Yup, he found out it paid better than tying a note to a brick, saying "Brick through the window? Call Murphy's Glazing!" and then chucking it through people's windows...
I only had a cup of tea in the coffee shop of the Europa in 1996; I already knew it had been the most bombed hotel in Europe. Somehow, the atmosphere of the place invoked a kind of relaxed alertness in all who went there. In Northern Ireland, for the short time I was there, I received genuine kindness and interest from both major communities. Thank you, Hotel Europa. :)
Yeah me too. Always got a warm welcome when I went there on business in the early eighties. Just for showing up! I wrote loads of business as a result.
My father worked in it many years ago, after a while of bombing, the staff used to just get on with their work after the all clear and continue serving the people staying there.
You had too, for us it was normal when you live with it every day ! The doors would lock automatically and we were trapped inside ….. so u just got on with it and tried to keep everyone calm 👍
@@littlebrayutd I'm sorry to hear that. Sadly he put the lives of everyone inside it at risk, including the life of my father, (a nationalist from west Belfast) all the staff and indeed all the people staying there. When you think of where we are now as a people here, what did it achieve him in the end. Scriosamar muid féin mar gheall orainn féin.
My wife and I had our wedding ceremony and reception in the Europa in 1993. We had booked the Panoramic suite, which essentially was the top floor, primarily made of glass. Unfortunately a number of weeks before our wedding, someone decided to put a bomb in a side street of the hotel, and devasted the place. The Panoramic suite no longer existed! The hotel sorted out a plan for another room, and we just rolled up our sleeves and had a great day. We understand our church ceremony was the first such event in the Europa. We're approaching our 28th anniversary. A beautiful hotel, in lots and lots of ways.
@CRAM MARC now this is come from a friend that actually lives in the are but Ardglass is still classed as a red zone due to it being a completely Catholic town.
This is the strangest thing, I was talking to my parents earlier (they are considering a trip to Ireland) I mentioned all the great things there are to see and how warm and friendly the people are. I told a story of the time I visited Belfast and my pal who I was with (from Cork) saw a band in the pub round the corner from the Hotel and I told him it was the most bombed hotel in the world as we went past. This just popped up on my UA-cam feed. 👀
Spent 9 years working here seen three bombs and the last one too just couldn’t take any more , but it set me up for my life in business , great place to work and if I can remember it had the best evacuation procedure for any modern hotel 👏
Don’t know when u where there but in 74 they used to lock us in and we had to get out through the cellar where the washing was I thought it was chaos 😱
NOT TRUE. The NIO only paid out a percentage of what was lost. The formulae for different types of business were published, so no room for silly conspiracies.
@Mike please tell me your not that ignorant of the detailed facts as laid out from the publicly available documents my friend... Or are you one of these people of society who fell that what ever they believe is a fact, is a fact because of your constructed beliefs.. There is tens of thousands of written documents detailing what was paid out by the Northern Ireland office. If you had requested any of them and read them you would not have made the dumb comment you did. A conspiracy has zero todo with the subject flip me. The fact you used that word shows the way you perceive things, as clearly your not aware of the meaning of the word conspiracy my friend. It was also widely know that many many extremely successful construction businesses of Northern Ireland made all their money. Contracts handed out from the destruction of property, Billy Hastings used to personally brag about what bought his lamborghini countach flip sake. The hotel was entitled to claim for everything from new knives and forks to lost money in bookings ... I suggest you read more books my friend. And learn the place to use the word conspiracy .
"Catholic Republican minority..." it appears the film-maker lacked appreciation of the subtle distinction of nationalists vs unionists and republicans vs loyalists on a couple of occasions. Not befit of an Aljazeera production.
Agree, 2 minutes in an the first majority/minority comment is incorrect. I didn’t have much faith in the rest of the credibility of the documentary after that.
@@FutureBoyWonder catholics were more LIKELY to be republicans/nationalists but this isn’t always true, most early republicans were Protestants and still to this day there are Protestant republicans and nationalists, the same with catholic unionists and loyalists. Some specific groups will have less tolerance of catholics/Protestants joining, but religion has nowhere near the hold on people that nationalist/unionist identity politics does
@@FutureBoyWonder Nah, a lot of very famous Irish republicans, such as Wolfe Tone, were protestants. Catholics are more likely to be nationalists, but not all Catholics are. Same with protestants. It's not about religion, but about people's national & political identities
Look up ronnie bunting, his father was high up in ruc, He was prodstand republican socialist, he joined the inla, founded by a fella from my area, Little bray co wicklow /Dublin border,,, they were as Ruthless than Catholic ira,,, inla was real mixed bag of killers
@@lemeos6551 every day they would be blown out we had a Workshop just for replacing the windows one day the one guy was putting new ones in and a bomb went off again he had the glass all sticking out of his back like a hedgehog 😱
Google......IRELANDS FALSE ECONOMY There wont be an EU in 5 to 10 years....Ireland will be seeking closer ties to its closest trading partner......the UK.
