Cave Hill is a landmark in the landscape around Belfast, named by Michael Agnew as he and Cushla Lavery looked out over the city. In their conversation, it sits alongside the shipyard cranes Samson and Goliath, joining the city’s natural features to an industrial skyline whose names invite a wry biblical comparison.

Place in the Belfast Landscape

From near Cushla’s house, the road bends past the point where Michael had disappeared the previous night and runs above the town. Along this stretch, grander houses stand in park-like grounds; farther on, fields rise toward the golf club’s fairways. Cave Hill is also part of the cityscape Michael points out to Cushla, giving the surrounding landscape a recognizable landmark within their conversation.

The Landmark and the City’s Names

Michael draws Cushla’s attention to Cave Hill and to Samson and Goliath, the cranes in the shipyard. He remarks that only in Belfast would mechanical devices be given biblical names. The comparison makes the landmark part of a broader view of the city: its natural terrain and its industrial structures share the same frame, while the cranes’ names lend the skyline an unexpectedly scriptural character.