Cobh Church Bells

Day 12

This morning we set off on an hour and half bus ride to Adare, Ireland. It is a quaint little town that claims to be the “prettiest town in Ireland.” It has houses with thatched roofs and beautiful gardens.

Then we traveled to the Cliffs of Moher, which proved to be my favorite part of the trip. They were absolutely spectacular. The rich green of the grass and the blues of the sky and ocean were breathtaking. One of my favorite points was when I went off on my own and hopped over the fence to get a closer look. At this point there was no barrier, and I could have stepped out and plummeted six hundred feet into the ocean below. But it was nice to get some shots without any interference of a fence or rock barrier. The best moment came after I climbed over the fence and turned around to see the waves crashing against the sheer rock cliffs—the most picturesque site I have ever seen.

After that we went to Limerick where we are spending our last night in Ireland. We went out to the Bunratty Medieval Castle Banquet in County Clare. The dinner was inside a castle, and we had to eat our food with our hands like they did in the medieval times. We were given mead, or honey wine, which made me very warm but was pretty good. It is always good to try new things. For dinner we had brown bread, soup, ribs, chicken, potatoes, and a fruit mousse dessert. It was all really tasty. There were also performers there dressed in medieval costumes. They sang and played instruments. One of my favorite songs they sang was “Danny Boy;” it was a wonderful rendition of one of my favorite folk songs. We head back to the States tomorrow. We get up and leave here at 5:00 AM, Ireland time, and get home at 4:44 PM, Pittsburgh time. Good-bye Ireland—I will miss you!

Day 11

Today was our free day in Killarney. I slept in this morning to catch up on my sleep, which was really nice. I had a traditional Irish breakfast for the first time in Ireland. It included toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, black pudding, and white pudding. Black pudding is pretty interesting because it has blood in it, which sounds fairly unappetizing, but was actually very good. I could not really taste a difference between the two puddings. All in all, it was extremely filling but quite excellent.

Then we went shopping around Killarney. We bought some souvenirs and took photos of the town. I am getting some good shots for my web project on Irish fashion. I am noticing a lot of the clothing in stores and on people are pretty similar to what we wear in the U.S.

Then we met Declan Malone, the editor of The Kerryman. This paper is the best selling regional newspaper based in North Kerry. It is extremely localized; it relates local events, sports, and advertisements. Malone said that this newspaper had a lot of sports stories in it making the sports pieces one of the most popular sections of the newspaper. When he was talking about photographers, he said that if they were to get rid of all the photographers and just make the journalists take the pictures for them that it would equal a recipe for disaster. His final advise for photographers was to try to tell a story with a photo and always keep the passion.

Tonight we went out to eat at a very nice restaurant. I had ham and mashed potatoes—a very classic Irish meal. The potatoes were really creamy and good. Then we went back to our room and had some friend bonding time. We talked about life issues and decisions. It was a surprisingly fun time. I have to pack to move again for one last time in Ireland. I am sad that this experience is almost over, but I feel like I really got a lot out of it.

Day 10 - Photos

Irish Whistler and Guitar Player

Tin Flute Player

Irish Dancer

Ring of Kerry

Sheep Dog Demonstration

Irish Sheep

Day 10

Today we traveled to Killarney, Southern Ireland. First we stopped by the Bog Museum where there were several thatched-roofed houses. It was neat to look at the way the houses used to be in Ireland. All of the houses’ roofs used to be made of thatch, but now only a few remain in the whole country.

Next we went to a sheep dog presentation. The modern-day shepherd used the dogs to herd the sheep up and down the hills of the Irish countryside. He used voice commands when the dogs were close by and a high-pitched whistle when the dogs got too far away. He worked with two dogs while we were watching him. Each dog had its own whistle commands; the dogs were so well trained. They could herd the sheep left and right, up and down, and all around the hilly field.

Then we traveled around the Ring of Kerry. It was rainy and very hazy out so the photographs were not the best. We still stopped a few times to take photos of the beautiful countryside. There were many rivers and lakes that we passed by—we even saw the ocean.

Then we finally got to the hotel; it was very luxurious in comparison to the other hotels where we have spent the night. We went out to eat at The Danny Mann Lounge. We had a great Irish meal and Bailey’s cheesecake for dessert. It was very tasty. After we ate we listened to an Irish folk singing group called the Irish Weavers. They played the guitar, the accordion, and the tin flute. It was really neat. They also sang many traditional Irish songs. They really got the crowd into it; everyone was clapping and having a good time.

Day 9 - Photos

The View out Blarney Castle

Watch Tower

Blarney Castle

Day 9

Today we woke up to church bells. They started ringing. We found out they ring about every fifteen minutes--in all hours of the night. After we got ready, we traveled to Cork City where we visited the RedFM Radio Station. There were many different people who were kind enough to speak with us, such as: the production manager, a Gaelic language specialist, and an advertisement and sales agent. Each person told us about their specific job within the radio station. RedFM is meant for a younger age group, so the radio station itself reflected this demographic. They decorated the interior of the building in a young feeling mood with lots of red colors. They also play music according to what the age group wants to hear. They also showed us around the production room which was pretty neat. At the end of the visit we all got a free pen; I have to admit free souvenirs are my favorite.

