BACK WITH MORE OF THE BEST OF EUROPE.

THIS TIME WE'RE REALLY ON THE EDGE.

STAY WITH US AS WE EXPLORE THE BEST OF NORTHERN IRELAND.

AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, NO TRIP TO IRELAND IS REALLY COMPLETE

WITHOUT VISITING NORTHERN IRELAND.

SURE, IT'S HAD ITS TROUBLES,

AND WE'LL CHECK OUT SOME POWERFUL POLITICAL SIGHTS.

BUT THERE'S SO MUCH MORE.

NORTHERN IRELAND COMES WITH THE SAME FRIENDLY PEOPLE

AND LUSH SCENERY

YOU'D EXPECT TO FIND ANYWHERE ON THE EMERALD ISLE,

AND THERE'S NO TOURIST CROWDS.

WE'LL TOUR BUSTLING BELFAST, SNEAK A PEAK

AT ITS MORE POLITICIZED SECTARIAN NEIGHBORHOODS,

GO WILD IN THE ULSTER CONEY ISLAND

AND TASTE-TEST IRISH WHISKEY.

WE'LL SCRAMBLE OVER SOME SIX-SIDED GEOLOGY,

TEE OFF ON A WORLD-CLASS GOLF COURSE

AND STOMP OUR FEET TO SOME TRADITIONAL MUSIC.

NORTHERN IRELAND IS PART OF A GROUP OF ISLANDS

CALLED THE BRITISH ISLES

AND PART OF A POLITICAL ENTITY CALLED THE UNITED KINGDOM.

THE EMERALD ISLE IS COMPRISED OF

THE INDEPENDENT REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

AND NORTHERN IRELAND.

THE NORTHERN REGION IS ALSO CALLED ULSTER.

FROM THE CAPITAL, BELFAST,

WE TRAVEL TO FUN-LOVING PORTRUSH

TO THE ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE CITY OF DERRY

AND ENJOY ATTRACTIONS ALONG THE ANTRIM COAST.

HERE IN NORTHERN IRELAND SIGHT-SEEING MAKES MORE SENSE

WITH A LITTLE BACKGROUND.

ALL OF IRELAND WAS ONCE RULED BY BRITAIN.

BUT THE IRISH DIDN'T ASSIMILATE QUITE ACCORDING TO PLAN.

WHILE BRITAIN WAS PROTESTANT, MOST OF THE IRISH WERE CATHOLIC,

AND WITH THESE RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCES

CAME A DEEP-SEATED CULTURAL DIVIDE.

TO HELP BOLSTER ITS CONTROL, LONDON PLANTED SETTLERS,

PROTESTANT SETTLERS MOSTLY FROM SCOTLAND.

THESE PEOPLE BECAME THE SCOTS-IRISH,

THE DOMINANT ETHNIC GROUP IN NORTH IRELAND TODAY.

BUT CENTURIES OF BRITISH RULE LED TO STRIFE.

IN THE 1920s, AFTER A BLOODY WAR,

MOST OF IRELAND BECAME AN INDEPENDENT COUNTRY,

CATHOLIC AND RULED FROM DUBLIN.

BUT THE NORTH, WITH ITS PROTESTANT MAJORITY,

OPTED TO STAY WITH BRITAIN.

AND THE ISLAND REMAINS DIVIDED TO THIS DAY.

YOU'LL SEE SYMBOLS OF THAT DIVISION

THROUGHOUT NORTHERN IRELAND.

PROTESTANT ORANGE PARADES ARE COMMON.

SEVERAL THOUSAND A YEAR DURING MARCHING SEASON,

BETWEEN EASTER AND EARLY SEPTEMBER,

FILL THE STREETS WITH SECTARIAN PAGEANTRY.

WHILE 90% OF THESE PARADE THROUGH PROTESTANT TOWNS

AND ARE, THEREFORE, PEACEFUL, A FEW ARE ANTAGONISTIC,

MARCHING THROUGH CATHOLIC TOWNS AND NEIGHBORHOODS.

FAR MORE POLITICAL THAN YOUR AVERAGE PARADE,

THESE ARE LIKE PEP RALLIES FOR THE CAUSE

OF CONTINUED UNION WITH BRITAIN...

...A CHANCE FOR PARENTS

TO SHARE THEIR POLITICAL PASSIONS WITH THEIR KIDS.

