The Last Day Today, January 25th, was our last day in Ireland. I think I can speak for everyone when I say this trip truly was an amazing and transformative experience. The majority of the class woke up bright and early this morning to (frantically) take our final exam. We sat down in the hotel restaurant and furiously scribbled for … Continue Reading →

Today was a beautiful day in Dublin! We have truly been lucky with weather here. Our adventure of the day was a visit of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). The GAA is a neutral stadium for the Gaelic sporting events in Ireland; specifically Gaelic football and hurling. There is a wonderful museum showcasing how the games are played as well … Continue Reading →

After spending the past five days in Dublin, it was nice to spend part of our day in Glendalough, an ancient monastery just outside of the city. Dublin is great, but the fresh air of the countryside was something I think we were all missing. The Glendalough monastery was founded by a hermit monk by the name of St. Kevin … Continue Reading →

1/22/2017: Bray and the Brazen Head Our Sunday in the Dublin area was truly magnificent. Although some people stayed in Dublin, I traveled by train with approximately 20 other people to the town of Bray, which is slightly south of the city. It is a lovely town on the coast of the Irish Sea with mountains and hiking trails. There … Continue Reading →

Today we went to the National Museum of Ireland. The museum itself is located on Kildare street just a few blocks from our hotel in the heart of Dublin. The museum contains exhibits that display prehistoric Ireland from religious treasures to objects and weapons from the Viking and Medieval periods. As well as this, the museum hosted 3 “bog bodies” … Continue Reading →

Happy Friday! This morning we took a walk through the heart of Dublin city to Trinity College in order to learn about the Book of Kells. The Book of Kells, which dates back to the 9th century, is a lavishly decorated copy of the four gospels of the life in Christ. The books, written in Latin, were composed by four … Continue Reading →

What a great first day in Dublin! It’s always exciting for us to come downstairs and experience our continental breakfast at each hotel (at least for me it is), and the O’Callaghan Mont Clare’s kitchen staff did not disappoint. After fueling for the day, we embarked on our brisk walk to the tour bus stop and made our way to … Continue Reading →

Hello from Dublin! This morning we departed from Belfast, Northern Ireland and headed south, back into the Republic. It’s a strange feeling to describe but I’m kind of glad to be back in Ireland. We made our way to Newgrange, a historical passage tomb which is over 5000 years old. It was really cool to be present in a place … Continue Reading →

Seeing Cinderella, here in Belfast at the Grand Opera House, was one of the most delightful and unexpected surprises yet. We knew we’d be seeing a play, but we had no idea we’d walk out of one full of laughter, appreciation, and sadness. Sadness because we knew we would never see anything so spectacular again. The panto didn’t just create … Continue Reading →

Today we said goodbye to Derry as we made our way to Belfast. On the way to Belfast, we quickly stopped by Royal Port Rush golf course where a few of us purchased souvenirs. Next we went to Dunluce Castle. Dunluce Castle is a castle that sits of the very northern tip of Ulster and overlooks the northern coast line. … Continue Reading →