We visited and spent only one day in Northern Ireland. Instead of exploring the city of Belfast, we opted to rent a car and drive through the countryside.

One thing I found interesting about Northern Ireland is how much the people there have squabbled over so many things, including what to name the country and what flag to fly.

Alternative country names include Ulster, The Province, The North, The Six Counties and Na Sé Chontae (The Six Counties, in Irish). Northern Ireland flies the Union Jack because the country has historically argued over flag design without resolution. Designs based on the Ulster Banner gained some ground at one point, but ultimately failed ratification. Some supported a design based on Saint Patrick’s Cross. Others have brought up a design based on the Starry Plough. A recreation of the traditional Irish Sunburst Flag has come up over the years. A long list of flags have flown in some capacity over Northern Ireland at one point or another.

Me? I like the flag that Suzy Eddie Izzard proposed. Back in 2009, Izzard completed 43 marathons in 51 days, for charity. When running in the United Kingdom, Izzard carried the flag for each nation. Dismayed that Northern Ireland did not officially adopt a country flag, Izzard created one consisting of a green background with a white dove in the upper-right quadrant. The dove symbolized peace, carrying an olive branch in its beak. I based this page’s theme on that flag.

Giant’s Causeway

Approximately 40,000 basalt columns comprise the Giant’s Causeway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To get there from Belfast, we drove along the Antrim Coast roads, through a few small towns. The natural beauty of the coastal drive had us pull over more than once.

Antrim Coast

Ballycastle

Larne

Rock Formations

And, here are a couple of giants with the rocks in the background, for scale.

Game Of Thrones

We stopped in Larrybane, but decided against hiking to the abandoned limestone quarry used as a film location for Game of Thrones. We also skipped crossing the rope bridge to Carrick-a-Rede Island.

Bushmills

I do not drink Bushmills Irish Whiskey, but we passed by their distillery. It reminded me of the NOFX song Theme From A NOFX Album.

Buy me a Beck’s beer or pass me a bong
Give me some Bushmills, I’ll sing you this song