5 Irish Counties In One Week!

This past week has been filled with non stop action. Our journey to the west coast started early last Tuesday morning when we set out for Blarney Castle. We have seen so many historic sites, landscape views, and parks in the last few days it's out of control. We were able to see Blarney Castle and kiss the Blarney stone, hike on Skellig Michael, hike through Killarney National Park, tour through the Muckrose house, explore the Dingle Peninsula, play a rugby game on Inch beach, see the cliffs of Moher, biked around on the Aran Islands, and the list goes on and on. It has been one of my favorite trips so far. We have seen some absolutely breathtaking views and made so many memories. This has been the ultimate semester. I don't think I've really wrapped my head around the fact that I've 'studied' in Ireland for a whole semester. It's literally a dream to have done this. I have had so much fun and here are some pictures that I'd like to share with you. They're from the beginning of our West Coast trip up until today.

This was on the Island of Skellig Michael. It's 15 miles off the west coast of Ireland and while we were out there you couldn't even see mainland. We were taken out by this little fishing boat and once we got there it was a steep climb to the top. There were over 600 hand-laid stone steps. You would not believe how high up some of these spots are... it's just incredible!

This is the guys in the 'Gap of Dunloe'


Wynsma and myself in Killiney National Park.


This is murph, myself, and wynsma on the Dingle Peninsula. This is, in my opinion, the most beautiful place in Ireland. The entire ride was filled with indescribable views and the most vivid colors I've ever seen.


The gang at the Cliffs of Moher. We completely lucked out with weather because it was perfect weather while we were there.


This was out on the Aran Islands. I knew there were cliffs on the island but I never thought they would be this sheer. You would look off and it would go straight down to the water. I'm not going to lie, it freaked me out a little...

View straight down!

Well, so far this has been an absolute dream semester. I am so glad to be finishing up the semester on the West Coast. It's crazy to think that in 4 days I'll be on a plane headed home! It's completely bittersweet. I am so excited to be going back home but am going to dearly miss Ireland! Hope you all are doing well!

Leinster Rugby Match!

So about a week ago our entire ISP group went to see a Leinster Rugby match. There are four provinces in Ireland: Leinster, Munster, Connacht, and Ulster. Each province has their own club team. Leinster has the "Leinster Lions". A few of their players were drafted for Irelands national team during the 6 nations. So needless to say, they have a very good team. It was such a fun game to attend. It's one thing to watch rugby on T.V. and it's a completely different thing to watch it live. You could literally hear the hits between the players on the field. We did get to see a pretty big fight break out as well. A Leinster player just started pounding this Glascow player during the scrum...it quickly turned into a legit fight with punches to the face. Both teams just collasped trying to break it up. No body got kicked out of the game but one player did get a yellow card and was sent off to the "sin bin." Here's some cool photos from the game...

Venturing up North

After four days of travel up to northern Ireland, our group has returned safely to our home away from home, Greystones. We were able to see Derry, Sligo, and Donegal while up there. We stayed at an incredibly nice hotel in Donegal for all three nights. It had a hot tub, sauna, swimming pool and workout center! I know this doesn't sound that exciting but when you haven't swam or really worked out for two months, it's heaven! On top of this the trip was really fun! On the first day of our trip we left Greystones bright and early and drove for five hours all the way to the northwest coast. We hiked up Slieves League which are the highest cliffs in Europe. This honestly has made my trip to Ireland so far!


We luckily had a great day to hike! It started out rainy and cold but by the time our bus made it to the trail head the sun was out and things were warming up! Hiking up to the top was such a humbling experience. We were fairly close to the cliff edge all the way up. This gave us a great view of the ocean below. It was super windy and at some points I was almost blown to the ground. I have never seen anything so beautiful before! The views from the top are indescribably. It was simple put: awesome.

We were also able to see Lough Derg, which is a pilgrimage site that St. Patrick used to use. It's also called Station Island by the famous Irish poet William Butler Yeates. Since we traveled up north for our Irish Literature class, we learned a lot about him. The Island was pretty cool. Yes, it literally was an island in the middle of this lake and we had to take a ferry to get out there. Now it's just used as a place for people to go and meditate.

We were able to see a 'ring fort' in Donegal. It was located at the top of this really steep hill and somehow Brian King, our bus driver, was able to get all of us and the bus up to the top! The roads over here are so ridiculously narrow especially on the country roads. Our bus driver has to drive off the road to pass other cars. It has been a little nerve racking sometimes but anyway back to the 'ring fort'. It was an interesting ruin.

As you can see, it was really windy

The beautiful view from the top of the 'ring fort'

It was basically this large circular fort with stairs that led up to the top of the wall. It was cool because once you climbed to the top you could see the three county's surrounding it. The view was great but it was again very windy once we got to the top.

On our third day, we ventured up to Derry in Northern Ireland. The entire city is walled. This is where Bloody Sunday occurred, and 14 protesters were shot dead by British soldiers in 1972. We walked the walls of the city, saw paintings and graffiti from IRA supporters. Brian King, our bus driver, gave us a walking tour around the city and it was really good!

This was some of the IRA supporting graffiti on the city walls in Derry.

Time is flying over here! Spring break officially starts this Thursday and Luke, Colin and I are headed over to London to stay with some family friends. It should be a really great time. I absolutely love Ireland but It'll be nice to get away for a little while. I can't believe that in a little over a month, this semester ends and I'll be on my way home. I've been learning so much about life and have really been changing for the better. I know that I will return to the states a different person. It's for sure an exciting thing! But for now, I'm just going to soak up as much of Ireland as I can!

