January 31st- Last day in Ireland

Dinner from the previous night with Bernadette, Graham, and Father Tom.

Stairs in the Foreign Service Ministry headquarters.

Taoiseach Office

 

 

Ballroom inside the Iveagh House

   On our final day we visited the Iveagh House, which is now the Foreign Service Ministry headquarters.  This property was owned and built by the Guinness family originally, and was then donated to the Irish government by Benjamin Guinness' grandson Rupert.  Many famous people who come to Ireland visit this building, including President JFK and Bill Clinton.  The architecture was beautiful inside and out.  We also were able to see where the Taoiseach's office is inside the building.         

      My journey has finally come to an end.  It was a weird feeling pulling back into the Ashling hotel because this was the first hotel that we stayed in, so there was a sad presence as we arrived at the hotel.  Whenever your in the middle of a trip it feels like it is never going to come to an end, and then when it is finally finished you wonder where all the time went.  I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Ireland.  It was an experience of a life time to be able to visit the entire country and see every famous monument in Ireland over the course of one month.  Thank you Mom and Dad for giving me a never ending gift where I was able to connect with relatives, learn about my heritage and create amazing memories.  Also, thank you to all my relatives in Ireland for showing me a warm welcome and a great experience each night I spent with you.  Thanks to all my friends and family who followed my journey through Ireland.  I hope you enjoyed the photos and comments. 

"People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built."- Eleanor Roosevelt

January 30th- The perfect day

Front of Croke Park

Conference room inside Croke Park

Champions Cup

Players lounge

Locker room

Sitting next to our MAYO jersey!

On the field!

Tunnel where the players run out, and where the ceremony after the games take place.

Inside the Adidas company box.

Two thumbs up for the Guinness Brewery

Learning how to pour a pint a Guinness

The Perfect Pint pour certificate!

  So I know I've said in many previous blogs that this was my favorite day so far, but now that my trip is just about over, I can honestly say that today earns the award of being my favorite day.  First off I want to thank my cousin Sean Feeney for being so generous to my class.  Sean was able to pull some strings and get my entire class free entry, along with a guided tour of Croke Park.  Croke park is the headquarters for the GAA which is Ireland's biggest sporting organization.  I cannot explain how amazing this stadium was.  We walked on the field, and out of the players tunnel where they had an audio simulation of the magnitude of the crowd.  Our guide took us through the players lounge, players locker room, and even the corporate boxes. 

     As many of you may know Ger Feeney, Seans brother, played for County Mayo and was an All-Ireland player.  Unfortunately recently Ger passed away in a tragic boating accident.  While I was in the team locker room I found the Mayo jersey and made sure I took a picture next to it.  I found it interesting that all the Gaelic Football players are non-paid athletes.  They hold a day to day job, and dedicate their mornings and nights to training sessions for their club team.  Croke park holds about 83,000 people, and for the big events it will be completely sold out.  Croke park also has a massive museum which shows the history of the GAA and how it is intertwined with the history of Ireland as a Nation, and it also has an interactive center where you can play Gaelic football and hurling.  Needless to say, we spent over three hours participating in the various activities. 

    After the tour of Croke park we drove over to the Guinness Brewery.  The Guinness family, who was the wealthiest family of their time, built an enormous factory in Dublin which is now open to the public for tours.  Along our tour they teach you all about how the beer is made, and all the steps that are taken to get the perfect pint.  Guinness is kept at 6 degrees Celsius, and if it is kept just 2 degrees higher or lower it will completely ruin the taste making for a bad pint.  After many samples and explanations on how the beer was made, it was my turn to try and pour my own pint.  I did not realize that there is a true art to pouring a pint of Guinness.  First you have to fill in up only 3 quarter of the way and let it sit until the beer extracts itself and the foam rises to the top.  Then you fill the rest of your pint up.  From the pictures above you can see that I passed the test and became certified as the perfect pint pour. I think you can all understand why today was my favorite day of the trip, a combination of sports and beer, and no rock tours!    

January 29th

View from the top of Vinegar Hill

Vinegar Hill

Jumping off the Cliff!!!

      Today we discussed the book “Brooklyn” in the morning as a class.  I actually really enjoy this book.  It’s Irish literature, which all the books we’ve been reading seem to have the same theme.  One family member is leaving Ireland to take on work else where, usually England or the U.S, and then he or she returns to their homeland at the end.  Brooklyn is a great story about a young girl who is doing just this, leaving Ireland and heading to Brooklyn hoping to find herself and find work. 

