartered in 1845 and opened in 1849.  Although its history is rooted in the Royal Academical Institution, QUB was founded in conjunction with Queen's College Cork and Queen's College Galway as a non-demoninational alternative to Trinity College Dublin.  The first class of students numbered only 90; today there are 24,000.  In 1908, the Irish Universities Act created two separate universities: the National University of Ireland and QUB.

Throughout the twentieth-century, QUB has continued to expand its role as an academic, research, and social space in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the British Isles, and indeed the world.  Its membership in the Russell Group confirms its elite status as one of the top twenty research universities in the UK.  During the Troubles, QUB maintained its non-denominational identity, affording a safe space for students from both communities.

Even the School of English has a storied past.  Our famous alumni include Seamus Heaney, Michael and Edna Longley, Derek Mahon, and Paul Muldoon, among many others.  These leading figures of Northern Irish poetry continue to shape the future of the School of English through our Seamus Heaney Centre, the first Centre for Excellence in Poetry in Ireland.  The director, Ciaran Carson, is another foremost poet in the Northern Irish tradition.

Hopefully this first lap will help to flush out the city of Belfast a bit more for those of you who have yet to come visit!