Belfast Grand Central Station opened to much fanfare this September: announced as ‘Ireland’s biggest transport hub’ which is a phrase that really ought to be said by your one ought of Father Ted. DAERA Minister Andrew Muir suggested it could ‘revolutionise’ the way we travel,’ calling it a ‘ground-breaking project,’ ‘a game-changer,’ and a ‘catalyst for behavioural change, encouraging people to adopt more sustainable travel habits and reduce our carbon footprint.’
That all sounds rather grand, but rather misses the central point. Firstly, there is the obvious wider issue that the communities outside Belfast rely on cars, as public transport just cannot be relied on: the 39 bus between Rostrevor and Newry is routinely a no show, and the Translink website for months now has sat with the falsehood that it takes an hour to get from Bridge Street in Rostrevor to the Fairy Glen in… Rostrevor. The new transport hub will be a great service for Belfast, as travellers will no longer have to ferry themselves between the Europa and Lanyon Place, but as usual the wider Northern Ireland is left standing at the gate.
Secondly, and simply, there is the fact that the design is practically non-existent. The interior of the station has an appearance that suggests it was designed by engineers, with nothing but merest practically in mind. For a lot of people, thinking particularly of those coming off the bus from the airport, this will be there first sight of Belfast and yet all they will see is a Starbucks, a Marks and Spencer’s, and when they leave the building: a carpark. Coming off the bus at Belfast, there is presently no indication that you’re actually in Belfast: you might as well be at Busáras.
It’s particularly disappointing that Translink have not carried forward the thinking behind their recent Poetry in Motion partnership with Ulster University, a series of events, poetry residences, and opportunities for ‘aspiring poets to submit poems which capture the connections made possible through bus and rail travel.’
The company ought to work with local artists and historians, and crucially communities, to create an interior for the building that immediately immerses every person alighting a bus or train in a message that says ‘This is Belfast.’
If Translink had engaged the community in the design of the new station, they might have avoided the bad press over the removal of the Boyne Bridge on Sandy Row. Tradition holds that King William crossed over the bridge on his way to the Battle of the Boyne, but the bridge in question was built in 1863. It may be fair to say that what people really want is to see their community represented well, and a pride of place in their area supported by the institutions empowered to do so.
In defence of the ‘Weaver’s Cross’ project, as the redevelopment of the area around the new station is named, the boards outside the station do display good information on the history of the area, such as the story of the ‘Blythe Street Fairy tree’ which is a blackthorn bush that has long been protected by residents of Sandy Row, aware of the danger of angering faeries. However, those boards are impermanent structures, and once their taken down there ought to be something in their place.
The most obvious idea would be to take advantage of all that Belfast does best, and higher mural painters to decorate the interior of the building with familiar stories of our shared heritage such as Cú Chulainn, the Titanic, and George Best.
Another idea would be to take inspiration from Dublin Airport, where the walls around all the gates are adorned with the faces of various Irish writers with quotes from their respective works. What an improvement it would be if the first thing a tourist off the bus from Aldergrove, their first time here, saw was the face of Louis MacNeice and the words ‘I was born in Belfast between the mountain and the gantries,’ followed by Cú Chulainn tied to a stone, followed by Michael Longley, Mary Ann McCracken, and Winifred Carney, all painted by some local artist.
Northern Ireland is a place that quite frankly has a ridiculous number of artists – writers, poets, painters, sculptors – the most prestigious poetry prize in the UK is the TS Eliot Prize, for the winner is awarded £25,000, and 25% of winners have all come from this population of 1.9 million people. There is no excuse for not representing the best of ourselves at every corner and every turn.
Fionnbharr Rodgers has written articles, poems, and a short story for History Ireland, Northern Slant, Slugger O’Toole; A New Ulster, Blackbird, Blackbox Manifold; and Stoneboat Literary Journal.
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