Sorry to anyone following my journey in Ireland. First of all my laptop broke during our time in Dublin. Secondly, we did not have internet access in our rooms while at St. Patrick’s College. I did take over 250 photos and will soon post some of my favorites. I am now home safe in Lowell, but am heading west tomorrow morning to Reno/Tahoe. I am grateful for the current freedom in my life and proud of the clarity my experiences have created. Updates coming soon…
Ah, to be back now in Carrickfergus On that long road down to the sea
Yesterday we made the breathtaking journey up the Causeway Coastal Route to experience our first day out of the city. It was refreshing to escape the concrete and venture off into the natural beauty of Northern Ireland. The countryside is free from the constant reminders of conflict which you see in the city of Belfast. We were able to hike the cliffs of Giant’s Causeway which look out over the Irish Sea, with the neighboring island of Scotland in the distance. This is the Ireland we had all heard about and the once in a lifetime views made us all thankful for this amazing opportunity.
Today we made the move to St. Patrick’s College where we are staying for the second half of our visit. I am excited to make the transition to the Republic of Ireland and experience the capitol city of Dublin. We had a bus tour to get a feel for the city and had a delicious traditional Irish dinner.
Soul Enriching Day… of Service
Today was a life changing day! We started the day meeting 2 more local professors, learning about Irish Literature and absorbing first hand personal stories about growing up during the violent “troubles” of Ireland. Also, we had an interesting lecture about the eye opening murals found EVERYWHERE in Belfast (I highly recommend to click the link and scroll through).
Since our 26 hour flight delay forced us to miss our Day of Service with students at the Donegall Road Primary School, we were desperately trying to reschedule because this was the highlight of our trip. The chances of meeting the students were looking grim after being turned down multiple times because of all the end of the year activities scheduled at the school. THANKfully, we would not take no for an answer, and our persistence paid off. The teacher squeezed us into the schedule this afternoon for a little more than an hour, and it was a complete success for everyone involved! The goal of this visit was to promote peace, hope and friendship. We wanted to help the children realize there are plenty of opportunities outside of the run-down streets of East Belfast. I wanted to help them understand a life lesson that personally took me almost 25 years to learn; Pride is a positive characteristic until it holds us back from achieving personal goals. The school was located in the heart of a struggling Loyalist, or Protestant, neighborhood, so walking in was a bit intimidating. Reassuringly, instinct kicked in and it was easy for me to connect with the students, but I also connected with their teacher Ms. Greer. She confirmed she would send a package of friendship bracelets to IACS in return of our student’s gifts, and our classes are going to Skype next school year! Our group of 12 walked out of that school today on cloud 9 and we knew that we had just experienced a life altering moment. Words and photos do no justification, but I am doing my best. More photos to come!
As if our first two events of the day weren’t enough, on the walk home we stopped for a VIP tour of Friar’s Bush Cemetery with the legendary doctor, author and Irish historian Eamon Phoenix. Now, Eamon has been showing us around Belfast for the last few days, but I think we all truly appreciated his knowledge a little extra today seeing as it was our last day with him. It was an honor to have Eamon as a guide and I truly believe no one on this planet knows more about Irish history/culture than him.
Shout out to my friend Jen Kelley for helping me find my title for this post 😉
Your neighbor is your other self dwelling behind a wall. – Kahlil Gibran
Today was another BEAUTIFUL day here in Belfast. The weather has been 70 and sunny since we got here which is unlike the clouds and rain we were warned about. Today we met with a panel of local professors to discuss the history, and current troubles between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland. Ireland has never been a diverse island, so rather than racial violence, like in America, they have had years of religious conflicts. However, the two sides are not fighting over religious beliefs, but rather a power struggle of two cultures. Although, the times have been more peaceful since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, the issues still remain evident. As we toured Belfast today the neighborhoods and homes were proudly claiming their specific colors. The Unionists, Loyalists, or Protestants loudly represent the Union Jack of the UK. The Republicans, Nationalists, or Catholics loudly represent the Republic of Ireland colors of green, white, and orange. Dividing the two neighborhoods lies a giant wall, ironically known as the Peace Wall, which we visited today. The mammoth 18 foot wall was built so people could not shoot or throw objects at their rival neighbors. Standing in front of the wall today was bittersweet, because I had knowledge of the violence it represents, but admired the breathtaking beauty of the artwork and poetry that cover the walls today.
