Day 12 - June 12th

Today we met with officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) at the St. Patrick Center. We had a discussion about policing in Northern Ireland and its challenges, especially in a post-conflict society. The officers talked about their experiences in the police service, and felt that Northern Ireland has come a long way since the troubles. Although there is some pushback from police community engagement, they said people have generally felt warmer towards the police. They also talked about how the global perspective of Northern Ireland and its safety has transformed; from there being questions of whether Northern Ireland was a safe place to visit 20 years ago to becoming one of the safest areas in the UK to visit today. The officers also talked about the Catholic vs. Protestant dynamic in the workplace and how it's something that isn't really talked about -- not as a result of any hostility in the police force but solely because it's not really important.

After our discussion with the police, we visited the First Presbyterian Non-Subscribing Church in Downpatrick, for which we were brought on a tour both in and around the building. The church itself was constructed in the shape of a cross with a surrounding graveyard, but the most interesting part of the building was the pulpit inside. There should be a picture below, but it was a free-standing pulpit about 10 feet in the air, and there were some horror stories surrounding it. From 1711 until 2023, the minister leading a church service would lock themselves inside the pulpit, with no one else being able to access the pulpit from outside. One day, an older minister fell inside the pulpit and knocked his head on the altar, but no one was able to help him because he had locked himself in. Another minister used to lead services from the pulpit, but broke both her legs in freak accidents rendering her unable to walk up the narrow stairs to get up to the pulpit.

After visiting the church, we spent an hour playing hurling before heading back to the St. Patrick Center to do some yard work. We pulled up roots and moved what seemed like an endless pile of branches from the back garden to just outside the center, and I felt more sore after the yard work than I did getting knocked into during hurling.

Then we headed to Macken's Pub in Newcastle for a dinner with President of the AOH Danny O'Connell, Emma O'Neill from the St. Patrick Center's Board of Directors, and Dr. Tim Campbell. We shared our favorite moments from our time in Northern Ireland, listened to some live music downstairs, then headed back to our houses for an early morning start.