Then we went to the Blarney Castle. I took a lot of photos and kissed the Blarney Stone. Now I will have good luck for the rest of the year! The whole process of actually climbing up the stairs of the castle was more intense than whole kissing ordeal. The staircase was very tight, and the stairs themselves were narrow and steep. When we finally reached the top, we saw out over the Irish countryside. It was so pretty but very high up. We got to the stone and I was the first one to kiss it. I laid down and bent over backwards to kiss it. For a split second I looked down; it was very scary. I am also short, so I had to scoot down so the man who was holding on to me was just barely grabbing my knees. It was fairly frightening but totally worth it. It was one of the best experiences of my life. While at Blarney, I also got a lot of my souvenir shopping done. I bought an aren sweater for myself. Ireland is known for its nice sheep's wool.

Well I'm off to bed. We are traveling again in the morning and I have to pack. We will be headed to Killarney which should be a fun day. After kissing the Blarney Stone today, I have the luck of the Irish, so I hope to spread it to you!

Day 8

Today was our big travel day. We took a long bus ride down to Cobh in Southern Ireland. On the way we stopped at Wicklow Park. It had a really old cemetery and monastery tower. The tower we saw was one of the seven remaining round towers in Ireland. We also saw an old priest house; there is a fun story behind that little building. People thought that if they were to kiss the house their teeth ailments would instantly heal. Since there were no dentists back then, this seemed like a good cure. There were also hundreds of tombstones ranging in ages. Then we stopped at the Wicklow Park bar and got lunch. I learned that I really do not like Irish mustard. It was amazingly bitter—so spicy, in fact, that I could not eat my sandwich.

Then we got back on the bus for another four hours. We arrived in Cobh and went on a Titanic Walking Tour where we walked around the city looking at historical buildings. The tour guide gave us a brief history of the city. He said that Cobh harbor was one of the largest harbors in the world. It was perfect for times of war, because the navy could keep a lot of ships here. It also had a very small opening, so enemy ships would have trouble penetrating the harbor. Then our guide told us all about Father Browne, which was really nice because I did my research paper on him. He confirmed a lot of my information and showed us pictures that Father Browne took while aboard the Titanic. All and all, I learned a lot from the tour and got some great photos. Tonight I plan to catch up on some sleep. May the luck of the Irish be with you all!

P.S. The Internet here is slow so I cannot upload my photos as of yet, but they will be coming soon.

Day 7

Today was our free day in Dublin, Ireland. Chelsea and I went souvenir shopping and got lots of good gifts for those of you back home. We also went around the city and photographed buildings we passed by.

Then we traveled to the Guinness Factory Storehouse. It was really neat. The whole thing was shaped like one big pint of Guinness. The tour guide said that if one were to fill it, it would equal the biggest pint of beer in the world. He also said that the factory is the third biggest tourist attraction in Europe, which is pretty impressive. The entire place smelled of the brewing process—no complaints here. Even if someone were not a Guinness fan, he would still like the aroma of the factory. At the top of the storehouse was a built-in glass bar area where they served drinks. We could look out and see the whole city. We were also given a free pint of Guinness. I am not a big fan of beer, but this beer was very fresh. It was one of the best I have ever tasted. After that we stopped at a local pub for lunch. It had really good pasta for a very low price. Then we went back to the hotel to rest up and change.

Tonight we went to a show called The Last Waltz. It was a concert at the Olympia Theater. There were many different “sound alike” singers such as: Neil Diamond, Van Morrison, and Neil Young. The singers seemed to be very “Americanized,” which surprised me. I have to give a special shout-out to my mom. The Neil Diamond sound alike singer was really great! You would have really enjoyed it. The theater was an old fashion style building and the concert itself was new-age tribute to the 1960-80s rock and roll music. It was a great contrast; it was very different than what I was expecting but still very good. The Irish know how to have a good time. Everyone around us was having fun and rocking out to the music. Now I have to go pack for our trip down to Cobh tomorrow. Good night all—wish me luck!

Day 6 - Photos

Hanging Plants

Remnants of the Peace Wall between the Protestants and the Catholics

Hillside in Belfast

Interesting Fact:

It is said to be Napoleon's face as if he were lying down looking up at the sky

Belfast Castle and Gardens

The House on the Hill

Mural on Freedom Corner in Belfast

Day 6

Today we traveled to Belfast, Northern Ireland. We left Dublin at 7:00 in the morning by high-speed train. The train was very nice, and there was a great view of the pretty countryside. We had a black taxi cab tour, which ended up being a tour guide showing us around the city in our bus. He was really informative and knew a lot about the city’s historical past. Not that long ago, Belfast was in major conflict between two warring groups—the Protestants and the Catholics. The city has moved past this clash in religion/culture in most ways, but there are still some signs of disagreement. There are many murals on the houses that show the conflict between the two groups of people.