Look Who Made It!
We arrived today! We flew into Dublin around 10 am local time and took a 2 hour bus ride to Belfast, where we will be spending our first week at Stranmillis University College. We toured the campus, met our professor, and enjoyed a relaxing dinner at the wharf along the River Lagan.
Unfortunately, because of the 26 hour flight delay we have postponed our Day of Service with the students in Northern Ireland until Friday, so we were unable to connect the students through video chat. As a Plan B, I was still able to Skype with the IACS students back home in Massachusetts on their last day of school. It was great to see the students so excited to say hello to “Mr. Mac”. Thank you to my co-worker, and friend, Carrie Anderson for taking the time! I want to wish my IACS family a great summer, I will see you in August!
Not So Fast!
Flying out tonight at 11pm. I’m going to spend the day in Boston with the group. Staying positive and making it work!
It’s the big day and our flight has been CANCELLED. Spending the night at the Hilton and making the best of it!
Not So Fast!
It’s the big day and our flight has been CANCELLED. Spending the night at the Hilton and making the best of it!
Friendship With Ireland!
Okay so today is the day we leave and I figure it’s about that time to get this blog started. Some may call that procrastination, I would call it time management. So far this Ireland Experience has consisted of classes, homework, and preparation. Preparation to connect our 5/6 students from the Innovation Academy Charter School with Irish students during our Day of Service in Belfast. This global connection creates a modern day penpal exchange.
First, 50 students made Friendship Bracelets at IACS. Here is the first completed bracelet! 
Second, we had to personalize our bracelets. With help from my Service Team students, we attached pictures, hobbies, and contact information. 
I could not be happier with our finished product! The logistics of this project would not have been possible without the help from our amazing students at IACS, and my classmates Alysha and Anna. I am excited to complete this exchange in Belfast, where Irish students will select a bracelet and create their own to return to our students at IACS!
Literature Commentary
On December 3, 1990 Mary Robinson gave her historical inaugural speech after becoming Ireland’s first female president. Robinson sets the tone by expressing her humbled appreciation for being voted to represent the “new” Ireland. She makes it clear that the new Ireland is going to open up and participate on a global level, unlike its previous intrinsic reputation. Right along with Ireland’s folklore history, Robinson revisits the legend of the spiritually significant Fifth Province. The Fifth Province represents the soul of the Irish community, both residing and emigrated. Mary Robinson urges the community to continue the confident strides toward “self-development and self-expression”. She also rallies the Irish to “play to our strengths,” which she describes as creative arts, education, and pollution-free innovation. As Ireland’s first woman president, Robinson focuses on the importance of a moral Irish culture during a “vital moment in Europe’s history,” she promises to keep the peace with bordering countries, emphasizing “another place close to my heart,” Northern Ireland. Robinson relays importance of Gaelic-Irish culture by reciting quotes from Irish poets like Seamus Heaney, James Joyce, Eavan Boland, and W.B.Yeats.
Mary Robinson’s speech reflects Ireland’s challenges associated with the turn of the twenty-first century. As Robinson pointed out in her inauguration speech, Ireland was transitioning to a “new” Ireland. One major challenge in Irish history was equal rights for women. Ireland was a late bloomer when it came to equality for women, waiting as late as the 1970’s to officially acknowledge the equality of issues including pay rates, marriage decisions, and protection. Ireland seemed to rapidly change their minds on the issue of women’s equality after being culminated by the 1990 election which made Mary Robinson Ireland’s first female president. Robinson made it clear women were now becoming vital participants in the “new” Ireland when she said, “As a woman, I want women who have felt themselves outside history to be written back into history, in the words of Eavan Boland, ‘finding a voice where they found a vision.’”