Was walking about fifty yards past it with Girlfriend when it was blown up, felt pressure on back of legs and glass from windows above fell around us but we did not get hurt.
This aggravates me. I prefer it when locals show the things that we're proud of (not that we're not proud of the Europa). There are many, many things arounds this island that is not associated with our dark PAST (it was last bombed, don't forget, almost 30 years ago!!!). It would be akin to us going to Australia & asking the locals where their convict relatives were buried...........
@@CartePostale. I get you but it was 25 years ago that I went driving around the whole of Northern Ireland while I was living in the South and first visited Belfast. Don’t worry about offending Aussies about their convict roots most likely they’d be chuffed by their history! Looking forward to returning to Northern Ireland soon ☺️
I would have said, "Thank you" also were it not for the fact that the video was put up by Al Jazeera. This news group is based in Qatar & they've been sanctioned by many countries for allegedly hiding terrorists & those that fund them. Rather ironic....?
“The Irish Minority who saw themselves as oppressed” Saw themselves? By every definition of the word - they were. Thankfully, no longer a minority either. The Troubles in Belfast were a result of British occupation in Ireland - no two ways about it.
A real symbol of triumph over adversity. I stayed in the Europa a few years ago and feel proud that it still stands despite all the attempts to destroy it.
The full facts about the 'troubles' will never be officially revealed because they would be much too devastating to the Establishment i.e. British Intelligence role in 'the troubles', including the top politicians who authorised the collusion with loyalist death squads and their role in the many murders, bombings due to their paid informants in all the paramilitary groups. UK state broadcaster BBC used a Panorama program to pin the blame for collusion on a retired army general who was the top army general at the time. Utterly absurd of course that such a massive operation could have operated without knowledge, authority and instructions from Downing Street, Thatcher, etc.
Just a wee bit of northern Irish humor here, a week after the Europa hotel was open to the public my wife and I went to see this splendid building, we were seated by a member of the staff and ordered drinks and once I seen the bill I almost had a heart attack, it's the one and only time we drank there.😂✌
The full facts about the 'troubles' will never be officially revealed because they would be much too devastating to the Establishment i.e. British Intelligence role in 'the troubles', including the top politicians who authorised the collusion with loyalist death squads and their role in the many murders, bombings due to their paid informants in all the paramilitary groups. UK state broadcaster BBC used a Panorama program to pin the blame for collusion on a retired army general who was the top army general at the time. Utterly absurd of course that such a massive operation could have operated without knowledge, authority and instructions from Downing Street, Thatcher, etc.
I'm surprised it was never called civil war; it may not have killed as many as modern wars ( Iraq, the current situation in Israel, etc.). For the intensive purpose it was one some it spilt into the republic and mainland Britain
One side seen it as a Civil War, the other side seen it as a war against a foreign enemy. Hard to classify a name for that, so they settled with "The Troubles".
Mainland Britain? What are you taking about. Majority of people in the north's mainland is the e.u. typical uneducated comment. Its the 21st century not the 18th century
It was a phycological terrorist war.... We kids of that time had no compassion of rest of UK or world but now a terrorists or promoter of such cry and get world sympathy..
@@musashidanmcgrath They wouldn't have been here had they not been invited by nationalists......... Welcomed as freedom fighters, "Operation Motorman" ended that notion when the British army refused to accept that certain nationalist areas were "no-go". The barricades were demolished &, suddenly, Brits became the enemy.
Again this is another narrative based on a British version of Irish events. The conflict in the north of Ireland was between the sectarian, colonial state and the British military, alongside unionist paramilitary mobs, against the nationalist people. To speak of events in the context of an existing six-county sectarian entity is utterly wrong. The conflict in the north was a continuation of Ireland's struggle against British colonialism and its colonial structure.
@@michaeljohnson7929 It's not ignorance at all. The fact is, the six-counties are in the north of Ireland, our country. Britain imposed a border in our country, illegitimately, in 1921 calling the north-eastern part Northern Ireland, but it remains the north of Ireland, and it is still our country. Most people in Ireland do not use the British title when referring to the north, as we do not share the false British narrative regarding Britain's colonial role in Ireland. Colonial settler entities are not legitimate and never were. The six-counties will be returned to the Irish people and it will end the poisonous, British empire sectarianism upon which the six-county state was founded.
@@mikki3562 have you studied anything relating to partition in ireland? If you did, you'd know that partition was legal and was accepted by the irish government (after a civil war) and that they gave up their last claims to northern ireland under the terms of the good Friday agreement. I wouldn't mention "colonial settlers" because that's a rabbit hole you don't want to jump down. The fact is, Northern ireland is a core part of the UK and has never been part of the Repiblic of ireland. Saying it isn't doesn't make it true.
