http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/our-very-own-journal-of-the-plague-year-1957902.html
A very funny editorial from Pat Fitzpatrick in the Irish Independent. It hits on many issues discussed on our recent trip to Ireland.
What have we done to deserve the disasters of biblical proportions being visited upon us?
December 13th, 2009 | by Jeff Neill '97Day 16: The Closing Day in Dublin
December 10th, 2009 | by Joe Dolben '10The last of many days on a trip full of action, comedy, sights, and last but not least education… Our day began fittingly with a traditional Irish meal of beans, toast, egg, and sausage. After a surprisingly filling meal, we congregated in the lobby of our humble hostel for a walking tour of the grand city of Dublin. When our tour guide arrived we began walking; we had walked the city the previous day so it was relatively repetitive. The tour began to get interesting when we arrived at one of the many sites where the Easter Rebellion took place. As our tour guide was describing the events that took place, we heard, from across the street, an employee of AIB Banking shouting to our tour guide that her information was incorrect. This interruption was in itself rude, but his explanation was punctuated with swears. He invited anyone who wanted to come over and he will prove that our tour guide was wrong. While all of this was happening, our guide was quickly inching away and as soon as the man looked away to invite people to come look, she urged the group on to the next site. As the rest of the tour moved on the next site, Diane ran over and talked to the man, effectively finishing our tour. She talked to the man for about ten minutes, coming back to relay the information that he had given her about the buildings involved in the Eastern Rising took place and the history of the buildings. As we had left the tour, we had a couple of hours in which to wander the city and shop. After wandering the city, we regrouped at the hostel at 1 to visit to Kilmainham Gaol (“jail”). At the prison, we had a guided tour showing us the east and west wings where prisoners from the Easter Rising and the 1921 rebellion were held. Along with the tour of the inside of the prison, we also had a tour of the Stonebreaker Courtyard where fourteen leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916 were executed over the course of twelve days. With the conclusion of the tour of the prison, the group was left with more down time to spend in the hostel or to go out shopping again. At seven we regrouped for the final dinner and night of the trip, going out to eat at a Italian restaurant and after dinner we had a final meeting, looking back on the trip and thinking about all that we have done on the trip. As the final night draws to a close the group enjoys the remaining time together.
Joe Dolben ‘10 & Spencer Lefebvre ‘10
Day 15: A Day of Joyce and Santa Hats (not in reference to Evan)
December 10th, 2009 | by Betsy Valdez '10We woke up in the morning feelin like P Diddy. We had a grand day starting with a wonderful traditional Irish breakfast at Issac’s. We took a brisk walk to the James Joyce house. We had a James Joyce sesh which included many details of the late great Joyce. The most surprising find was Joyce’s death mask which received many disturbing glances. We headed out to a beautiful Dublin day and walked towards the GPO and were able to see bullet holes and the original proclamation from the 1916 Easter Rising which was read by P.H. Pearse, not to us of course, ladies. We cheerily walked to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells but were disappointed to find that it had been “temporarily removed,” aka jacked, but not really. So we mosied on up to one of the most famous libraries. You might recognize it from a little film called Harry Potter, but NBD. We were then able to explore the city further and get a little holiday shopping done. Kayla and Betsy, ourselves, found a great bagel place for lunch highly recommended- on Nassau St. We shopped till we dropped and then some. We arrived and had dinner but the highlight of the night was definitely the trip to the Arlington Hotel Pub where we witnessed traditional Irish Music and Dancing with Debsauce and Diane. We even got a shout out from the Manager and the band, and left with “some wicked sick Santa hats.” All in all it was a grand day, we think we could speak for the group when we say we all love Dublin and hope to come back soon!
xoxo
Kayla and Betsy
Cheers!
Day 14: Heading to Dublin
December 8th, 2009 | by Kendall Sercombe '10On Monday, day fourteen of our trip, we departed from Belfast and began our travels to Dublin. On the way, we stopped at the site of Battle of the Boyne. Here, we were able to develop a deeper understanding of what actually happened during one of Ireland’s most important battles. We watched a reenactment movie and a lazer show which illustrated battle tactics and strategies. After exploring the Battle of the Boyne for a while, we headed to Newgrange. This was the largest, most impressive neolithic tomb. We had a guided tour through the tomb, where we learned that they had found the remains of five bodies. What makes Newgrange even more special is the fact that during the winter solstice, light pours into the tomb and shines on the art inside the tomb. There is a lottery for invitations to see this event, about 33,000 apply for one hundred spots. We spent an hour at Newgrange, and then finally drove to Dublin. Once we checked into our hostel, we began getting ready for the Abbey Theater, Ireland’s most famous theater. We saw the SeaFarer, and most of us really enjoyed the play. While it was slightly slow moving at first, it became suspenseful as the main character was playing cards with the devil. After an eventful day, we all settled into the hostel in Dublin.
