We Build Bridges Here

Can there be a more powerful metaphor for the new Belfast than a new bridge?

I don’t think so.

That’s why I was deeply honoured to be asked to jointly open the Sam Thompson bridge across the Connswater into East Belfast this week.

Joined by First Minister Peter Robinson and Sam’s niece and nephew Abigail Dunn and Jackie Maguire, we went, in the words of the scribe’s most famous work, ‘Over the Bridge’.

There is truly something magical about bridges. Think the Golden Gate or the Brooklyn Bridge in the US, the Bridge of Sighs in Venice, the Oresund Bridge linking Sweden and Denmark, the Halfpenny Bridge in Dublin or the Peace Bridge in Derry.

All do much more than simply link A to B over an expanse of water.

So it is with the Sam Thompson Bridge. Physically, it is a bridge between Victoria Park in east Belfast and the Titanic Quarter. But spiritually, it is a bridge of hope into Belfast’s future, a bridge between our communities and a bridge between the too-often divided parts of our city.

We expect no less of the world-class Connswater Greenway project which is bringing life back into a once-neglected river stretching from the Castlereagh Hills to the Lough and making it a jewel in the crown of Belfast. Kudos to Wendy Langham of the £35m Greenway initiative and to the East Belfast Partnership for their remarkable stewardship of this visionary project.

Another week of bold bridge-building lies ahead with the first State Visit by a President of Ireland to Britain. Another welcome bridge over troubled waters.