  After our discussion we got on the bus and headed to Wexford Vinegar Hill.  Vinegar Hill is where the Irish Rebellion of 1798 occurred.  Over 15,000 British soldiers organized an attack on Vinegar Hill  where the headquarters of the United Irish rebels held their place in Wexford.  After visiting the battlefield we went back to the hotel for our last group dinner at the Grandville Hotel in Waterford.  

January 28th

Rock oh Cashal

Cahir Castle

The cannon ball is still stuck in the castle from hundreds of years ago!

Typical Castle stairs

Dungeon

   Packed my bag early in the morning and got on the bus to head toward Waterford, where I'll be staying the next few nights.  On our way to Waterford we stopped at the Rock of Cashal, which is the site of the ruling place of the Kings of Munster.  The site dates back to the 12th century. 

   We left Rock of Cashal and went to Cahir castle, which was in County Tipperary.  Cahir castle was well preserved and best presented because they allowed us to walk anywhere within the castle.  This castle was amazing, it had a moat around it with little windows built in the shape of a cross to fit the bow and arrow shooters for defense.  There was a cannon ball stuck in the side of the castle that had been there for over 500 years.  Also, many scenes from the movie Braveheart were filmed at this location.  I found it interesting that in all the castles the stairs were made to go clockwise upward.  The reason being that this way it favored the person coming down the stairs if they needed to defend them selves from someone coming up.  Most people are right handed, which gives the person walking down the ability to see around corners and room to swing his sword.  Also, there are some stairs that are bigger than others that way if an enemy is trying to run up the unfamiliar stairs he will trip.

    After leaving Cahir castle, we drove into Waterford and stayed at the Grandville Hotel overlooking the river Suir.  Also, I started a new book called "Brooklyn", and so far I can't put it down.

January 27th- Pucker up Blarney Stone

Town of Cobh

Inside Saint Colman's Cathedral.

Blarney Castle

Almost there...

Kissing the Blarney!

After..

View from the top of the castle

    Started the day off by going to the town of Cobh.  This is a delightful little town that is adjacent to the river.  The church of Saint Colman is in Cobh, which was a massive church that was absolutely magnificent inside and out.  It sits on top of a hill that overlooks the town and the water.  The inside was enormous and had amazing stained glass.  After Cobh we left to go to Blarney, to finally see what all the hype about this stone is about.

      Blarney Castle, which is in Cork city, was a different type of castle from what I've seen so far.  It is set in a wooded countryside with a river that runs through the park, unlike other castles where the water surrounds the castle acting as a moat. After walking up over 100 little stairs I finally made it to the top of the castle where the Blarney Stone was located.  There are many different stories as to why the stone is so significant, but it is said that if you kiss the stone it endows the kisser with the gift of eloquence or skill of flattery.  Over 200,000 people kiss the stone every year, meaning I kissed the most unsanitary tourist attraction in the world...oh well!  When I finally made it to the top of the castle there was no way I was going to pass it up.  To reach the stone you have to lay on your back and grab two poles, while you lean back and lower your body over the edge to kiss the stone.  I conquered my fear of heights and did it!  But in a sense it is kind of the like the Mona Lisa, you see the stone and say, "That's it??".  Afterward I was really glad I did it because people usually ask if you've kissed the Blarney when you tell them you visited Ireland.   Overall, great day.

January 25th & 26th

Virtual Golf course inside our hotel.

The beach where people were riding ATV's.

Properties separated by rock walls

The town of Dingle

Sun Peering through the cloud

"Bee Hive" type house

Blasket Islands

Game room in hotel.

Sleeping Bishop island, can you see him?

      January 25th was a study day.  We had 2 classes throughout the day.  In between classes I played the virtual golf course and played games of pool.

     January 26th we woke up early and drove to the Dingle peninsula.  The views were amazing as we walked along the roadside where sheep were standing on the edge of cliffs with no worries at all.  It was interesting to see how all the properties are separated by rock walls, not only as a clear indication of whose land is whose, but also to keep sheep and other animals on one's land.  After this we kept driving along the coast and arrived at the Blasket Islands.  These island were inhabited until 1953 by a completely Irish speaking population.  Throughout the islands history, there were never more than 200 people living on the island.  I just finished reading the book "Twenty Years A-Growing", which talks about the life of a young man who grows up on the islands and makes his way into Dublin later in his
life.  The strong use of dialogue and lyrical quality created both a stimulating and easy read.  One of the islands is said to look like a sleeping Bishop, see if you can spot him above.  I only have 5 days left of my travels, it sure has gone by fast.  Tomorrow I'm off to kiss the blarney stone!