Day 13: Opposing Viewpoints
December 6th, 2009 | by Galen Kuney '10After a raucous 18th birthday celebration for Chelsea Fardelmann which included a delicious cake and exciting round of bowling the previous night, a serious tone returned to the group this morning, as we headed for the East side of Belfast. Much like the West side of the previous day, the East had many murals and peace walls erected around this part of the city as well. Many of the murals, which often covered entire walls of houses and/or buildings, included great detail. There was a major difference on the East side, the Loyalist side of town. These were the Irish who wanted to remain loyal to Great Britain and the English crown, and their artwork was much more militaristic than in the West, where it appeared as if the people there have taken more steps toward moving on from the violent “Troubles” of the past. After seeing our fourth or fifth mural in a row in which there was some open depiction of violence, whether it be a hooded gunman or the bloody hand of Ulster, this seemed to be the general consensus reached by the group as a whole.
The group then headed to check out the Stormont Building, otherwise known as the home of the Irish Parliament. It is modeled after the famous Westminster Parliament in Great Britain, which emphasized the Northern Ireland-British connection. The building itself was impressively huge, and also included a one mile walk which the students all braved despite some intense wind conditions. The weather as a whole has been very nice on our trip, at least from someone who came expecting rain everyday, but the wind and cold sometimes make it tough on the tour guides and outdoor activities. Spencer Lefebvre and Nick Sheets took it upon themselves to see if the back of Stormont was still covered in mud and dung as the legend says, and I think I can speak for them on this one in saying they were not disappointed. The last activity of the day also illustrated the divide in Northern Ireland. After meeting with members of the Felons’ Club yesterday, we went to the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) headquarters today, pretty much the exact opposite end of the spectrum (although the police will tell you they protected both Loyalists and Republicans equally). It was very interesting for everyone to get to see both sides to the story, and I think it was definitely an eye-opening experience all around, particularly the garden memorial dedicated to all the police officers who have been killed. The sheers numbers which occurred during the Troubles were stunning to see, and reinforced everyone’s hopes for a truly peaceful Ireland sometime in the near future.
Tonight is our last night in Belfast, as we will head South tomorrow. On the way to our final destination of Dublin, where we will stay until Thursday when we head home, we will stop at Newgrange, the giant passage tomb.
Day 12: Falls Road to Felons’ Club
December 6th, 2009 | by Joe Dolben '10Today was the second day in Belfast. The group woke up bright and early to meet the guide for the tour of west Belfast and Falls Road. His name was Rossy, and he is a student at the equivalent of a high school in the local area. After meeting Rossy, the group piled into the bus with our fearless leader, Keith, at the helm and headed towards Falls Road, a Catholic dominated area in the center of Belfast. Falls Road is the home of some of the most famous of the Republican peace murals. The peace murals are large paintings on the walls of the building fronts on Falls Road that depict injustices done all over the world and showing support for freedom everywhere. They range from one paying tribute to the hunger strikers of Belfast to another showing the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and support of Basque Country independence. These murals are a source of great Republican pride and inspiration. After the murals, we drove to a grave sight for the Troubles. It was a memorial for all of the Irishmen and Hunger-Strikers who fought for the Republican cause where the likes of men like Bobby Sands were buried. Afterward we traveled to a bar/restaurant known as the Felon’s Club. The Felon’s Club was created so that Republican freedom fighters who were arrested during the troubles could keep in contact with each other outside of prison. At the club we met with two of the freedom fighters who had actually been arrested during the troubles. While we were there, we spoke with them about the Troubles and the state of Northern Ireland right now and what it should do moving forward. The two men, Jerry and Matt, both gave eye-opening insight into the Republican point of view and also expressed their frustration with bad publicity that the extremists gave the Republican cause, saying that they disagree with all of the recent bombing and thet they are totally unnecessary as violence is no longer necessary or wanted from either side. After the Club we visited Campbell College, a protestant school, which is also the alma mater of our leader Keith. With the visit, we began to explore the mindset of the protestant and the Unionist cause. The visit of Campbell marked the end of the academic day and the rest of the night was a celebration of the 18th birthday of Chelsea Fardelmann. To celebrate we went bowling and had cake. We are looking forward to tomorrow when we will be exploring and learning about the Unionist point of view of the Troubles.
Day 11: Belfast in the Daylight
December 4th, 2009 | by Zach Auteri '10A dark overcast dominated the sky as our group awoke (far too early, for that matter). After a delectable meal that consisted of a single bowl of cereal (I went for the Cocoa Krispies), a croissant, and the choice of either coffee or tea, our group returned to our rooms of rest, where we prepared for the ventures of the day to come. We drove into the center of Belfast, admiring the Victorian architecture characterizing the city as we made our way to the Town Hall. We passed several Christmas lights on the journey, finally arriving at our destination only to be greeted by traditional street vendors of many backgrounds. After we had our fill of the town center, we drove out to the shipyard that once housed the creation of the Titanic (which later became the highest grossing film of all time, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslett. No big deal). To follow up our visit to the docks, we moved on to the Ulster Folk & Transportation Museum. We had lunch at the connected museum, and although the area initially seemed quite eerie and the perfect setting for the next The Hills Have Eyes movie, it actually turned out to be extremely eerie and possibly the setting of the first The Hills Have Eyes movie. We moved on to the Transportation museum, which was full of old trains, cars, and free time. We explored the area, until we eventually loaded back into the van and made our way back into the center of Belfast. We were given free time in the city, and are set to dine at 7:00 pm (Irish time) in the Hostel. Currently, the group is scattered. Some are upstairs in their rooms, “bro-ing out,” whilst others still roam the city, and I sit in the lobby paying £2 for 40 minutes of internet time. After dinner, we will have a workshop to discuss the game plan for tomorrow (among other things most likely), and then be given more time to venture through the city.
