The Homeland
3 Months in Ireland
4 years later and I still feel the pull to go back
In 2016 I did something out of my comfort zone. I studied in Ireland for three months. Though this was 4 years ago, I often times long for the feeling of being home that I felt when I was there. My late grandfather, Robert Norris, was Irish and so was my grandmother. Their Irish ancestor names were O’Casey and Norris.
A little backstory before I continue. My grandfather and I had a lot in common. He loved to learn, he had his own business, loved experiencing other cultures and was a photographer. He was diagnosed with Prostate cancer when I was about 6, but lived with it for 14 years.
I announced to my grandfather and grandmother that I would be studying in Ireland for three months. My grandfather was elated and told me all of his past travels to Ireland and the best places to visit. He passed away while I was in Ireland. I was able to fly home to see him over my spring break and he passed away the day I arrived in Ireland to finish out my sememster.
Where We Stayed
The group of 17 of us from my college and two sponsors, left for Ireland in early February of 2016. We arrived in Ireland and took a bus to our homes for the next three months. We lived with 3-4 roommates in these little cottages just outside of Spiddal (An Spidéal), County Galway, Ireland at the Park Lodge Hotel.
What We Learned
Our Professors came to teach us in a classroom at our lodge we were staying at from the college in Galway. We were taught Irish Poetry, Irish history, had a service project we had to do, were taught Irish dancing and music, as well as some marine biology by the beach leading to Galway Bay that was a 5 minute walk from where we were living.
Our poetry professor was tall, lean and poetic himself. Looking at him you could tell he was involved in Academia in some way or another. He had white hair surrounding an area with a lack of hair, wrinkles that told a story, and a mustache. He had a thick Irish accent as he spoke but also as he rehearsed ancient Irish poetry. He took us to the historical site of W.B Yeats that used to be this famous Irish poets land. As we were there wandering through the winding trails through towering trees with green vines growing on the trunks, our poetry professor rehearsed W.B. Yeats. It did not feel like real life.
Driving through Belfast. The temperament of Belfast was extremely different from the rest of Ireland. The people were not as kind and it seemed like a rough place, but the history was rich.
Our History teacher had a story that shocked us all.
He was shorter, middle-aged and had a kind smile and warm personality, and also had a thick Irish accent. His father was a leader in the Irish revolution (IRA) against the British trying to take over Northern Ireland(Belfast) in the 1970’s. His father was Murdered when our professor was in his late teens or early 20s, in 1987. There was a huge riot and British soldiers had their hand in the reasoning for the riot. Our Professor However did not tell us this on his own. Our classmate, Miranda went on a Black Taxi tour when we were visiting Belfast. These tours drove all over Belfast sharing history of the Murals and places around the City. The taxi driver asked Miranda about what she was studying and so she told him of her professors. The taxi driver told her he was our History teachers driver when he was younger and of the troubles our teacher went through with his dad. We asked him about it in class that Monday and it was indeed true. To have your History teacher live through the history he is teaching and to take us places where things happened, was truly a surreal experience.
Visiting Ireland?
Towns to visit:
Aran Islands
Dun Aonghasa, Aran Islands. It is an ancient ruin on the edge of massive cliffs
Northern Ireland
Giants Causeway
Titanic Museum
Connemara
St Croagh Patrick Pilgrimage hike (tallest mountain in Ireland)
Westport
W.B Yeats Property
The Blarney castle is very touristy. There are other castles that are not as busy and feel much more authentic
Cliffs of Moher
Dublin is beautiful and there is a lot of history
Sligo
(there is a horseback ride on the beach out in the country)
Kilkenny
Visit the Castle.
If you take the trail along the river there is an old Mill at the end of the trail about a mile in
Galway
Visit the Kings Head Pub in Old Town Galway
Galway has good Nightlife
Explore all of the shops
Eat a lot of Gelato
Drive out of Galway towards Spiddal
Spiddal
Try all of the restaurants and cafes
Visit the beach (on a clear day you can see the the Aran Islands
Ring of Kerry
You will see a lot of rugged Irish landscapes and grass fields,
Dingle is a small town that is on this route
The island that Star Wars was filmed on (one of the last few)