Speaking as someone who lived there, and was evacuated from the Europa twice, i can tell you: there was no sectarian war in Northern Ireland. This was what the British government in collusion with the media called the conflict. The war in Northern Ireland was between the IRA and Crown Forces.
Speaking as someone who knows more than you do. What occurred was a sectarian terrorist campaign by criminal gangs who got rich on drugs, prostitution etc etc with one knee on their own people, that is still on their people's necks.
Do the views of this video realise that the Protestant unionists are a colonial colony of the British. The Irish in this area of Ireland were driven off the land to make way for them. That is why we share and give so much support to the Palestinian people and their struggle against tyranny.
@@michaeljohnson7929 stolen land and the oppression of its people will never be forgotten nor forgiven but for a northern protestant to recognise the wrongs of the past and embrace a united Ireland there is plenty of space for her or she.
I'm an Irish Unionist born and breed in Northern Ireland and I have both a British and Irish Passports (as given by the Good Friday Agreement 1998) and will tell you I'm not going anywhere. I'm just as Irish as people living in the Republic of Ireland its just that I support the UK.
@@plugsocket9432 You are a rarity an Irish Unionist. People don't see any benefit to us being a middleman between the two. We have access to E.U. and U.K. we are sitting at the best position after brexit. N.I. has the cake and can eat it. We are financially dependent on the U.K. and those who wish for a U.I. don't realise the cost of upkeep.. They won't pay to take us back as they can't afford it. We are better staying in the Union, even if brexit has created the sea border it means nothing in terms of U.I.
All this "documentary" did was highlight just how little British people know about the history of there own country. They love to teach there children about the atrocities committed by america or the ones committed by the ira but never about the ones committed by themselves in a vain attempt to sweep the empire under the rug.
When you hear this kind of stories, it makes you appreciate a city, where you grew up, being safe. In my case, it was a very big, but completely safe and not poor city. P.S. The attackers were insane.
Believe it or not it was safer back in the day. Now Belfast is full of people taking drugs in the city centre. You wouldn't have got that years ago. But I wouldn't live anywhere else. Grew up in the troubles and it was normal for us.
You should know that a great number of the people of the 6 counties never saw any trouble at all. Just like in America (where we also have a home) one can live peacefully, as long as one stays out of gang-controlled areas, etc, it was the same in Ireland. As my mother used to say if there was a news report of rioters getting injured, "If they'd been at home, under their own roof or doing good somewhere, instead of throwing petrol bombs or bombing businesses belonging to BOTH catholics & protestants, they wouldn't have been there to get into the crossfire in the first place".
@Carte Postale yes I imagine that's true, but a lot of people were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. If you lived in certain areas, it wasn't really avoidable. I grew up down the falls, seen a lot, was caught up in a few hairy situations through no fault my own, some of them were at my place of work. Still, it was the norm for us, and we survived and knew no different. I still love Belfast. Catholics and Protestants have more in common than they think, and my best friends are Protestant and I love them dearly. We all eventually move on.
Absolutely great piece, but if I ever have to listen to that Scottish historian calling it the 'Hotel Europa' again, I swear by all that's holy, I'm going to hunt him down and re-arrange his....... words lol
@@jackiemainz2759 I don't drive but let me apologize for though that do that has to drive to and from work especially those that work as care workers 😒 you might aswell but one in every town and city then better get you're tools out then them tolls isn't gonna build them
My office is alongside The Europa, I can see it as I type. Billy Hastings really was amazing for just keeping on despite what happened. I have to say though, I would have thought there would be a hotel in Beirut during the 1982 Lebanon War that got it worse in a shorter period! But that's not Europe of course.
BELOW Zakaria Ali well thats a good Irish name me thinks .. of course you know much about the conflict? I had friends from both sides of the conflict ... really nasty period I am curious if NI is a better place to live now -
The window contractor struck a gold mine.
We had are own contractors, because every day maybe two three windows would blow out 😍
Yup, he found out it paid better than tying a note to a brick, saying "Brick through the window? Call Murphy's Glazing!" and then chucking it through people's windows...
😂😂
“Stay at Europa! You’ll have a Blast!”
Yeah a bomb of a time 🤣🤣🤣
Says colonel Saunders
@@ivanbrown7650 you sound so ignorant. But with a name like Ivan you never were destined for much.
@@juliusnewman2094 really pal 😂
I’ve been inside once or twice, it’s actually pretty good
'Maybe we should wait a little bit down the road?' my friend said as we stood for a bus outside the most bombed hotel in Europe.