6 Nations Rugby!

So, I have been lucky enough to follow Ireland's national rugby team in their search of a 6 Nations Rugby title. Each and every game just seems to get better and better. Last Saturday night, a brave group of us decided to venture into Dublin to watch the match between England and Ireland. Everyone and their brother, were there crowding the pubs, streets, and any sort of local transportation. It was crazy but incredibly fun none the less! We ended up watching the match at the Purty Kitchen in downtown Dublin. It was a very nice, new-age, pub and was covered in flat-screen tvs. The game was intense and Ireland pulled out with a victory. The final score was 14-13. I have to say that rugby is the most intense sport I have ever watched! It was an incredible feeling to be immersed in a culture where literally everyone stops what they're doing, and supports their team.

Here's a few shots from the game last Saturday that I pulled off the web. This is Brian O'Driscoll, the captain of Ireland's team. He's absolutely incredible. He took a few cheap hits from England and that almost ended the game for him but he somehow continued to keep playing.

I just thought this picture was awesome! This is Irelands kicker, Ronan O'Gara, taking a hard hit from England.

Don't worry, I'm still alive!

So I was talking to my sister yesterday and she brought to my attention that I haven’t blogged in quite a while. These past couple of weeks have been non-stop so I apologize for not being as up to date as I’d like to be. But not to worry because I’m still alive and yes, everything is fantastic! Aside from the fact that we’ve had more site visits then I can count, and our first midterm, everything been so much fun. I think I’ve been to downtown Dublin around eight times this week, had coffee an equal number of times and just enjoyed being in another country. Another exciting event that happened this week was the ‘dart’ opened back up! It shut down after a mudslide took out some track between Greystones and Brey (the next town over). The dart is our local commuter train that literally everyone uses. It's so nice to have that back up and running because now we don't have to take the bus! Since it's been so long since my last post I think I’m going to give you a quick rundown of the past two weeks and throw some pictures in there as well. I mean, lets be honest, who doesn't like pictures? They make trying to explain anything so much easier and reading for sure more fun!

Starting out a few weeks ago, our group went to see the Raglans (a young Irish band who recently received a record deal over in London) at the Greystones Theater. They were absolutely amazing!


A couple days later our group went to Glendalough. It's a really old monastic site hidden within the Wicklow mountains. We were able to hike up to the top of one of them. The weather was perfect for our hike and everything was so beautiful!

Finally made it to the top! It snowed three days prior to our hike which is unheard of over here in Ireland! Apparently, this is the most it's snowed over here in twenty years!

Went to Jer Point Abbey.

Visited the Rock of Cashel in Kilkenny. It was so much fun and the view made the hike up totally worth it. If you look at the picture close enough, you can see a chunk of the castle that fell off years ago during a storm.

The view from up there was incredible!

Yeah, things got a little out of hand.


Had the best, and i mean the BEST, Carmel Macchiato I've ever had at a little cafe called 'Esquires' in Killarney!


Then later on that evening our group had dinner at Kytellers. They had a live band playing Irish music while we were there. It was the ultimate 'pub' experience!


And I even met the Pope. (That one's for you rags!)

Alright, those are just a few of the fun events that happened over the past two weeks. I'll do my best to keep all of you updated more frequently. Hope everyones doing well! Later.

Finally here!

This semester in Ireland has been long awaited and i'm so glad to finally be over here! I can't fully explain how beautiful it is in Ireland. Every morning i wake up with the view that one can only dream about. When I look out the window from my room on the second floor of the "man house" i can see the Greystones harbor to my right and then off to my left are the mountains that stand prominently in their place. Knowing that i get to look at that, makes makes getting out of bed a little easier in the morning. That and the fact that I'm in Ireland. It really is a weird feeling waking up in the morning and knowing that i'm thousands of miles away from home. It has taken a little while for me to finally get used to this "Irish culture" but i'm growing accustomed really fast. Everybody's so nice over here that it makes the transition easy. We've already spent three days touring around Dublin, looking for the best coffee shops, pubs, and places to eat. This past week of "school" (if you can even call it that) has been fantastic! We have literally spent everyday relaxing and enjoying the Irish culture. It really is a one of a kind experience. I know that academics will pick up, and we will actually have to study a little, but for now life couldn't be better! I am with the greatest group of people i could ever imagine (since miami). Everyone in our group is so laid back and easy going and that is for sure a praise! One of the things i love about this semester in Ireland is the fact that you have complete freedom to do whatever you want. You are free to leave the dorm at two in the morning and take a walk down by the harbor, or head down to the Beach House (our local pub right on the harbor) to watch a rugby game, go to Dublin, or do whatever you want. The directors are so laid back and it's fantastic.

We had our first site visit yesterday (Friday) and our group visited some really old ruins. We visited a grave yard that was covered in old celtic crosses that were hand carved thousands of years ago. It's amazing that they look as good as they do. My favorite is probably our trip to New Grange! That was incredible! I think it's absolutely incredible that there are structures from 5000 years ago that are still standing today. I mean, to us, a 250 year old colonial house is old. Over here something is old if it's been there a few thousand years.

Well i'm sure there will be many stories to tell later on! I miss you all and hope you all are doing well back in America! I'll try to keep you updated as much as possible. Later.