By: Eleanor Boling and Annalisa Donisi Welcome to our final blog post! It’s hard to believe that our trip is coming to an end, but we have some very fond memories to make this trip last a lifetime. On our second to last day we visited the Book of Kells at Trinity College. Our guide, … Continue reading Day Nineteen: Books & Beer: The Best of Dublin →

by Mary Conlon and Alexis Ketchem After a quick 20 hour stay in Belfast, our class headed to Dublin for the last leg of our trip. When we arrived at Trinity College, we were greeted by our tour guide, Donal Fallon from Historical Walking Tours. Donal was raised in Dublin and currently lives in Belfast. … Continue reading Day Seventeen: “All change​d, changed utterly,” or, Progressive Ireland →

by Daniel Walton and Eleanor Anderson As we made our way through the town of Derry this morning we found ourselves making note of the distinct differences between the landscape of The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. For the most part, the changes were small yet distinct, less and less sheep were seen (much … Continue reading Day Fourteen: Ireland’s Humble Poet →

By Kaytlyn Coyne After this morning’s trip to Kilmainham Gaol and the Newgrange Passage Tomb, we headed back to the hotel in order to get ready for the evening’s activity--a talk given by Irish crime novelist Liz Nugent.  Over the course of the trip the class has been reading her first novel Unraveling Oliver and … Continue reading Day Eighteen, cont’d: The Power of Text →

by Hailey Brewster and Michael Kelly Belfast City Hall, where we met our tour guide Gabe After three days at the tranquil Beech Hill Country House, we left Derry and made our way across Northern Ireland to its east coast and its capital city of Belfast. Belfast was a city heavily impacted by sectarian violence … Continue reading Day Sixteen: Belfast, Walk Fast →

By Britta Brownridge & Nirali Patel Welcome back everyone! It’s crazy to think that our journey has almost come to an end! But what a journey it has been! Today was no different. We started the day by visiting the Kilmainham Gaol jail. Our guide for this trip was named Dońal and he actually got … Continue reading Day Eighteen: Welcome to the Dark Side →

By Graham Wade and Mikayla Cree On Thursday, we packed our bags in Donegal and said good-bye to the Republic of Ireland (for now, anyway!) and began our journey to the North of Ireland.  Northern Ireland is a separate country and is a part of the United Kingdom, unlike the Republic of Ireland. For now, … Continue reading Day Thirteen: A Legen-Derry Day →

By Paige Anderson and Jordan Pastor Dunluce Castle: Don’t Look Down! On the rainy morning of Saturday the 26th, our class approached one of the most contested plots of land in Irish history. Its proximity to salmon rivers, forests, and fertile soils for farming allowed it to have a built mass of stones on its … Continue reading Day Fifteen: Giant Mysteries →

by Naomi Garrett and Nia Brown On the bus with Aidan Left for Slieve League: At 10 AM, the class piled into the bus to drive up towards towards Slieve League. Part of the way, we stopped to switch onto a smaller bus so we could make it the rest of the way to Slieve … Continue reading Day Twelve: Welcome to the Big Leagues! →

By Adriana Avila and Shanna Nollette On The Road Again! The day started like most of our days with a traditional Irish breakfast and a warm greeting on the bus from our fantastic driver, Philip! We said farewell to County Mayo and headed up north to County Sligo. As we sat on the bus, our minds … Continue reading Day Eleven: Yeats, Plates, and Mates! →