Ireland Day 3: Back to Dublin

This collection of pictures mostly consists of the last of the Belfast Peace Wall pictures. But it also includes pictures I took at a gas station on our way back to Dublin. We wanted to get back to Dublin for the Iowa State pep rally that was going on that evening.

Here are more, but not the last pictures from Day 3 in Ireland:

You don’t realize how much the Irish and Palestinians have in common until you go to Ireland.

The SpongeBob toy in the rubble…

When you think of the centuries of oppression that the Irish have suffered from, it is amazing just how warm and friendly they are.

Colonialism. Along with inherited wealth, the greatest evils in mankind’s history.

It was humbling to see images of American freedom fighters amongst these murals.

Preach.

It is a little sobering walking through these gates.

Do you know about the Grapefruit Ladies? No? It seems like here is a good break from the photos to talk about how the Irish have always supported the other oppressed people of the world. The best example I can think of is the Grapefruit Ladies.

Here is their story:

…some young Irish grocery workers in 1984 who refused to ring up South African grapefruit because their trade union told them to boycott goods from apartheid South Africa. The cashier who started this, Mary Manning, was suspended for her refusal to ring up two grapefruit. Nine other female workers walked out with her that day to form a picket line. Manning later wrote that she wasn’t sure if she would have taken this stand if her employer had treated her and her colleagues better. At the time, she admitted she didn’t even know how to spell apartheid, let alone define it. She just wanted to stick it to her boss.

Things evolved when she and the other strikers met a Black South African man named Nimrod Sejake, who claimed asylum in Ireland after being tried for treason with Nelson Mandela in 1962. Sejake joined the picket line and began sharing his real-life experiences. His family remained in South Africa, where he explained that things were like a pint of Guinness, with a thin layer of white sitting atop the black.

After hearing Sejake’s stories, the women began to understand how bad apartheid was. Rather than just sticking it to their bosses, they decided they wouldn’t go back to work until they no longer had to handle apartheid produce. Though other groups joined the fray, the media portrayed the normal young working class women who started it as evil political actors who should be grateful to have a job during a recession. This only gave their picketing more attention and support. Eventually Archbishop Desmond Tutu met with them, and invited them to South Africa so they could see apartheid for themselves. When the strikers were refused entry to the country, it sparked outrage. What could the government be hiding from these observers?

The Grapefruit Ladies of Ireland stood their ground for two years and nine months, barely subsisting on 21 pounds of strike pay a day to make a point that apartheid was bad. Their strike finally ended when the Irish state opted to ban all apartheid goods. In 1990, Nelson Mandela met with the Grapefruit Ladies, honoring their commitment. When he died, the ladies were invited to his funeral as Ireland’s representatives. During their visit, they met the family of Nimrod Sejake, the exiled man who had inspired them to keep fighting.

https://www.paigebowers.com/the-grapefruit-ladies-of-ireland

Two minor things about this story really hit me differently. Supermarket employees in Ireland have unions! I don’t know if they still do. Maybe their workforce has also been tricked into “right to be exploited” laws like we have in America. The other thing is that corporations have tricked Americans and maybe it is worldwide that “self-checkout” is some kind of progress. It is progress for corporate greed. Not the type of progress I’m hoping for though.

Back to the pictures:

Belfast gas station.

The last picture from Northern Ireland.

Back in Ireland. An amazing garbage can!

They also sell these very mid donuts in Ireland.

I actually regret not getting an Irish Whopper. Just to see what it tasted like. I haven’t had BK since the one in Boone closed. Not a bad thing. Just a thing.

Still plenty more pictures from Day 3 left to share!