[ drum pattern ]

THE LONG-ESTABLISHED ORANGE ORDER

WORKS TO DEFEND THE UNION WITH BRITAIN,

SO THEIR POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY IS UNIONIST.

ORANGE IS THE TEAM COLOR AND THE UNION JACK IS ITS FLAG.

THIS IS COUNTERED ON THE CATHOLIC SIDE

BY NATIONALISTS AND REPUBLICANS,

PEOPLE WHO WANT THE ENTIRE ISLAND

TO BE ONE NATION.

THEIR COLOR IS GREEN AND THEY FLY THE IRISH FLAG.

IN THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND, THERE'S NO QUESTION,

CATHOLICS RULE.

BUT HERE IN THE PROTESTANT DOMINATED NORTH,

THE CATHOLICS, WITH OVER A THIRD OF THE POPULATION,

ARE JUST TOO BIG A MINORITY TO IGNORE.

IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN CONTROL,

PROTESTANTS EMPLOYED POLICIES WHICH WERE TOUGH ON CATHOLICS.

THIS ESCALATED TENSIONS WHICH LED TO THE TROUBLES,

WHICH HAVE FILLED HEADLINES AROUND HERE

SINCE THE LATE 1960s.

AS PROTESTANTS AND CATHOLICS CLASHED,

THE BRITISH ARMY ENTERED THE FRAY

AND THEY'VE BEEN HERE EVER SINCE.

THANKFULLY, REAL PROGRESS TOWARD PEACE HAS BEEN MADE RECENTLY

AND, WHILE YOU STILL DON'T WANT TO SING PROTESTANT SONGS

IN A CATHOLIC PUB LIKE THIS, OR VICE VERSA,

NORTHERN IRELAND HAS BECOME A GREAT PLACE TO VISIT.

BELFAST, JUST A COUPLE HOURS NORTH OF DUBLIN,

STRADDLES THE LAGAN RIVER.

IT WAS ONLY A VILLAGE IN THE 17th CENTURY.

BUT WITH THE INFLUX OF SCOTTISH AND ENGLISH SETTLERS

AND THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION,

WHICH TOOK ROOT WITH A VENGEANCE HERE,

BELFAST BOOMED.

WHILE THE REST OF IRELAND

REMAINED RURAL AND AGRICULTURAL,

BELFAST WAS NICKNAMED OLD SMOKE.

SHIPBUILDING WAS HUGE.

THIS SLIPWAY WAS THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE "TITANIC"

AND MANY SHIPS THAT DIDN'T SINK.

THE NEIGHBORING DRY DOCK IS WHERE THAT ILL-FATED SHIP,

THE BIGGEST MAN-MADE MOVING OBJECT OF ITS DAY,

WAS OUTFITTED.

NEARBY, TWO HUGE CRANES, ONCE THE BIGGEST IN THE WORLD,

NICKNAMED SAMSON AND GOLIATH,

RISE LIKE SKYSCRAPERS ABOVE THE HARBOR,

ANOTHER REMINDER OF THIS TOWN'S FORMER SHIPBUILDING MIGHT.

IN 1888, QUEEN VICTORIA GRANTED CITY STATUS

TO THIS BOOMTOWN OF 300,000, AND SOON AFTER,

ITS CITIZENS BUILT BELFAST'S CENTERPIECE, CITY HALL.

WITH ITS STATUE OF QUEEN VICTORIA

SCOWLING DOWN BELFAST'S MAIN DRAG

AND THE UNION JACK FLAPPING BEHIND HER,

IT'S A STIRRING SIGHT.

QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY

IS ALSO FROM THE ILLUSTRIOUS REIGN OF VICTORIA.

ITS BACKYARD IS AN INVITING PUBLIC PARK,

PARTICULARLY RELAXING ON A SUNNY SUMMER AFTERNOON.

THE PALM HOUSE,

AN EARLY EXAMPLE OF AN IRON AND GLASS GREENHOUSE

DATING FROM THE MID-1800s,

GIVES YOU A LUSH AND HUMID JUNGLE EXPERIENCE

RIGHT IN BELFAST.

ALSO IN THE GARDEN IS THE ULSTER MUSEUM,

THE CITY'S ONE MAJOR MUSEUM.

YOU'LL FIND A FASCINATING MADE-IN-BELFAST EXHIBIT

UNDER AN ARCH PROCLAIMING,

"TRADE IS THE GOLDEN GIRDLE OF THE GLOBE."

