I’d heard rumors that made me slightly apprehensive for this year’s Culture Night. Students dancing on tables, sectarian songs, and trays of shots had allegedly occurred in years past at this staple event of Duke Engage Norn Iron. After arriving safely at the Highway Inn pub in Lisburn, the nine of us pushed open the front door and made our way upstairs.
A light blue uniformed “marching” band played seated in the large room upstairs while a crowd watched by the undying light of the summer solstice. The atmosphere was festive with people packing every seat and lining the walls, sliding clips of conversation between loud drumbeats. Tennet’s flowed freely, and friends took turns purchasing rounds. It was Culture Night, a time for Lisburn’s Protestant community to celebrate their British-Irish heritage in the pub run by my placement, Resurgam Trust.
That’s right, my summer of immersive service has me working with an organization that owns a pub. As odd as it might seem, hear me out. Resurgam Trust is focused on regenerating the Lisburn community. They implement a bottom-up approach to combat the issues that plague Lisburn (and much of Northern Ireland), including poor school attendance, drug and alcohol abuse, and unemployment. Resurgam manages seven social enterprises (one of which is the pub) that provide jobs for Lisburn’s residents and funnel extra funds to Resurgam’s numerous philanthropic initiatives.
As the nine of us crowded around a small table to watch the band, my boss generously bought all nine of us a round, and a second one shortly thereafter. In good spirits we watched as a short man with long white hair spun in circles, banging away at the Lambeg drum extending from his knees to his neck. Though bagpipes played loudly in the background, the show clearly belonged to the drummer. As his spin increased in momentum, teetering on the verge of catastrophe, the drummer regained his balance and gave a final rally of thumps before ending his dance. The crowd erupted.
As the night wore on, a DJ eventually replaced the live music and graced us with such Irish classics as “Don’t Stop Believing” and “Call Me Maybe.” Conversations became louder as people struggled to hear one another, and plenty of sentimental feelings arose followed by high-fives and one-armed hugs. After a brief dance-off, the remaining students soon decided it was time to return to home sweet Farset. A British guy in a blazer made a last-minute impression on a few of our ladies, numbers were exchanged, and we soon found ourselves in a cab with our faithful taxi-driver, Tom.
Thus ended Belfast and Furious 2014’s Culture Night. Will any of our antics become the stuff of legend that gets retold to future Duke Engage students? Likely not. Alas, only time will tell.
John Hosey
Trinity '15
A light blue uniformed “marching” band played seated in the large room upstairs while a crowd watched by the undying light of the summer solstice. The atmosphere was festive with people packing every seat and lining the walls, sliding clips of conversation between loud drumbeats. Tennet’s flowed freely, and friends took turns purchasing rounds. It was Culture Night, a time for Lisburn’s Protestant community to celebrate their British-Irish heritage in the pub run by my placement, Resurgam Trust.
That’s right, my summer of immersive service has me working with an organization that owns a pub. As odd as it might seem, hear me out. Resurgam Trust is focused on regenerating the Lisburn community. They implement a bottom-up approach to combat the issues that plague Lisburn (and much of Northern Ireland), including poor school attendance, drug and alcohol abuse, and unemployment. Resurgam manages seven social enterprises (one of which is the pub) that provide jobs for Lisburn’s residents and funnel extra funds to Resurgam’s numerous philanthropic initiatives.
As the nine of us crowded around a small table to watch the band, my boss generously bought all nine of us a round, and a second one shortly thereafter. In good spirits we watched as a short man with long white hair spun in circles, banging away at the Lambeg drum extending from his knees to his neck. Though bagpipes played loudly in the background, the show clearly belonged to the drummer. As his spin increased in momentum, teetering on the verge of catastrophe, the drummer regained his balance and gave a final rally of thumps before ending his dance. The crowd erupted.
As the night wore on, a DJ eventually replaced the live music and graced us with such Irish classics as “Don’t Stop Believing” and “Call Me Maybe.” Conversations became louder as people struggled to hear one another, and plenty of sentimental feelings arose followed by high-fives and one-armed hugs. After a brief dance-off, the remaining students soon decided it was time to return to home sweet Farset. A British guy in a blazer made a last-minute impression on a few of our ladies, numbers were exchanged, and we soon found ourselves in a cab with our faithful taxi-driver, Tom.
Thus ended Belfast and Furious 2014’s Culture Night. Will any of our antics become the stuff of legend that gets retold to future Duke Engage students? Likely not. Alas, only time will tell.
John Hosey
Trinity '15