And to those of us who think nothing of walking in the streets around the Europa or have dinner there - we never give it a second thought 🙂.
I only had a cup of tea in the coffee shop of the Europa in 1996; I already knew it had been the most bombed hotel in Europe. Somehow, the atmosphere of the place invoked a kind of relaxed alertness in all who went there. In Northern Ireland, for the short time I was there, I received genuine kindness and interest from both major communities. Thank you, Hotel Europa. :)
Yeah me too. Always got a warm welcome when I went there on business in the early eighties. Just for showing up! I wrote loads of business as a result.
The First Hotel in the World with Air Conditioning. It never had windows half the time.
May we never go back to these times 🇮🇪🇬🇧
My father worked in it many years ago, after a while of bombing, the staff used to just get on with their work after the all clear and continue serving the people staying there.
You had too, for us it was normal when you live with it every day ! The doors would lock automatically and we were trapped inside ….. so u just got on with it and tried to keep everyone calm 👍
I knew a guy who worked there, and he told me about the boming and how the staff got on with things, as you said. lol
@@littlebrayutd I'm sorry to hear that. Sadly he put the lives of everyone inside it at risk, including the life of my father, (a nationalist from west Belfast) all the staff and indeed all the people staying there. When you think of where we are now as a people here, what did it achieve him in the end. Scriosamar muid féin mar gheall orainn féin.
@@ULHIS noting brother,, just lot of angry young people, wound up and let go,,,,,,,,
@tomtom. My grandad owned the hotel. Harper brown and sally brown
My wife and I had our wedding ceremony and reception in the Europa in 1993.
We had booked the Panoramic suite, which essentially was the top floor, primarily made of glass.
Unfortunately a number of weeks before our wedding, someone decided to put a bomb in a side street of the hotel, and devasted the place.
The Panoramic suite no longer existed!
The hotel sorted out a plan for another room, and we just rolled up our sleeves and had a great day.
We understand our church ceremony was the first such event in the Europa.
We're approaching our 28th anniversary.
A beautiful hotel, in lots and lots of ways.
I wish you both a happy marriage my friend.
may this dark chapter of history never repeat itself.
Well it still kinda does in Northern Ireland
@@reececridland8922 not like it was but so hopefully it stays like that
@@jakewallace1664 oh yeah, not like the 70's but I know certain areas of NI are still classed as red zones
@CRAM MARC now this is come from a friend that actually lives in the are but Ardglass is still classed as a red zone due to it being a completely Catholic town.
@@reececridland8922 wouldn’t the split towns be more dangerous?
This is the strangest thing, I was talking to my parents earlier (they are considering a trip to Ireland) I mentioned all the great things there are to see and how warm and friendly the people are. I told a story of the time I visited Belfast and my pal who I was with (from Cork) saw a band in the pub round the corner from the Hotel and I told him it was the most bombed hotel in the world as we went past. This just popped up on my UA-cam feed. 👀
I pased by it today . I new it was bombed a few times but didnt no how much. Structural engineer should be given an award
The exact count: Between 1970-1994, it was bombed a total of 33 times.
I've seen bigger boxes
He hasn't seen many boxes in his time.
Fr wtf is that dude talkin about? it's at knee height
This man obviously doesn't have a chest freezer in his life....
Bigger boxes with bombs in them??
@@hannahgriffin5805 he never said that
I came up from Dublin in the 60's to do s job in Belfast. We stayed in that hotel. Had a great time there. No problem.
Spent 9 years working here seen three bombs and the last one too just couldn’t take any more , but it set me up for my life in business , great place to work and if I can remember it had the best evacuation procedure for any modern hotel 👏
Don’t know when u where there but in 74 they used to lock us in and we had to get out through the cellar where the washing was I thought it was chaos 😱
@@hablin1 was Joe the cellar man back then ?
So what was that.. Run
The hotel made a huge fortune out of being bombed through compensation from the NI office.. so its constant destruction made it alot of money.
Like the people who used to tell voda their phone got stolen, and they get a new one. Sell the old one in Africa or Asia on your next holiday.
NOT TRUE. The NIO only paid out a percentage of what was lost. The formulae for different types of business were published, so no room for silly conspiracies.
@Mike please tell me your not that ignorant of the detailed facts as laid out from the publicly available documents my friend...
Or are you one of these people of society who fell that what ever they believe is a fact, is a fact because of your constructed beliefs..
There is tens of thousands of written documents detailing what was paid out by the Northern Ireland office. If you had requested any of them and read them you would not have made the dumb comment you did. A conspiracy has zero todo with the subject flip me. The fact you used that word shows the way you perceive things, as clearly your not aware of the meaning of the word conspiracy my friend.
It was also widely know that many many extremely successful construction businesses of Northern Ireland made all their money.
