"TRAVELS WITH ERNEST" by Ryan Keith TRAVELS WITH ERNEST tells the
story of a ride around the northern part of Ireland on a Vespa
named Ernest. The author seeks to experience at first hand the
changes in Ireland as the population adjusts to the tangible
prospect of a lasting peace. He does this with a mix of serious
deliberation, and a sense of fun - and a toolkit. It was clearly an
historical moment in time: after the Peace Talks, there appeared at
last to be a real chance of finding an alternative to the years of
strife between republican Nationalists and loyalist Unionists. The
author felt a need to meet the Ulstermen face-to-face, and to
confront his own prejudices with an open mind. There is another
attraction: his choice of route around Ireland's shoreline follows
the sites of shipwrecks from the Spanish Armada which lie dotted
along the Irish coast. He finds there is something magical in a
sense of place, of being physically at the site of great events, a
shadowy excitement which brings a greater understanding of history.
On Ulster's empty roads, the ideal link between these stopovers is
a venerable Vespa, little changed in design since the first Vespa
appeared in 1946, and still going strong. In modern Ireland, pubs,
restaurants, and visitor centres make travel comparatively easy,
even for a wild-looking, portly figure on a motor scooter; and the
people of Northern Ireland prove to be just as Irish as those found
in the rest of the island. Most of those he meets are characters in
their own right: they speak their minds, and they tell their
stories with an honesty that is both engaging and admirable. But
violence has still not disappeared from the landscape, and there
are reminders of this in the news broadcasts which punctuate his
travels. Above all, it is the Irish people on both sides of the
border who captivate the author. Often it is Ernest, which brings
about an opening to a conversation, and then there is no holding
back. The people he meets in bars, B & Bs, and in the street or
in the countryside, all have a story to tell, and the author is a
more-than-willing listener. This is a personal view of a complex
but essentially human dilemma, and it gives insight to a story that
is largely misunderstood. If - as some say - the latest
developments are not the final solution to the problems of Northern
Ireland, they may at least prove to be the beginning of a solution.
Ryan Keith
General
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