Another reflection of Mary Robinson’s speech was Gaelic-Irish cultural values. Much of the inaugural speech sounds like a rally of Irish pride, morality, and growth. For years the Irish were forced to be ashamed of their culture because of the English rule. They were not allowed to speak their language or create Irish literature and arts, which contributed to a blurry definition of Irish culture. Robinson was trying to revive the Gaelic-Irish cultural values when she states, “I want this Presidency to promote the telling of stories — stories of celebration through the arts and stories of conscience and of social justice.” The “new” Ireland Robinson is representing does not want to abandon traditional Gaelic-Irish cultural values, rather develop an open minded approach.
One major thing I have learned about Irish culture is the rapid change of heart on the issue of woman’s rights. In the matter of 13 years, Ireland went from giving women equal pay, to electing a woman president. Mary Robinson was able to accomplish something that no woman in the United States has been able to do. I credit Ireland for making such a drastic change for the better of their country and culture.
Reading Responses
1. Choose a symbol or image from one of Douglas Hyde’s Selections from The Love Songs of Connacht and discuss how you think it expresses something about Irish cultural traditions, preoccupations, or challenges.
The sea is a symbol for separation of culture in the section My Grief on the Sea. The narrator is grieving as they are on a boat to America leaving their homeland behind. Ireland is an island, so since narrator is writing from the sea, he is on the outside looking in, rather than being apart of his country. He explains how the violent waves, “English rule”, are coming between the love of his soul, “pride for Irish culture”. He hopes that the the sea, “Irish culture”, will awaken and bring relief to the apparent turmoil and separation.
2. Considering what you learned about Irish culture and history in today’s class, why do you think that Hyde’s “The Necessity of De-Anglicising Ireland” had such a powerful effect on his contemporaries?
I believe Hyde’s “The Necessity of De-Anglicising Ireland” had such a powerful effect on his contemporaries because he is challenging the so called proud Irish to remember where they came from. He reminds his countrymen of their history, and he paints a soulless picture of where they are heading if they lose their culture completely. This passage is a cry to the Irish to wake up and resist the Anglo culture that is being forced upon them, because their culture is on its way to being lost.
3. Neil Jordan (the director of Michael Collins) has taken some liberties with historical events.
- He has introduced the armoured machine gun vehicle (or tank) in the scenes depicting the stadium massacre when in fact the Auxiliary soldiers scaled the walls of the stadium and held the spectators there most of the day with their rifles.
- One character, Ned Broy, is a composite of two historical figures Ned Broy, who was a double agent in the police, and Dick McKee, who was Commandant of the Dublin Brigade of the IRA. Broy survived the war, but McKee was tortured and shot.
Does it matter if the facts are not quite right, is the director justified in making such changes in his attempts to inform and entertain?
I personally think it is justified that Neil Jordan did not make the facts straight in order to inform and entertain. I believe he created the tank in the stadium massacre scene to portray the brutal force that the Irish were up against from England. Also, by combining the real characters of Dick McKee and Ned Broy, he simplified the already complex story. To be honest, I am surprised that these two minor details are the only embellished aspects of the movie. I do not think these changes take away from the credibility of the story Neil Jordan is telling.
4. In what ways does the story of Michael Collins (as told here by Neil Jordan) reflect the values of Irish culture, or the qualities of Irish heroism that we discussed in class this week?
Michael Collins’ character strongly reflects the qualities of Irish heroism. First, Collins fiercely fights against English rule with no fear of death and with almost mythic abilities. He escaped many obstacles and continued to recruit followers with passionate speeches. He also wins the love of the only main female character, Kitty, which seems to be a recurring theme of Irish heroism.
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