Contracts handed out from the destruction of property, Billy Hastings used to personally brag about what bought his lamborghini countach flip sake. The hotel was entitled to claim for everything from new knives and forks to lost money in bookings ...
I suggest you read more books my friend. And learn the place to use the word conspiracy .
That’s a bit stupid !!!! So how could they make money out of the bombs if they had to spend money to fix it ???
"Catholic Republican minority..." it appears the film-maker lacked appreciation of the subtle distinction of nationalists vs unionists and republicans vs loyalists on a couple of occasions. Not befit of an Aljazeera production.
Agree, 2 minutes in an the first majority/minority comment is incorrect. I didn’t have much faith in the rest of the credibility of the documentary after that.
@@FutureBoyWonder catholics were more LIKELY to be republicans/nationalists but this isn’t always true, most early republicans were Protestants and still to this day there are Protestant republicans and nationalists, the same with catholic unionists and loyalists. Some specific groups will have less tolerance of catholics/Protestants joining, but religion has nowhere near the hold on people that nationalist/unionist identity politics does
@@FutureBoyWonder Nah, a lot of very famous Irish republicans, such as Wolfe Tone, were protestants. Catholics are more likely to be nationalists, but not all Catholics are. Same with protestants. It's not about religion, but about people's national & political identities
Look up ronnie bunting, his father was high up in ruc,
He was prodstand republican socialist, he joined the inla, founded by a fella from my area,
Little bray co wicklow /Dublin border,,, they were as Ruthless than Catholic ira,,, inla was real mixed bag of killers
Stayed theyre last night, unbelievable service, staff are really friendly, wouod highly recommend it to anyone,, had a great night 💯👌
Fine city Belfast , from a irishman , Could possibly be one of the best cities in the uk .
Derry is also a very nice city too.
Ireland not UK
@@johndoherty5194 it is in the UK though
@@tobyarmstrong474 Ireland is not in the UK you moron, I should know I live here....
@@memetopia5130 I was talking about Belfast lol, nice jumping to conclusions, idiot
This is a beautiful documentary ..I'll never be there my self but the video made it feel like it. Great watch ! Thank you
I worked on reception for two years ….. my nerves where shattered!
So were the windows.
@@lemeos6551 every day they would be blown out we had a Workshop just for replacing the windows one day the one guy was putting new ones in and a bomb went off again he had the glass all sticking out of his back like a hedgehog 😱
@@hablin1 when was this?
@@jordanpilcher5528 1974 😍
I enjoyed all previous war hotels documentaries thanks for this one.
I love where this series is heading.
The IRA didn’t target the hotel because “it was a symbol of progress in Belfast”🤦🏽♂️
You we're lucky to had a job in "window replacements" back then. There was always enough bombs going off so you we're never short of work lol
Europa hotel is a harbinger of good days to come as NI will be integrated with the EU and reunited with Ireland.
what an ironically positive perspective lol
Google......IRELANDS FALSE ECONOMY
There wont be an EU in 5 to 10 years....Ireland will be seeking closer ties to its closest trading partner......the UK.
even that job was dangerous ..
@@justdogood7413 what a foolish statement...
I stood in awe looking at this hotel today. Wow. Just wow. Got a train to catch.
Was walking about fifty yards past it with Girlfriend when it was blown up, felt pressure on back of legs and glass from windows above fell around us but we did not get hurt.
Went to see the most bombed hotel in world, the Europa on advice from a cheery policeman who thought us Aussies needed a history lesson ☺️
This aggravates me. I prefer it when locals show the things that we're proud of (not that we're not proud of the Europa). There are many, many things arounds this island that is not associated with our dark PAST (it was last bombed, don't forget, almost 30 years ago!!!). It would be akin to us going to Australia & asking the locals where their convict relatives were buried...........
@@CartePostale. I get you but it was 25 years ago that I went driving around the whole of Northern Ireland while I was living in the South and first visited Belfast. Don’t worry about offending Aussies about their convict roots most likely they’d be chuffed by their history! Looking forward to returning to Northern Ireland soon ☺️
Had a University formal there, was lovely, no bombs, all good.
Yea I had a NYE formal party there once.
Jaegerbombs maybe
@@brianmckee2267 😂
That’s the building of hopes! Thank you for this video🙏🏻
I would have said, "Thank you" also were it not for the fact that the video was put up by Al Jazeera. This news group is based in Qatar & they've been sanctioned by many countries for allegedly hiding terrorists & those that fund them. Rather ironic....?
“The Irish minority who saw themselves as oppressed” ? They were oppressed.
I stayed there many years back and thought it was actually one of the best hotels I've been in. Very modern and sharp now.
Aren't we blessed, we didn't lose any of these wonderful journalist's
“The Irish Minority who saw themselves as oppressed”
Saw themselves? By every definition of the word - they were.
