A City by the Sea
On Donegal Place, Belfast, we walk past eight pillars, which remind us of the futuristic lights in Place des Arts in Montreal. They are masts, with names written on them:
'Traffic',
'Nomadic',
'Celtic',
'Laurentic',
'Britannic',
'Oceanic',
'Olympic',
'Titanic',
​
eight Star Liners built in Belfast.
​
The sea and the rivers have shaped the city, made it what it is.
Many of the ships build here would return for stop over before their voyage across the Atlantic. In the early 1930s Laurentic transported many people from Belfast towards their new lives in Montreal.
​
​
Many would never return to the Irish shores
Picture: R.M.S. Laurentic (II) (greatships.net)
Some would never make it across the ocean
The shipyard is playing an important role in people's memories and image of Belfast. It did not just create opportunities to leave, but also to stay and work. The twin cranes* named Samson and Goliath are dominating the city view from a far. They can be found from any tourist shop: on t-shirts, mugs, snow globes and and even on pillow cases. Unlike many other cranes, they are a stable part of the city scape. The cranes in Montreal, as stable as they may feel, still do not reach the heights of being named after legends. Yet, the names show the meaning they have to the people here. They are not just cranes, they are hopes, memories and monuments.
*They are actually not twins. The older one, Goliath was built in 1969 and is 315 ft tall, while Samson was built in 1974 and is 348 ft.
