The Cave Hill, Belfast, is many things to many people. Some like to remember their youthful zest for gathering bilberries there. Or, in season, bluebells which, of course, drooped and languished there. Or, in season, bluebells which, of course, drooped and languished long before you got them home. Everyone who ever ascended to the edge of the great basalt cliff at McArt's Fort remembers the magnificent view down to the city blow and along the many miles of Belfast Lough. One schoolmaster took his pupils up to the quarry where he showed them fossils in the limestone.
But to the many, the Cave Hill stands for one political event. That was in 1795 when Wolfe Tone and his friends stood on the hillside and swore "never to desist in our efforts", etc. That was just before Tone and family went to America. For the bicentennial commemoration of the United Irishmen rising is not all Wexford. In an interesting and exhaustive article in the Belfast-published quarterly Causeway, Peter Collins goes over the various commemorations of the past: 1848, 1898, 1948. Of the 1898 celebrations in Belfast he notes: "The irony was that the mainly Presbyterian rising in Antrim and Down was being commemorated by Catholics in 1898, while the vast majority of Presbyterians looked on with hostility." Indeed, when an attempt was made to climb the Cave Hill in emulation of these United Irishmen, "they were routed by workers from the Belfast Castle estate". In this year of bicentenary celebration and hope, Collins writes that the best commemoration would be "for each of us privately to make a commitment to eschew bigotry, fear and intransigence and reach out the hand of friendship to those who differ from us politically".
Much of the emphasis in this and other articles is on the cultural, social and, if you like, ecumenical aspects of the year. An impetus has been given by a group which in 1991, celebrated the 1791 founding, in Belfast, of the Society of United Irishmen. The Linen Hall Library has played a large part in this whole approach. In 1996, then, a totally non-political body arose, with members from all backgrounds, the United Irish Commemorative Society. It has 200 members from diverse backgrounds.
May all go well with them and others of like mind. And did you know that in April the Ulster Museum in Belfast will stage a major exhibition using important and rarely-seen paintings, illustrations and etchings from Ireland, Britain and France, flags and uniforms including the battle standard surrendered by General Humbert after Ballinamuck. Audio guides are in English, French and German. There must still be bilberries and bluebells up among the heather. Y