Thankfully, no longer a minority either.
The Troubles in Belfast were a result of British occupation in Ireland - no two ways about it.
The Irish were oppressing Protestants, killing mothers, fathers and children though Sinn Fein say there was no alternative
Yes, including by their armed criminal masters, the PIRA.
@@In-Christ-Alone that was after it started go Learn some history little orange man ye should have stayed home
A real symbol of triumph over adversity. I stayed in the Europa a few years ago and feel proud that it still stands despite all the attempts to destroy it.
The full facts about the 'troubles' will never be officially revealed because they would be much too devastating to the Establishment i.e. British Intelligence role in 'the troubles', including the top politicians who authorised the collusion with loyalist death squads and their role in the many murders, bombings due to their paid informants in all the paramilitary groups. UK state broadcaster BBC used a Panorama program to pin the blame for collusion on a retired army general who was the top army general at the time. Utterly absurd of course that such a massive operation could have operated without knowledge, authority and instructions from Downing Street, Thatcher, etc.
@@patm6704 It was a dirty war for sure, but at last we can stay at the Europa without fear of murdering psychos bombing it. The good guys won.
@@stukafaust Who is the good guys?
@@BadDubII Those who stand up to such barbarism as bombing a civilian hotel are the good guys.
@@stukafaust Yeah bombings are bad obviously but who exactly are you referring too? the British?
Had a pint in it recently, £4.80... outrageous
What do you expect from a hotel?
How recently the sister hotel is 8 quid for a Guinness
I stayed there last year cause I got a room bought as a gift. The fire alarms went off shortly after dinner service. Phenomenal stuff.
Just a wee bit of northern Irish humor here, a week after the Europa hotel was open to the public my wife and I went to see this splendid building, we were seated by a member of the staff and ordered drinks and once I seen the bill I almost had a heart attack, it's the one and only time we drank there.😂✌
With price like that can you blame them for blowing it up.🤣
Steven Mckeown had it coming
Where is the humour in that? It seems just a matter of fact statement to be honest
@@paulflah4562 Exactly, it doesn't say much for Northern Irish humour. Still, it explains some of the bombings.
11:15 "massive damage to the nearby grand victoria railway station." That should be Great Victoria Station.
In the mid 90's the owners spent £8m on renovations that made it bomb proof. Shortly after there was a ceasefire and then the peace process. 🤷
I have fond memories of when I worked there, oh the stories one could tell🤩
Well, then share some 😁
Would your surname begin with the letter H?
“Saw themselves as oppressed”.... so the NI civil rights movement was for nothing? Spoken like a true imperialist.
My sentiments exactly.
No looney tunes.....its how an objective reporter operates.
My mother worked here during the Troubles
The full facts about the 'troubles' will never be officially revealed because they would be much too devastating to the Establishment i.e. British Intelligence role in 'the troubles', including the top politicians who authorised the collusion with loyalist death squads and their role in the many murders, bombings due to their paid informants in all the paramilitary groups. UK state broadcaster BBC used a Panorama program to pin the blame for collusion on a retired army general who was the top army general at the time. Utterly absurd of course that such a massive operation could have operated without knowledge, authority and instructions from Downing Street, Thatcher, etc.
I remember hearing Billy connolly talking about this hotel in 1 off his stand up shows years ago
I'm surprised it was never called civil war; it may not have killed as many as modern wars ( Iraq, the current situation in Israel, etc.).
For the intensive purpose it was one some it spilt into the republic and mainland Britain
One side seen it as a Civil War, the other side seen it as a war against a foreign enemy. Hard to classify a name for that, so they settled with "The Troubles".
Mainland Britain? What are you taking about. Majority of people in the north's mainland is the e.u. typical uneducated comment. Its the 21st century not the 18th century
It was a phycological terrorist war.... We kids of that time had no compassion of rest of UK or world but now a terrorists or promoter of such cry and get world sympathy..
The civil war was in the 1920s. The 'Troubles' seen here were not a civil war as the British army were a foreign occupying army.
@@musashidanmcgrath They wouldn't have been here had they not been invited by nationalists......... Welcomed as freedom fighters, "Operation Motorman" ended that notion when the British army refused to accept that certain nationalist areas were "no-go". The barricades were demolished &, suddenly, Brits became the enemy.
Stayed there once. I had a blast.
i literally live less than 500 meters away from the Europa
I'm sorry
That’s fine, they don’t have a bomb big enough.
I clicked on this video thinking "bombed" was a metaphor
How many windows did they have to replace?
All windows where replaced and the apprentices spent their entire working apprenticeship in this hotel
I hope this video blows up
Amazing documentary. Am glad they found Peace in the end.