Day 10: Movin’ On Up
December 4th, 2009 | by Will Hurt '10Heidi “wakes me up” at 7:30am. I wake up at about 8, just in time to eat the breakfast the adults hosting my home stay have prepared. We leave the quaint little cottage at 8:15am and speed along the tiny bumpy roads till we get to the town of Sligo a few miles away. There’s very little time for goodbyes; a quick high five with Tom, the 13 year old boy in the back seat, and a handshake for his father Steve. Then I am reunited with the group, and together we set off north for Derry, Belfast and the Giant’s Causeway.
We were greeted by a bouncing tour guide named Michael when we disembarked from the van in Derry. After introducing himself, Michael led us through a shopping center and onto the ancient walls of Derry. Over an hour and a half Michael explained the towns history as we traversed the top of the walls; however, in the interests of time, we only made it about halfway around the walls before we had to cut back through the town. After the tour concluded we were let loose to grab some lunch, and then we began the long drive to the Giant’s Causeway.
Arrival at the trail head to the rock formation was an anti climactic moment. Though the coast here is very beautiful, there was nothing out of the ordinary. We all walked along a small car path cut into the rock above the shoreline and eventually came upon the extremely odd rock formation. The rock looks to have been cut by human hands, but the impossibility of that task is evident in the length and placement of the individual pillars. Each pillar was about a foot and a half across, and each was shaped into a rough hexagon. They varied in length, causing the formation to mimic the appearance of a pipe organ. After having marveled at the natural beauty of the Causeway, we hiked back to the bus and continued on our way to Belfast.
On arrival in Belfast we immediately checked into the Belfast Youth Hostel, splitting up into our respective groups. Soon afterward we met downstairs for dinner, and another day came to a close.
Day 9: Day at Donegal
December 3rd, 2009 | by Nick Sheets '10After spending our first night with our individual homestay parents, our class gathered again at Sligo to head toward the city of Donegal. Before heading to Donegal, our guide, who was driving our van for the day, made our first stop at the Church of The Immaculate Heart of Mary. Walking by the church, we noticed its beauty as well as history after passing the Sacred Heart Garden right next to it. As we walked up the trail, we were taken to a truly spectacular mountain view as once we made it to the top, we could look over Donegal Bay and the beautiful beach that went with it. Making our way eventually to the beach, we walked along the Donegal Bay shore and saw a surfer head toward the gigantic waves that the bay produced. This was an interesting experience because although it was freezing cold and windy, the surfer we saw ran out to the water as his life depended on it. Once we finished with our tour of the Donegal Bay, our driver, also being our tour guide, took us into the city of Donegal itself. Walking through the city, and viewing the buildings and monuments that resided in Donegal, it was interesting to explore the town as we headed seperate ways to find lunch. Finally, after lunch was over, we connected once again as a class and were taken through once last driving tour and stopped at a few particular spots on different cliffs that overlooked the Donegal Bay, and it was beautiful. Once we finished, we made our way back to meet up with our homestay families for another night, and separated for the night as a class.
Day 8: Community Service & Homestays
December 3rd, 2009 | by Kayla Donohue '10This morning we got to sleep in, which was amazing and needed. At 11 o’clock we departed for Sligo. We had a bit of free time in the city to grab a snack and shop around. We then left for Tubbercurry, a small town about 40 minutes outside of Sligo city. There, we attended a community development class at North Connaught College. We had tea time and small talk at the start of the class, but then moved into a larger group discussion. The members of the class were all adults who had graduated from what Americans would call high school, and then took some time off. Nearly all the students were working in careers based around community building. One student, for example, worked with foreign people in the area to help engage them in community life despite the language and cultural barriers. Another worked with local children on teamwork and community building through various activities. We focused on what it means to listen today. We related our NMH and American community to their County Sligo and Irish community. We were then able engage in conversation about the stereotypes of Irish and Americans, the similarities and the differences of them, and the pros and cons. Today served as our opportunity to listen to some “authentic” Irish, Sligo people and discuss our opinions. After class ended, we returned to Sligo city with a bit more free time to wander. We met shortly after and departed for our home stays. All NMH kids are paired up, except Will, and are staying with local Sligo families for the next 2 nights. First week down… Incredible thus far!
