Irishc

Does anyone have any suggestions for economical lodging for several
nights in Belfast, Ireland. We are looking for accommodations that are
within walking distance to attractions and transportation.

David Horne

Irishc <member18089@british_expats.com> wrote:

    > Does anyone have any suggestions for economical lodging for several
    > nights in Belfast, Ireland. We are looking for accommodations that are
    > within walking distance to attractions and transportation.

We stayed at the Travelodge on Brunswick Street. It's about £40 per room
per night, close to everything, and just a block or so from the main bus
station (which also drops off from the airports.)

David

David Horne

David Horne <> wrote:

    > Irishc <member18089@british_expats.com> wrote:
    >
    > > Does anyone have any suggestions for economical lodging for several
    > > nights in Belfast, Ireland. We are looking for accommodations that are
    > > within walking distance to attractions and transportation.
    >
    > We stayed at the Travelodge on Brunswick Street. It's about £40 per room
    > per night, close to everything, and just a block or so from the main bus
    > station (which also drops off from the airports.)

Oh, should have mentioned, Belfast is in Northern Ireland.

David

Padraig Breathnach

(David Horne) wrote:

    >Oh, should have mentioned, Belfast is in Northern Ireland.
So it is. And in Ireland, too.

David Horne

Padraig Breathnach <> wrote:

    > (David Horne) wrote:
    >
    > >Oh, should have mentioned, Belfast is in Northern Ireland.
    > >
    > So it is. And in Ireland, too.

Does that mean 'on the island of Ireland' or something else? Politics
aside, is it geographically accurate to say "Belfast, Ireland"?

David

Padraig Breathnach

(David Horne) wrote:

    >Padraig Breathnach <> wrote:
    >> (David Horne) wrote:
    >>
    >> >Oh, should have mentioned, Belfast is in Northern Ireland.
    >> >
    >> So it is. And in Ireland, too.
    >Does that mean 'on the island of Ireland' or something else? Politics
    >aside, is it geographically accurate to say "Belfast, Ireland"?
Politics aside, definitely. I didn't mean to make a political point.

Yes, I think it is geographically, socially, and politically
acceptable to speak of Belfast as being in Ireland. The only time it
might cause discomfort is when supporters of the union switch into
political point-scoring mode.

It is also acceptable to speak of Belfast as being in Northern
Ireland, except when opponents of the union are in political
point-scoring mode.

All I meant to convey is that your clarification was redundant. Most
people, most of the time, are not bothered about such things, and when
they are bothered, you are better off seeking out different company.

David Horne

Padraig Breathnach <> wrote:

    > Politics aside, definitely. I didn't mean to make a political point.
    >
    > Yes, I think it is geographically, socially, and politically
    > acceptable to speak of Belfast as being in Ireland. The only time it
    > might cause discomfort is when supporters of the union switch into
    > political point-scoring mode.
    >
    > It is also acceptable to speak of Belfast as being in Northern
    > Ireland, except when opponents of the union are in political
    > point-scoring mode.
    >
    > All I meant to convey is that your clarification was redundant. Most
    > people, most of the time, are not bothered about such things, and when
    > they are bothered, you are better off seeking out different company.

OK- I suppose I'm not quite getting this. I'm simply talking about this
in geographic terms, and I think my 'clarification' was simply that, for
all I knew, the OP may have assumed that Belfast was in the ROI, and
surely that is inaccurate, regardless? (Given the number of people who
innocently don't know the difference between England and the UK, it
wouldn't be surprising to me if people quite innocently assumed Belfast
was in the Republic of Ireland.)

I don't think there's necessarily anything dark in "bothering about such
things"- it depends why- and I don't see the harm in geographical
clarification. My experience suggests that a lot of people from outside
the british isles don't really know much about the geography, and it was
just unusual to see "Belfast, Ireland" as "Ireland" in this case seemed
to suggest the country, not the island. That's all. Anyway, I don't have
a hang up about it, except from a geographical point of view- so that if
"Belfast, Ireland" is a correct usage, well, that's fine- but I didn't
know that.

David

Padraig Breathnach

(David Horne) wrote:

    >Padraig Breathnach <> wrote:
    >> Politics aside, definitely. I didn't mean to make a political point.
    >>
    >> Yes, I think it is geographically, socially, and politically
    >> acceptable to speak of Belfast as being in Ireland. The only time it
    >> might cause discomfort is when supporters of the union switch into
    >> political point-scoring mode.
    >>
    >> It is also acceptable to speak of Belfast as being in Northern
    >> Ireland, except when opponents of the union are in political
    >> point-scoring mode.
    >>
    >> All I meant to convey is that your clarification was redundant. Most
    >> people, most of the time, are not bothered about such things, and when
    >> they are bothered, you are better off seeking out different company.
    >OK- I suppose I'm not quite getting this. I'm simply talking about this
    >in geographic terms, and I think my 'clarification' was simply that, for
    >all I knew, the OP may have assumed that Belfast was in the ROI, and
    >surely that is inaccurate, regardless?
It wasn't obvious to me that your clarification was intended solely as
a matter of geography. My apologies for misinterpreting your intent.

