Western Ireland Excursion

Our whirlwind of a weekend began this past Friday after a group internship meeting. I will write more on this subject, but I'll say now that I am very excited about the experiences that lie ahead. We left DCU's campus around 12:30PM, or 13:30 as I'm growing accustomed, traveled into Dublin city to pick up four more students, and then were off. Our first destination was a town on the western coast of Ireland called Ennis in County Clare. We completed the trip with only one quick stop for sweets. Ireland is a very small island; you can drive from the east to west coast within two and a half hours. The tour was officially led by our history teacher, a young woman whose name is Caroline. She was incredibly informational throughout the trip, pointing out landmarks and explaining history as we drove across the country. When we arrived in Ennis, we checked into our hostel, the Rowan Tree hostel, dropped off our bags and ran out to explore.
A picture of our hostel (actually taken the following morning). The streets of Ennis The Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. Inside hung a banner which said, "If the only prayer you ever said in your life was Thank You, that would be enough." After thinking back on this weekend, I know I have much to be thankful for.
After exploring, we went to change and freshen up for dinner. Before dinner, local Irish musicians had a little concert in our hostel to raise money for Haiti. They were incredibly talented and it was really neat to see the local style. Following our session, we headed next door to a delicious dinner of fish and chips (I couldn't resist, I love the combination).
Our teacher and her cousin, John, took us all out on Friday night to some of Ennis's most original pubs. Live music filled the night and we had a great time bonding with our teacher and learning more about her way of life. We all danced and learned Irish songs and the night flew by far too quickly. A group shot! The woman in the bottom right corner is Caroline, our teacher.
After a cold shower and a free breakfast at the hostel the following morning, we boarded the bus at 9:30 and headed to the Cliffs of Moher, located in the Village of Doolin in County Clare. The Cliffs are the most popular, natural tourist attraction in Ireland, drawing over one million people each year. These massive cliffs are 700 feet high and nearly five miles long and were absolutely breathtaking. The weather report for the weekend predicted rain, but we arrived with blue skies, making the day that much better.

Quite stunned by the natural beauty, we boarded the bus in awe and headed toward our next destination. We drove along the coastal route and listened to Irish tunes. The whole day was quite surreal, but with the music in the background the Irish countryside truly looked liked something out of a movie. We were told that when one looks three hundred and sixty degrees, it is possible to see forty shades of green in the Irish countryside. Our next stop was The Connolly farm, a farm owned by Caroline's cousin John. They have created a popular tour to allow visitors to truly experience the countryside. We started off the tour with the cows! Beginning our climb up the mountain. John told us about an old legend shared by people throughout the world. People come from afar and leave a ribbon or some piece of themselves on this tree, representing a problem. The thought is, when you leave the ribbon, your worries or problems stay with the tree and you are free from them. A rock sliding board! Taking my turn down the slope!

After our hike to the top, we made our way down to John's parents' house. For lunch we had a home cooked farm meal of quiche, bread, potatoes, salad and apple pie.
The cooking was delicious, and we all ate as though we hadn't seen food in days. Following lunch, we gathered in the living room and listened to John's neighbors as they played music for us.

The boys were really young to be playing so well. The woman clapping is Caroline, and she took turns singing some Irish tunes. We sang some classics as well, including "Sweet Caroline" in honor of this teacher that we are all growing to adore.

We left the farm and headed to Galway. The coastal route brought us through many beautiful small coastal towns. We drove by Caroline's house where she grew up and saw her hometown and school. The way of life is so different in these parts of the country, but I can imagine the quality of life is unlike any other. Here are some pictures taken through the bus window.








We arrived in Galway city around 5:30 and checked into our hostel, the Kinlay House, and exhausted from the day we all jumped in bed for a quick nap before dinner. Still full from our delicious lunch, I split the traditional Irish stew with Melissa.


Our group (Note the birthday decorations for later in the evening).


Irish coffee for dessert!

Listening to the music with Caroline and her brother.

The rest of the night was filled with Irish music, including our new favorite song "Galway Girl."

The following morning, we had a little time to explore the city of Galway. Limited time did not allow me to do the city justice; I will have to go back again for sure.






On our way back to Dublin we made two stops. One for tea and coffee at a local pub in Shannonbridge...




and another at Conmacnoise. Clonmacnoise is an ancient monastic site in County Offaly, and sits on the River Shannon.





We arrived back at DCU around 6:30, and for the first time since I arrived I realized the campus felt like home. Exhausted from the weekend, my roommate and I went to bed early in preparation for another week!