Nancy and Julianne's Travels: Lemon Pie and other reflections on Northern Ireland in July

Lemon meringue pie has everything. The sweet/tart combination. Fluffy meringue with a bit of crustiness on top. Served with cream around here. The completely delicious dessert, in a land of dessert displays to die for. Northern Ireland for two weeks: glorious scenery, ethnic tension and grand desserts. I am sure we must have had access to lemon pie in the Republic, probably could have had in London. I recall my mother making lemon meringue pie when I was very young. But somehow it has fallen out of my life until a trip from Derry around the north coast of Northern Ireland (or NI as they say there.) What a delightful newly awakened taste.

Being a tourist in NI in early July has so many interesting bits, overlaid for me with much emotion around the newly-established peace which has ushered in the possibility of tourism. My mother's parents migrated to the US from NI in the 1890's They were Catholics leaving Protestant strongholds, allowing me to be raised in a society where such a distinction means relatively little. Sadly, I have little information about their homes, any current distant relatives or even their family situation when migrating. I am sorry about that now but the generation who knew anything is gone. I know even less about the great grands on my fathers side who migrated from Cork also in the late 1800s. Oh well.

I expected to approach NI just as I did the Republic as a simple tourist with little roots-research interest. That kind of happened. Maybe at some point I will be ready to write more about the serious ethnic tension which slammed us as we crossed from Donegal to Derry: leaving the Republic and entering the UK. Peace exists. No soldiers on the streets. Cannot even identify the borders. Government tourism agencies in the Republic promote tourism along the north coast with maps and brochures.

Having worked so long in the refugee world, though, the signs of social fragility were glaring to me. The words of my recent interviewees from Congo, Iraq and other trouble spots caused me to see and feel danger quickly. And we were in NI during the "marching season" which is when the Protestant Orangemen parade through town with large drums wearing their historical costumes. I personally love parades and there is much to admire about the part of NI society which arrived 400 years ago, following William of Orange. They have made a beautiful farming economy and seem to be producing fantastic lemon meringue pie. When we were away from Derry and Belfast, especially along the north-most coast, we were in lovely villages and towns with little edge of ethnic tension despite the Orange symbols here and there. We enjoyed our time there immensely.

Derry/Londonderry and Belfast were another matter where the symbols of competing histories and identities are in your face. However, the efforts to diffuse tension and maintain peace by all parties and international partners are equally present and apparently effective. See the link below reporting that the season, which culminates on July 12 has been largely peaceful.

We saw the towers being built in Belfast which would be burned on 11th night (July 11) but we were safely away before the actual burning and most marching. We did see a small parade in Ballintoy as people marched in costume from the Orange Hall to the Church. In our small town, it was a festive occasion giving the impression of a Memorial Day parade in the U.S. with no edge that we could identify. The area is rural and completely Protestant. No fires were planned that we could see.

Tower of pallets mixed with tires being built for the 11th night fires.

Here are news articles giving more photos and information:
Fire link from UK Daily Mail
Peaceful marching link from The Guardian

Blackwatertown , a Catholic settlement in Armagh.
Although surrounded by Protestant villages,
proudly gives its name in Gaelic and displays the symbol of Ulster,
the original Irish kingdom prior to King William's conquest.

A display of Orange symbols including
William of Orange in the center.
Many villages and towns had such banners across main streets.

As far as I can tell from peaceful Dublin, as I write, violence was averted for the most part.

So as I cast my mind back to our time there, I am not trivializing the tension and the efforts at peace by all when I focus on the surprise of rediscovering lemon meringue pie and its modern iterations.

Our friend, Molly, arrived from Seattle adding to the pleasure of the trip. We stayed a week in the charming north coast village of Ballintoy and took hikes and car trips to the many natural wonders of the area. Giant's Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was our target but we found the whole area to be accessible and stunning. Our pattern was to do some hiking and eat pie every day.

Our cottage in Ballintoy was next neighbor to the Red Door Cafe, home of our very favorite lemon pie. That is the photo at the top of the blog. The pie against which all other desserts have been measured.

Also in Ballintoy, at the harbor, was a dessert display to aspire to while scrambling across the rocks in the hike to and from Whitepark Bay, west along the coast.

The hike to Whitepark Bay. Short but tough. Need pie!

Ballintoy Harbor with Rathlin Island in the background.

The Bushmills Inn has created Lemon Possett as a modern iteration with all the sweet-tang but a little lighter. We knew nothing about possets but it turns out that we are on the cusp of a trend. Here is some info and a recipe which I will try sometime.

The walk from our house to the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge allowed for dessert at both ends. Lemon drizzle cake in Carrick-a-rede and pie at the Red Door upon return.

Bangor, east of Belfast, was a breath of fresh air. The tall ship race from Ireland to Norway and Denmark was beginning with the tall sailing ships parading in the harbor. Nancy's artist friends entertained us and we enjoyed a beautiful day day with charming folks. Where gates were needed to prevent car bombs, artists pods and green space prevail now.

And more lemon desert. The Salty Dog in Bangor, near Belfast, combines lemon with the local strawberries now in season.

More dessert and scenery photos:

Donnelly bakery in Ballycastle. They have lemon everything, strawberry, chocolate.
We were too early in the day for pie. "Come back later."
But we found things to enjoy. Intrepid--that is us.