Welcoming a Storm

We just experienced a storm of a week filled with rearranged classes, football matches, movie and game nights, hurricanes and an excursion weekend. The aftermath: exhaustion, sickness and/or the feeling of disorganization with school work. 

But I wouldn’t trade the world for the week that we just experienced. 

First, our class schedule was turned upside down. My archaeology class became Ceili dance class, literature and seminar days switched, classes were cancelled and we had an unexpected yet warmly welcomed visitor in my seminar class. 

Our visitor’s name was Kathleen – a retired entrepreneur and CEO of a trendy machine knitting company. Anette, our director, met her in Spiddal and invited her to join our BBC & Brew club one morning. Instead, Kathleen came unannounced to our seminar class. 

In the end, it was a wonderful surprise and we learned a lot from her. She discussed her business, her family life and her plans to write. 

Our theology class was cancelled on Thursday due to the approaching Hurricane Lorenzo.  The storm was hyped up all week, yet it (thankfully) did not deliver. The rain wasn’t much heavier than a normal Irish storm. The only real concern was the high winds. But the roofs stayed on our cottages and we only had a minor leak in our ceiling, so I think it’s safe to say that surviving the storm was easy. 

Since we are a fast-paced group of students we, of course, had to squeeze some more activity into the week to keep us busy. We had popcorn and game night in the hotel bar where we met three Johnnies traveling through Ireland for the week. Two of the Johnnies previously studied abroad in Galway, so it was fun to exchange stories and listen to their advice (although their advice to sit on the cottage roofs might be ignored).

Another night involved a football match (remember its football in Ireland, not soccer). Our competitive spirits came out and we all worked up a good sweat. For once, I was actually warm outside. 

We also had a horror movie night to kick off the beginning of spooky season. We watched Insidious– not everyone made it through the movie and some of us had nightmares, but it was a great start to the month of October. 

Friday morning marked our departure for our excursion weekend to Kilkenny and Cork. 

This weekend excursion, unlike other weekends, was much more time oriented because our days revolved around pre-scheduled tours. Having a slightly more structured weekend was actually nice as sometimes the Irish way of “going with the flow” can be too relaxed and disorganized for me. 

On our way to Kilkenny we made a quick stop at the Rock of Cashel to take pictures and walk around the perimeter. But we got right back on the road in order to make it on time to our guided tour of Kilkenny Castle. 

On my previous trip to Ireland, I explored Kilkenny Castle. Returning to the site was just how I remembered it – a U-shaped fortress with a garden of flowers at the center and a sprawling green lawn in front. The inside featured Victorian style decorations and my favorite room was the Art Gallery. 

Next, we squeezed in the Smithwick’s Experience: Kilkenny Brewing Tour and Beer Tasting. We received the history of Smithwick’s dating back to the Franciscan monks up to present day. We also learned how the beer is brewed. Of course, the tour was topped off with a free pint of Smithwick’s – your choice of either the Irish Red Ale, Blonde Ale or Pale Ale.

We had to finish our pints rather quickly in order to make it to the next stop on the itinerary – a guided tour of the Kilkenny Design Center. It was fascinating to hear about the history and see the work of local artists. The tour finished with a tasting of Poitín, otherwise known as Irish moonshine.

We ended our time in Kilkenny with tickets to see Dracula at the Watergate Theater. Not having much background regarding the plotline, I was a bit confused throughout the majority of the play and I found the ending to be anti-climactic. 

Even people who were familiar with the story said that there was a lot of details/scenes left out. When the storyline was explained to me the following day and I got all of my questions answered, the play made much more sense. 

But in the end, I am happy that I attended Dracula. 

On our way to Cork we stopped in Cobh for the Titanic Experience and a tour of the Heritage Center. I was fascinated with the Titanic Experience – each of us were given a real-life passenger who boarded the Titanic in Cobh on April 11, 1912. We were all a mix of first, second and third class passengers, and by the end of the tour, you discovered the fate of your passenger. 

My person was Lillian Minahan, a 37-year-old first-class passenger from Wisconsin who was traveling with her husband (Dr. William Minaham) and sister-in-law (Daisy Minaham). They had been visiting Ireland to see family and were returning to the U.S. on the Titanic. 

Lilian and Daisy survived on lifeboat 14, but William lost his life. 

Learning about the life stories of each of the Cobh passengers was a mix of emotions – either heart-warming or heart-breaking. It really brought to life the reality of a depressing moment in history that is often commercialized and taken lightly. 

After the Titanic Experience and Heritage Center Tour, we moved on to Cork. We made a quick walk through the English Market before dinner. The market featured organic and local food vendors, so it definitely stimulated our appetites. 

We had a group dinner at Gallagher’s Gastro Pub. Yes, it was another night of feeling satisfyingly stuffed.

We ordered from an a la carte menu. Appetizers included lamb shank, baby vegetables or a cheese plater. The entrées included vegetable risotto, a gourmet Irish-beef burger, fish & chips or roasted chicken. And most importantly dessert included a chocolate brownie, piña colada cheesecake or ice cream. 

Of course we had to explore the nightlife in Cork. We went to a pub called the Old Oak. It featured a DJ, a dance floor and a young crowd of people. We originally had no idea what we were walking in to because we picked the pub at random. We took a chance on it, and our risk paid off. 

But that’s not the end of our weekend quite yet. When I said we had a storm of a week, I wasn’t kidding. 

We departed Cork the following morning. It was a little hard to leave as I felt there was more to be explored around the city, but that just gives me an excuse to go back(; 

We went to Blarney Castle & Gardens – and of course I kissed the Blarney Stone!

Kissing the stone required you to lie on your back, grab a set of metal bars, hang your entire torso over an open ledge and crane your neck as far backwards as possible to kiss a small, smooth grey stone built into the castle. 

Back in the day, kissing the Blarney stone would have been quite the feat as there were none of the safety precautions they have in place today. All you would have had was a split second of courage and (hopefully) a trustworthy person to grab your ankles. 

The legend says that kissing the stone gives people the gift of gab or great eloquence. So, friends and family, you better watch out because my persuasive speaking skills are supposed to be unmatched now. 

Climbing the steep steps of Blarney Castle and kissing the stone went rather quickly so we spent the rest of the morning exploring the surrounding gardens which included a poison garden (no touching, smelling or tasting the plants/flowers), a waterfall, huge trees to climb and wishing stairs (legend has it if you walk up and down these stair with your eyes closed while focusing on your wish, it will come true within the year). 

This closed out our weekend. I slept the entire bus ride home. Many of the members of my group were also sick so they were even more exhausted than I was. During our weekly Sunday night grocery run we all looked like zombies pushing our carts up and down the aisles. 

This week I need to catch up on my to-do list (I would say school-work but we never have any traditional class work to complete). And I need to start preparing myself for our mid-term break trip! Can you guess where I’m headed next? 

You’ll have to check back in soon to find out!