The Island

The Island in Lisburn sits in the middle of the Lagan; on one side, the river cascades down a weir, the other has been dredged and fortified into a section of canal, The canal linked the city to the fledgling port of Belfast in the 18th century; at that time, Belfast was on the up & up while Lisburn was the market centre of the linen industry for the North.

Anyway, come 1999 this short section of the canal was rejuvenated, the locks reconstructed and the island transformed into an arts centre as part of Lisburn's progress toward "city" status which it gained in 2002.

Of course since then the focus of the city has moved elsewhere and now the standing water in the canal has become choked by duckweed encouraged by the warm weather. Its tempting to see this as a metaphor but for what? maybe a few too many choices. Between each of the trees in the avenue is a huge stone ball and a plaque bearing the name of one of the cities elders; yet another metaphor begging the question.