hole area of the city to a depth of fifty meters, before the underlying sandstone rock is found. But Belfast's founders were made of stern stuff and found a way of making a virtue out of a difficulty. The mud they dug out to create foundations was bakeJust like Venice and Amsterdam, Belfast is not an ideal place to build a city. But the needs of trade, rather than common sense, dictated its location and here's why.

For over 5,000 years the River Boyne has been the gateway to the fertile farming land of Northern Ireland. And, over these millennia, successive waves of invaders have made the area their own. This began with the Celts. These were followed in the 10th Century by the Vikings. 200 years later the Normans arrived, having conquered Britain. But, until the late 18th century, Belfast was not much more than a small settlement around a ford in the river.

It was not until the arrival of settlers from Scotland and England, drawn by promises of land right on the waterfront that Belfast really started to grow. Today, it is Ireland's most industrialized city.

Yet it's a city that has no business being there, as it is built on mud. This mud -- known as "sleech" hereabouts -- is largely a mixture of clay and sand and covers the whole area of the city to a depth of fifty meters, before the underlying sandstone rock is found. But Belfast's founders were made of stern stuff and found a way of making a virtue out of a difficulty. The mud they dug out to create foundations was baked

itain. But, until the late 18th century, Belfast was not much more than a small settlement around a ford in the river.

It was not until the arrival of settlers from Scotland and England, drawn by promises of land right on the waterfront that Belfast really started to grow. Today, it is Ireland's most industrialized city.

Yet it's a city that has no business being there, as it is built on mud. This mud -- known as "sleech" hereabouts -- is largely a mixture of clay and sand and covers the whole area of the city to a depth of fifty meters, before the underlying sandstone rock is found. But Belfast's founders were made of stern stuff and found a way of making a virtue out of a difficulty. The mud they dug out to create foundations was bake

st really started to grow. Today, it is Ireland's most industrialized city.

Yet it's a city that has no business being there, as it is built on mud. This mud -- known as "sleech" hereabouts -- is largely a mixture of clay and sand and covers the whole area of the city to a depth of fifty meters, before the underlying sandstone rock is found. But Belfast's founders were made of stern stuff and found a way of making a virtue out of a difficulty. The mud they dug out to create foundations was bake

hole area of the city to a depth of fifty meters, before the underlying sandstone rock is found. But Belfast's founders were made of stern stuff and found a way of making a virtue out of a difficulty. The mud they dug out to create foundations was baked into bricks, which were used to build the city. Thus solved the problem of what to do with the excavated material as well as saving the expense of bringing in bricks from elsewhere.

One of Belfast's most unfortunate claims to fame is the Harland and Wolfe shipyard, where the ill-fated "Titanic" liner was built.

Nowadays, with the political wars being conducted with words rather than guns, the future looks bright for Belfast and even more piles are being driven into the sleech as more and more buildings -- nowadays more likely to be of glass and steel than of local brick -- thrust ever skyward.

Copyright 2006 Joseph Donegal and The-Best_Of_Ireland.com