GAA

First, I'll quickly recap my day yesterday...

In Contemporary Irish Society, we had a guest speaker who spoke to us about the current music industry in Ireland. It's interesting how artists such as U2, from Ireland, have such a hold on the international market. It should not surprise me, for the majority of the music I've been exposed to here in Ireland is similar to what I would hear at home. It really is a small world.

The Irish War of Independence was the topic of our History of Ireland class. Our teacher announced to us we only have four classes left, a startling fact as we all realized how quickly the semester is going. I'm really thankful for these classes; I've learned a great deal about the formation of modern Ireland, and I'm understanding the importance of a nation's history on the modern culture.

Last night, we had a field trip to Millbank Theatre to see The Playboy of the Western World, a classic Irish play about a boy who supposedly killed his father, and makes a name for himself as he flees the area. Although the accents were difficult at first, once I was acclamated, I enjoyed the show! As a fun surprise, the coach bus dropped us off in city center where we celebrated our friend Mike's 21st birthday. Overall a very good day!

Today was our first Friday off in Dublin in three weeks. I had the opportunity to sleep in which was wonderful. Determined to use the day, a group of us set out to Croke Park.



Conveniently located on Jones' Road! (I must have a future here.)



The "nicest" (according to our sweet tourguide) and fourth largest stadium in Europe, Croke Park is home to many different sporting events, including Gaelic Football, Hurling, and Football (Soccer). The tourguide took us to various parts of the stadium.


This is the players lounge. After the games, players from both teams gather here with family to celebrate, eat and be merry.


The 32 large balls on the chandelier represent Gaelic footballs and stand for the 32 counties on the island of Ireland. An interesting fact about the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) is that it does not account for the partition with Northern Ireland, and is a major symbol of Irish Nationalism.


Next stop was the teams locker room. For county games, there is no home or away team, but instead the locker room assignments are based on the Gaelic alphabet. Our tourguide revealed some of the motivational tactics of the different coaches and prepared us for our trip out to the pitch.



It is a very impressive stadium, holding over 82,000 people.

A most interesting fact for you. All of the athletes of the GAA are amateurs, meaning no one is paid to participate and all of the athletes hold other jobs. I think that's pretty impressive.


We went up to the seventh floor to the media box, where we had a beautiful view of the stadium.

Fun view of Dublin from the top!




Taking our turn in the press room.



Following the tour, we walked down to the city center, lucky to avoid the rain for most of the journey. Well worth the long walk, my savory tart from the Queen of Tarts was the perfect ending to the day.



I'll refrain from including the picture of the clean plate, but needless to say I enjoyed the meal.

Located near our bus stop back to DCU is an arcade which houses a 4D theater. Everytime we are in the city we say "O we need to try that sometime." Well today was that time. Realizing that there is no better time than the present, we went on the seven minute, 4D experience through the Haunted Mine.
We were just as excited as the little boys in the front!

With the rain on pause, it was another beautiful night in Dublin. Here is a picture of the sunset over the River Liffey for you to enjoy.


Plans for tonight include relaxing in sweatpants with a movie and ice cream. Exactly what we all need.