EXHIBITS EXPLAIN HOW BELFAST THRIVED IN ITS GLORY DAYS.

THE LINEN INDUSTRY EMPLOYED THOUSANDS.

BELFAST WORKERS MADE PRODUCTS FROM FLAX,

LIKE CANVAS AND ROPE,

WHICH CONTRIBUTED MIGHTILY TO MARITIME COMMERCE.

MASSIVE SHIPS, MADE IN BELFAST,

WERE COMMONPLACE FROM SEATTLE TO SHANGHAI.

IT FEELS LIKE A NEW MORNING IN BELFAST.

IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE

THAT THIS BRIGHT AND BUSTLING COMMERCIAL CENTER

WAS ONCE A TENSE AND SUBDUED SECURITY ZONE.

TODAY THERE'S NO HINT OF SECURITY CHECKS,

NOT LONG AGO A TIRESOME DAILY ROUTINE.

STILL, IT'S A FRAGILE PEACE, ESPECIALLY EVIDENT

IN THE WORKING-CLASS CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT NEIGHBORHOODS.

MEAN-SPIRITED MURALS AND PUBS WITH SECURITY GATES

ARE REMINDERS THAT THE ISLAND IS SPLIT,

AND A DWINDLING,

YET STILL SUBSTANTIAL NUMBER OF EXTREMISTS

PREFER IT THAT WAY.

THESE FLAG-WAVING HOTBEDS OF THE TROUBLES

HAVE BECOME TOURIST ATTRACTIONS TO MANY CURIOUS VISITORS.

THE BEST WAY TO GET AROUND BELFAST IS BY CAB.

AND YOUR RIDE CAN COME WITH AN EDUCATION.

FOR A REASONABLE HOURLY FEE,

MANY CABBIES GIVE VISITORS IMPROMPTU TOURS.

MY GUIDE, NORMAN, IS SHARING SOME PERSONAL INSIGHTS.

NORMAN, CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO ME JUST IN GENERAL

ABOUT SECTARIAN NEIGHBORHOODS?

SECTARIAN NEIGHBORHOODS

ARE WITHIN THE WORKING-CLASS AREAS

AND THE WORKING-CLASS AREAS ONLY,

WHERE THEY KEEP DIVIDED BECAUSE OF, WELL,

THE HATRED FOR EACH OTHER AND, OF COURSE,

WHAT THEY'VE DONE TO EACH OTHER

THROUGH TERRORISM.

FALLS ROAD IS A WELL-KNOWN REPUBLICAN STRONGHOLD

IN THE WEST PART OF BELFAST.

SO THIS IS A CATHOLIC NEIGHBORHOOD, THEN, HUH?

WELL, IT'S MORE RENOWNED FOR BEING REPUBLICAN

RATHER THAN JUST CATHOLIC.

OKAY.

SO WHY IS IT SO FAMOUS?

BECAUSE OF THE AMOUNT OF TROUBLE THAT HAPPENED HERE

BETWEEN THE IRA AND THE BRITISH SOLDIERS

AND THE POLICE FORCE AND SO ON.

IT FEELS SAFE TODAY.

WELL, THINGS HAVE CHANGED OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS.

BUT THERE ARE THESE SYMBOLS OF THE SECTARIANISM

THAT STILL ARE STRONG, AREN'T THEY?

VERY STRONG AND WILL REMAIN TO BE STRONG

BECAUSE OF THE BACKGROUNDS WITHIN THE CONFLICT.

MURALS ARE AN ART FORM

AND THEY COME WITH A STRONG POLITICAL MESSAGE.

IRELAND WILL RISE LIKE A PHOENIX,

IRELAND SHOULD BE FREE AND UNITED, AND SO ON.

POLICE STATIONS STAND LIKE FORTRESSES.

AND EVERYWHERE IN THIS CATHOLIC NEIGHBORHOOD,

THE REPUBLICAN CAUSE IS HONORED.

AN IMPORTANT STOP ALONG FALLS ROAD IS THE MILL TOWN CEMETERY,

WHERE GAELIC CROSSES ALLOW CATHOLIC REPUBLICANS

TO MAKE A STATEMENT IN DEATH

AND WHERE IRA FIGHTERS

ARE BURIED WITH THE HONOR OF FALLEN SOLDIERS.

Rick: SO TELL ME ABOUT THIS.

