Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The origin of the red hand comes from a mythological tale of two rival clans that
raced by boat to claim a far shore. The first clan leader to touch the shore would win
it for his people. Everyone aboard both vessels strained mightily at their oars, near
exhaustion as they approached the shore. Finally, in desperation, the chieftain leader
of the slower boat whipped out his sword and lopped off his right hand...which he
then flung onto the shore, thus winning the coveted land. Moral of the story? The
fearless folk of Ulster will do
whatever it takes
to get the job done.
Visiting the Museums:
The
Transport Museum
consists of three buildings. Start at
the bottom and trace the evolution of transportation from 7,500 years ago—when people
first decided to load an ox—to the first vertical take off jet. In 1909, the Belfast-based
Shorts Aviation Company partnered with the Wright brothers to manufacture the first com-
mercially available aircraft. The middle building holds an intriguing section on the sinking
of the Belfast-made
Titanic
. The top building covers the history of bikes, cars, and trains.
The car section rumbles from the first car in Ireland (an 1898 Benz) through the “Cortina
Culture” of the 1960s, to the local adventures of controversial automobile designer John
DeLorean and a 1981 model of his sleek sports car.
