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Belfast City Hall

Belfast, Northern Ireland

By Aunidan Christi KPGSPublished 5 years ago Updated 3 years ago 4 min read
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Belfast City Hall

Being confined indoors for the last ten years due to an acquired brain injury brought about devastating cluster headaches, which so far my GP and Neurologists have been unable to stop.

When I do get out in between hospital and doctor appointments, I always carry a camera.

For the above photo, I used my Samsung tablet, which, as you can see, takes beautiful clear photos.

So much around my adopted City of Belfast catches my eyes, which I snap at every opportunity I can. This time it is Belfast City Hall, which always catches my eyes no matter how many times I pass it.

Belfast City Hall was built between 1898 and 1906 and, though built by men in a time when men ruled the roost, the City Hall of Belfast has seven women on it right above the main entrance, with the central figure being a pregnant woman—the Goddess Hibernia.

Belfast City hall was designed by Alfred Brumwell Thomas. When Belfast gained its City status, its Town Hall was not deemed grand enough for the new City, so something grander was planned and executed. As you see from my photos, the grand Belfast City Hall was born for the new city, and it was placed right in the heart of the new city for all to see.

The cost of Belfast City Hall in its day was £360,000, much of which was spent on memorials and statues and, of course, its marble beauty within.

If you are planning to visit Belfast, Northern Ireland, then I recommend a visit or tour of Belfast City Hall, inside and out. The grounds are full of statues and memorials, and the inside has the same statues, memorials and spellbinding art.

The City Hall in Belfast is steeped in history, where many a famous politician and celebrity has stood on its ground, including President Clinton who came to endorse the peace process which is still in progress in 2018.

Before the City Hall of Belfast was built on the site it now occupies, the site was occupied by the White Linen Hall, the Linen Exchange, which of course was the heart of Northern Ireland and Belfast City's rise to fame, the linen industry.

Northern Ireland and Belfast were also famous for ropemaking, shipbuilding and engineering, and at the time overtook Dublin as the most popular City in Ireland.

The Seven Women of Belfast City Hall.

The seven women of the City Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

As already mentioned, having seven figures on a building built by men in the 1800s is amazing to say the least, and having the central figure of this building built by men being the Goddess Hibernia is even more amazing. It proves even in this world full of men, controlled by men, women hold the most important status when it comes to buildings and statues, with the USA and the Statue of Liberty being a prime example.

Even Courts of Justice worldwide have a women above their building holding the scales of justice.

Millions of people, including millions of tourists, have had their photographs taken in and around Belfast City Hall, and thousands walk past it daily, or sit in its grounds daily, but few take any notice of the female figures which grace their grand building, or even ask who they are.

I doubt even if the tour guides who take millions in and around Belfast City Hall ever take notice or mention the figures above the main entrance of the City Hall, especially the seven female figures, which is a shame.

The Titanic Memorial Garden, Belfast City Hall, Northern Ireland.

Every one knows the story of the ill fated liner, The Titanic, but few know that the shipyard builders of Belfast City blamed themselves for decades after the liner hit an iceberg and sank.

Many even took their own lives because of the tragedy, which saw a dark cloud hang over Belfast City for many years.

Now in the Titanic Quarter, the Titanic Exhibition Center is one of the biggest attractions in the world, which sees millions visiting it each year along with the grand City Hall of Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Samson and Goliath, The Belfast Shipyard Cranes.

Samson and Goliath.

No matter where you are in Belfast—north, south, east or west Belfast—the two cranes of Samson and Goliath can be seen and photographed, which I recommend you do when visiting Belfast, Northern Ireland.

There is so much to do in Belfast and Northern Ireland, but as yet, few tours ever touch a fraction of that which can be done in the days most tourists visit this beautiful, historical land, so I recommend you hire a car and explore this land's beauty for yourselves, which is what I do when I travel to foreign lands of beauty. All lands have beauty, though, if you care to explore them.

Best Wishes:

Aunidan

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About the Creator

Aunidan Christi KPGS

I am the Author of "The Spiritual Truth, a Guide into all Truth,” available on Amazon-Aunidan Christi, I am also the Author of “River Lagan Walks,” also available on Amazon.

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