Today, we went to the National Museum of Ireland, which was just a quick five-minute walk from our hotel. At the museum, there is a very large exhibition called “The Treasury.” This consists of many unique and important artifacts that have been recovered to help retell the history of Ireland from the Iron Age to early medieval times. The collection … Continue Reading
UCD National Irish Folklore Collection After deciding on Irish Folklore as my research project, I began combing through Trinity and UCD's faculty indexes in search of a possible professor to interview. UCD is home to the School of Irish, Celtic Studies, Irish Folklore and Linguistics, and it is much bigger than I imagined. I located a professor who's concentration … Continue Reading
_______________________________ On Sunday, January 25th, I went to the Museum of Natural History which was just a short walk from our hotel. The museum did not cost anything to enter which was great, however two floors are currently closed, and it is home to exhibits on Irish mammals and plants as well as mammals from around the world. The … Continue Reading
As I sit here reflecting on my last days, last moments really, in Ireland I've tried to consider which adventures I hope to remember for years to come. I had wanted to visit Ireland for 6 years prior to registering for this trip, had dreamed of standing on the Cliffs of Moher, or pouring my very own pint of Guinness … Continue Reading
Contemporary Irish Dance Show Our last Sunday of the month was a very exciting night. After having the day for independent research, we were happy to have one last group activity before our final exam the next morning. We were told to meet in the lobby for “One of Ireland’s Best Contemporary Irish Dance Shows”, where we woulddepart at 6:15. … Continue Reading
This morning we departed from Belfast and made our way to Newgrange and eventually Dublin. We drove about an hour and a half to Newgrange. It was really interesting to see something so old and mysterious that has been so well preserved. We went inside in two different groups and we were able to see the center room where the … Continue Reading
Saturday, January 17th, 2015 Ireland WT 2015 On this clear day in Belfast, we were out on the town by 9:30 with a new tour guide joining Tom, named Fiona. She was kind, and as Tom was driving, she told us about Belfast and we stopped at a few different sites. With everything being one way streets, it could seem … Continue Reading
Today we briefly resumed our bus travels in order to reach the site of Glendalough. Originally settled by St. Kevin seeking solitude in nature, he was soon followed by others and became an early Irish monastic site. It boasts one of Ireland's most complete circular towers, a structure used as a bell tower to call the monks to prayer. Wandering … Continue Reading
Today we were all blessed with a later morning than usual. Breakfast started at 9 for our departure at 10 and we were all anxious to fuel up for our morning adventure to Glendalough. At 10 for the first time in what seemed like forever, we loaded up into our usual seats on the coach bus to set off for … Continue Reading
Today we briefly resumed our bus travels in order to reach the site of Glendalough. Originally settled by St. Kevin seeking solitude in nature, he was soon followed by others and became an early Irish monastic site. It boasts one of Ireland's most complete circular towers, a structure used as a bell tower to call the monks to prayer. Wandering … Continue Reading