England should leave Northern Ireland
@@danoneall4013
🤘🤓🥃
Sla'inte!
@@danoneall4013
WTF ?
England ?
Its British/Northern Irish people in N Ireland.
You must be an American, you're usually the ones with stupid comments.
@@Drifty40 - British
English.
England.
Brits should leave Northern Ireland.
Stop occupation of Northern Ireland
@@danoneall4013
You're an idiot. lol
Stick to American politics, you might know more about them.
After staying you can nip over to the Crown Bar which must be "the most shrapnel hit bar in Europe"
Very pretty bar
Why is there still a lack of security in one of the most "bombed" hotels in Europe?
Insurance companies: "Aw not this f*cker again charge premium."
Nowadays the room pillows have mints on them rather than bombs under them.
Again this is another narrative based on a British version of Irish events. The conflict in the north of Ireland was between the sectarian, colonial state and the British military, alongside unionist paramilitary mobs, against the nationalist people. To speak of events in the context of an existing six-county sectarian entity is utterly wrong. The conflict in the north was a continuation of Ireland's struggle against British colonialism and its colonial structure.
Ireland got independence, it's own currency and economy in 1921.
Then proceeded to hand it all over to Brussels rule instead.
North of Ireland (facepalm).
The fact you keep calling it the North of Ireland shows how ignorant you are.
@@michaeljohnson7929 It's not ignorance at all. The fact is, the six-counties are in the north of Ireland, our country. Britain imposed a border in our country, illegitimately, in 1921 calling the north-eastern part Northern Ireland, but it remains the north of Ireland, and it is still our country. Most people in Ireland do not use the British title when referring to the north, as we do not share the false British narrative regarding Britain's colonial role in Ireland. Colonial settler entities are not legitimate and never were. The six-counties will be returned to the Irish people and it will end the poisonous, British empire sectarianism upon which the six-county state was founded.
@@mikki3562 have you studied anything relating to partition in ireland? If you did, you'd know that partition was legal and was accepted by the irish government (after a civil war) and that they gave up their last claims to northern ireland under the terms of the good Friday agreement. I wouldn't mention "colonial settlers" because that's a rabbit hole you don't want to jump down. The fact is, Northern ireland is a core part of the UK and has never been part of the Repiblic of ireland. Saying it isn't doesn't make it true.
I'll give that to the fenians, they made fcking great bombs.
Speaking as someone who lived there, and was evacuated from the Europa twice, i can tell you: there was no sectarian war in Northern Ireland. This was what the British government in collusion with the media called the conflict. The war in Northern Ireland was between the IRA and Crown Forces.
Speaking as someone who knows more than you do. What occurred was a sectarian terrorist campaign by criminal gangs who got rich on drugs, prostitution etc etc with one knee on their own people, that is still on their people's necks.
@@Mike7O7O dirty brit spreading your dirty lies. Up the ra
Belfast isn't Northern Ireland's largest city. Belfast is just Ireland's 2nd largest city
And you just need to up your meds.
Arguably better than Dublin
Do the views of this video realise that the Protestant unionists are a colonial colony of the British. The Irish in this area of Ireland were driven off the land to make way for them. That is why we share and give so much support to the Palestinian people and their struggle against tyranny.
That’s the past, now they are a mix of both British and Irish. Protestants living in NI are Irish, don’t kid yourself.
@@michaeljohnson7929 stolen land and the oppression of its people will never be forgotten nor forgiven but for a northern protestant to recognise the wrongs of the past and embrace a united Ireland there is plenty of space for her or she.
monarch of the Glen that isn’t going to happen, NI people want to be in the United Kingdom. Land was stolen throughout history and changed hands.
I'm an Irish Unionist born and breed in Northern Ireland and I have both a British and Irish Passports (as given by the Good Friday Agreement 1998) and will tell you I'm not going anywhere. I'm just as Irish as people living in the Republic of Ireland its just that I support the UK.
@@plugsocket9432 You are a rarity an Irish Unionist.
People don't see any benefit to us being a middleman between the two. We have access to E.U. and U.K. we are sitting at the best position after brexit. N.I. has the cake and can eat it.
We are financially dependent on the U.K. and those who wish for a U.I. don't realise the cost of upkeep.. They won't pay to take us back as they can't afford it. We are better staying in the Union, even if brexit has created the sea border it means nothing in terms of U.I.
All this "documentary" did was highlight just how little British people know about the history of there own country. They love to teach there children about the atrocities committed by america or the ones committed by the ira but never about the ones committed by themselves in a vain attempt to sweep the empire under the rug.
Al Jazeera is Qatari
That was fascinating.
The funny thing about is there was a clothes shop across the road from it that sold bomber jackets 😂😂😂
Allied carpets feeling jealous.