IT'S A CATHOLIC CEMETERY

WITH ALSO SOME REPUBLICAN ATTACHMENT TO IT,

A LOT OF REPUBLICAN PEOPLE BURIED,

AS WELL AS CATHOLICS, OF COURSE.

AND THIS IS A TYPICAL CROSS, WITH IRISH DESIGN ON, OF COURSE,

WHICH IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT,

SHOWING A TYPICAL IRISH BACKGROUND.

THE MOST VISITED GRAVESITE HERE,

SET APART BY LITTLE GREEN RAILINGS,

COMMEMORATES IRA HEROES.

AMONG MANY OTHERS, IT REMEMBERS BOBBY SANDS

AND NINE OTHER HUNGER STRIKERS.

THEY STARVED THEMSELVES TO DEATH IN A NEARBY PRISON

IN 1981.

THEY WANTED TO BE TREATED AS POLITICAL PRISONERS

RATHER THAN CRIMINAL TERRORISTS.

Norman: IT HASN'T ALWAYS BEEN CATHOLICS AGAINST PROTESTANTS.

IT'S BEEN PEOPLE OF MORE THE EXTREMISTS

WITHIN THE RELIGIONS

WHERE THE MODERATE, BOTH CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANTS,

HAVE NOT SUPPORTED THE ACTIONS

OF EITHER LOYALISM OR REPUBLICANISM.

LOYALISTS ARE THE EXTREMISTS OF PROTESTANTS.

REPUBLICANS ARE THE EXTREMISTS OF CATHOLICS.

SO THE MODERATE PARTIES ARE KNOWN AS UNIONISTS,

WHICH ARE MODERATE PROTESTANTS,

AND NATIONALISTS, WHICH ARE MODERATE CATHOLICS.

SO THERE ARE A LOT OF MODERATES, ACTUALLY,

THAT AREN'T AT EACH OTHER'S THROATS?

THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

ARE THE MODERATES.

A BLEAK WALL SEPARATES THE CATHOLIC REPUBLICANS

OF THE FALLS ROAD AREA

FROM THE PROTESTANT LOYALISTS IN THE SHANKILL ROAD AREA.

IT'S CALLED THE PEACE LINE

BECAUSE WITHOUT IT THERE'D BE NO PEACE.

BUT PROGRESS IS BEING MADE.

IN A PROMISING CHANGE, AFTER 30 YEARS OF BEING CLOSED,

THIS GATE IS NOW OPEN,

CONNECTING THE TWO NEIGHBORHOODS.

FOR A SAMPLING OF UNIONIST PASSION,

YOU CAN EXPLORE THIS WORKING- CLASS PROTESTANT NEIGHBORHOOD.

MURALS ON SHANKILL ROAD PROMOTE THE UNIONIST OR LOYALIST CAUSE.

THERE'S LOTS OF SYMBOLISM.

EVERY TIME I VISIT,

LOCALS STRESS IT'S NOT PROTESTANTS FIGHTING CATHOLICS;

IT'S EXTREMIST LOYALISTS, WHO HAPPEN TO BE PROTESTANT,

FIGHTING EXTREMIST REPUBLICANS, WHO HAPPEN TO BE CATHOLIC.

THESE EXTREMISTS ARE THE PEOPLE

WHO ARE PROUD TO LIVE IN SECTARIAN NEIGHBORHOODS,

AND IT'S THESE EXTREMISTS WHO FAN THE PERSISTENT FLAMES

OF IRELAND'S TROUBLES.

THE BIG HOPE NOW IS FOR A NEW GENERATION TO BE RAISED

WITHOUT THE EXTREMISM OF THE PAST.

CHILDREN PLAYING TOGETHER HERE

ARE BOTH CATHOLICS AND PROTESTANTS,

PART OF A SUMMER-CAMP PROGRAM

GIVING KIDS FROM BOTH COMMUNITIES

REASONS TO LIVE TOGETHER RATHER THAN APART.

ABOUT AN HOUR'S DRIVE FROM BELFAST

TAKES US TO NORTHERN IRELAND'S FAVORITE RESORT, PORTRUSH.

THIS IS THE PLAYGROUND OF ULSTER

AND AN IDEAL BASE

FOR EXPLORING THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ANTRIM COAST.

PORTRUSH HAS LONG BEEN THE CONEY ISLAND

OF IRELAND'S NORTH.

ITS ARCHITECTURE RETAINS THE ATMOSPHERE

OF A GENTEEL SEASIDE RESORT.