    >(Given the number of people who
    >innocently don't know the difference between England and the UK, it
    >wouldn't be surprising to me if people quite innocently assumed Belfast
    >was in the Republic of Ireland.)
I made different assumptions, because the OP also posted questions
about Dublin and Edinburgh, and that led me to infer that he or she
some knowledge about the places.

    >I don't think there's necessarily anything dark in "bothering about such
    >things"- it depends why- and I don't see the harm in geographical
    >clarification.
I wasn't trying to get at you. What I meant -- and failed to make
clear -- is that when you are dealing with people from Northern
Ireland who make a big deal about such distinctions, you are better
off avoiding them. The political sensitivities in NI constitute a
minefield. In general, the people of NI are very friendly and
welcoming, but when you experience touchiness about such things as
placenames, that is not holiday-mode stuff. It's time to find more
congenial company, of which there is no shortage in NI.

    >My experience suggests that a lot of people from outside
    >the british isles don't really know much about the geography, and it was
    >just unusual to see "Belfast, Ireland" as "Ireland" in this case seemed
    >to suggest the country, not the island. That's all.
There is some ambiguity, as one of the two states on the island of
Ireland is named "Ireland" (often referred to as the Republic of
Ireland, but the constitution gives the name of the state as
"Ireland").

If you arrive in Dublin airport, and ask how to get to Belfast, nobody
is likely to say that you have arrived in the wrong country. They will
direct you to the train or, if you hire a car, tell you to be sure to
turn left on the way out. Correspondingly, if you attempt to reach
Dublin by way of Belfast, nobody will think it odd.

    >Anyway, I don't have
    >a hang up about it, except from a geographical point of view- so that if
    >"Belfast, Ireland" is a correct usage, well, that's fine- but I didn't
    >know that.
I think that, in informal usage, "Belfast, Ireland" is fine, and
offends nobody. It might cause confusion in some post offices.

I noted it as odd (and the OP's other headers: "Dublin, Ireland" and
"Edinburgh, Scotland") for a different reason: there's only one of
each in Europe.

Are we on the same wavelength now?

David Horne

Padraig Breathnach <> wrote:

    > It wasn't obvious to me that your clarification was intended solely as
    > a matter of geography. My apologies for misinterpreting your intent.

That's fine.

    > >(Given the number of people who
    > >innocently don't know the difference between England and the UK, it
    > >wouldn't be surprising to me if people quite innocently assumed Belfast
    > >was in the Republic of Ireland.)
    > >
    > I made different assumptions, because the OP also posted questions
    > about Dublin and Edinburgh, and that led me to infer that he or she
    > some knowledge about the places.

I'd seen the other posts, but I still assumed the OP may just be
confused.

    > There is some ambiguity, as one of the two states on the island of
    > Ireland is named "Ireland" (often referred to as the Republic of
    > Ireland, but the constitution gives the name of the state as
    > "Ireland").
    >
    > If you arrive in Dublin airport, and ask how to get to Belfast, nobody
    > is likely to say that you have arrived in the wrong country. They will
    > direct you to the train or, if you hire a car, tell you to be sure to
    > turn left on the way out. Correspondingly, if you attempt to reach
    > Dublin by way of Belfast, nobody will think it odd.

Yes, indeed. It's simply the use of language as it pertains to geography
that interests me. For example, I've heard someone say "I spent the
summer in Ireland" when they might have meant just ROI, or both RIO and
NI. That seems perfectly OK to me, and a case where having to say "I was
in ROI and NI" is unnecessary and cumbersome for the sake of
geographical accuracy. However if someone spent a holiday in NI, I'd
find it less accurate if they said they'd spent a holiday in Ireland.
But, I don't know if they would say that. Someone from Ireland or the UK
may just refer to the place ("oh, I spent a week in Belfast") or the
county(ies), without referring to the country at all- no need to in most
cases.

    > Are we on the same wavelength now?

I think so.

David

Kevingr

Padraig Breathnach <> wrote in message news:<>...

[big snip]

    > I think that, in informal usage, "Belfast, Ireland" is fine, and
    > offends nobody. It might cause confusion in some post offices.

Actually that usage offends *me* so presumably I'm nobody.

Conversely, and by the same logic, people offended by the not uncommon
practice of locating Dublin in the British Isles are also nobody.

Thanks for clearing that up.

K