I love the Europa Hotel lots off fond memories x
That box wasn't THAT big...
Nice documentary
It must be a real blast working at that hotel.
Grand hotel in Brighton was more of a blast of a work environment
finally a documentary on this
A completely bias documentary made by Brits
When you hear this kind of stories, it makes you appreciate a city, where you grew up, being safe. In my case, it was a very big, but completely safe and not poor city. P.S. The attackers were insane.
Believe it or not it was safer back in the day. Now Belfast is full of people taking drugs in the city centre. You wouldn't have got that years ago. But I wouldn't live anywhere else. Grew up in the troubles and it was normal for us.
You should know that a great number of the people of the 6 counties never saw any trouble at all. Just like in America (where we also have a home) one can live peacefully, as long as one stays out of gang-controlled areas, etc, it was the same in Ireland. As my mother used to say if there was a news report of rioters getting injured, "If they'd been at home, under their own roof or doing good somewhere, instead of throwing petrol bombs or bombing businesses belonging to BOTH catholics & protestants, they wouldn't have been there to get into the crossfire in the first place".
@Carte Postale yes I imagine that's true, but a lot of people were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. If you lived in certain areas, it wasn't really avoidable. I grew up down the falls, seen a lot, was caught up in a few hairy situations through no fault my own, some of them were at my place of work. Still, it was the norm for us, and we survived and knew no different. I still love Belfast. Catholics and Protestants have more in common than they think, and my best friends are Protestant and I love them dearly. We all eventually move on.
I worked there in the 80s the second floor I worked has a ghost in room 212 apparently a teacher took her life by jumping out the window
I hope you pray for God's mercy upon her soul. She sounds sad and lost. She needs your prayers.
4:17 Martin bell said Derry. It always was Derry!
London
UP the RA 🇮🇪
You mean up the Terrorists you mean
When was the new stone facade built then?
Stayed in it many years ago.
I mean just give northern Ireland back to Ireland. Why keep a smidget of it? *Why?*
I really don’t see why they would keep it, it barely contributes to the economy and is just a hassle.
@@haroldinho9930 Democracy mean anything to you?
I stayed there. Nice hotel!
That's nice and all but do they rent out the floors on the bottom floor?
Me at Belfast airport calling a taxi:
Take me to my hotel.... The most bombed hotel in Europe. I have my bomb proof vest on.... 😃😃
Londonderry is the only word in the English language with six silent letters🇮🇪🇮🇪
Make one documentary on Al-Rashid hotel,Iraq.
King David Hotel in Palestine too.
more fluffy coverage of the troubles from journalist who are too scared or too thick to talk to the actually people involved in them
My grandfather was one of the first to blow it up,,,, He was driving the delivery lorry that was hijacked and told to drive the bomb in. 🤭😂😂😂
Still standing.
I worked on the electrical installation way back then
For such a small province it was mayhem people getting abducted off the streets and slaughtered
Absolutely great piece, but if I ever have to listen to that Scottish historian calling it the 'Hotel Europa' again, I swear by all that's holy, I'm going to hunt him down and re-arrange his....... words lol
A bomb is some kind of joke
You mostly walk/drive past it in Belfast if you know where it is
Wish we had a toll road on the motorway keep yas from stinking up our motorways having us in traffic jams
@@jackiemainz2759 I don't drive but let me apologize for though that do that has to drive to and from work especially those that work as care workers 😒 you might aswell but one in every town and city then better get you're tools out then them tolls isn't gonna build them
Ironic. Europe was the goal. Brexit is the reality. Ireland unite soon.
@Jeremy Kaleb ireland is united in all but colonial domination refusal to admit.
I dare to arguem, how about Sarajevo's Holiday Inn hotel...
This is an oddly inaccurate way to frame the Troubles... Progress and its symbols were never the issue - it was, and is, colonialism, and its impact
i had lunch in the Europa belfast today
Stayed there in 1998.
Dr Phil brought me here.
My office is alongside The Europa, I can see it as I type. Billy Hastings really was amazing for just keeping on despite what happened.
I have to say though, I would have thought there would be a hotel in Beirut during the 1982 Lebanon War that got it worse in a shorter period! But that's not Europe of course.
Hopefully we get an episode of this from newly freed Ukraine. I can only imagine the horrors going on in those hotels😢
To be enemy of usa is dangerous to be a friend its fatel 😅
is it 2 for 1 discount
Oh to be a glazer back then , imagine the kick backs 😂
BELOW Zakaria Ali well thats a good Irish name me thinks .. of course you know much about the conflict? I had friends from both sides of the conflict ... really nasty period I am curious if NI is a better place to live now -
Absolutely, tensions are still simmering but its NOTHING like what it was
Thanks Allah at that time no Islamic group is fighting,otherwise the blame blindly goes to it...