We first traveled to the House on the Hill, which is also known as the Parliament Building. It was an elaborate building that had a great view over the Belfast countryside. Then we went to the Belfast Castle, which is known for its cat gardens. There are seven cat statues and other artworks surrounded by beautiful gardens. Next, we went to the harbor where the Titanic was built. This was very interesting to see, although we will be going on a walking tour of the Titanic next week in Cork.

We met with Jerry Davis from the The Belfast Telegraph. This newspaper is differs from the Southern Ireland newspapers, which makes the The Belfast Telegraph more similar to U.S. newspapers. All of Northern Ireland has access to the Internet, which is not the case in Southern Ireland. This allows the newspapers in Belfast to publish more news web sites and be more up to date with this technology. Although they are lagging behind the U.S. in comparison, Belfast in doing much better in that regard than Southern Ireland. Jerry told us that whatever we do, we should always want to do it and always have a passion for it. I like this advise; I feel like I will keep this in mind when I go out looking for a job.

Then we had a group dinner, which was really amazing. They had great food; I had mussels! They came in their shells and were covered with garlic butter—very yummy. Then we left Belfast for the night and traveled back to Southern Ireland.

Day 5

This morning we got to sleep in; it was a much-needed rest. Today was my favorite day so far because it was all about photography. This afternoon we met with Professor Roddy Flynn again and he talked about the impact of the Internet on the Irish mass media. He said the Internet has not made that much of an influence on Ireland as a whole. The most popular web sites in Ireland are not even Irish but international web sites like Google, Yahoo, and Ebay.

We then went to visit Photocall where we met with the owner and two other photographers. They all really knew what they were talking about. One of the photographers was from Texas, but he had dual-citizenship because his mother was Irish. He moved to Ireland after graduating college. He said the main difference between being a photojournalist in Ireland compared to the U.S. was the fact that in Ireland you can stage photos. In the U.S. a photographer is not allowed to do that; they have to be a complete “fly on the wall.” The best advice they could give was to never give up on your dreams on becoming a photographer. They said that even if it takes years we should keep with it and it will all turn out okay.

Later, we went to meet with Paul Kelly, a documentary and commercial photographer. He showed us a lot of samples of his work and he was very skilled. I was impressed with his documentary images. He captured the mood of the people in the photos and the colors in the photos were gorgeous.

Tomorrow we wake up bright and early at 5:45 in the morning. Good night world and may the luck of the Irish be with you!

Day 5 - Photos

Building across the River

Boat Sculpture

Day 4 - Night

Last night was a blast. We went out to eat at an Irish/Italian restaurant named Elixir. It was really great food. I got lasagna and red wine. It was the best food I have had yet. Then we went a local pub. I had my first taste of Guinness; I’m not the biggest fan of it, but it was okay. A local Irish man came up and talked to us. He bought us a round of drinks, which was very nice of him. He was genuinely happy to have a conversation with us about Ireland and America. We talked a long time and it was great to learn more from an actually local. All in all, it was a fun night.

Day 4

This morning we met Rosita Boland, Irish Times feature writer, for breakfast. She answered many of our questions about her career and gave us an inside perspective on the inner workings of the Irish newspaper. She told us the most important quality a journalist can possess is curiosity. No writer will get far without the ability to do investigative work. She was very well spoken and gave good concise answers to all of our questions.

Next we went to the U.S. Embassy to meet with Ambassador Rooney. The security was very tough, but the building was beautiful. Before Mr. Rooney came to talk to us, Karyn Posner-Mullen, the Director of Public Affairs, told us all bout her job at the Embassy. She said that the Ambassador was on the phone with the Irish President, so he would be a little late—if there was any reason to be late, that reason was a great excuse. Then Mr. Rooney came down and talked to us very briefly. He seemed very much down to earth and cared about us being there. After he left John Murphy, the Press Assistant, answered our questions about the Embassy.

Then we went to Dublin City University to meet with Professor Helena Sheehan. She lectured us about Irish TV drama. She said that, unlike in the U.S., Ireland plays their soap operas during prime time instead of during the day hours. I found this to be pretty interesting, because Americans do not think of those types of show as being important. Ireland also seems to be more open with controversial subjects being aired on TV. Although Helena said that the one thing that is lacking being shown on Irish TV is the left wing—the liberal side of politics in Ireland.

Tonight we are planning to go out on the town. The story is soon to follow. If the luck of the Irish is with us, hopefully we will get to meet some locals!

Day 3 - Photos

Irish Towel Dispenser

National Museum of Ireland

National Museum of Ireland

Day 3

Today we woke up early and walked to the Buswells Hotel. Gerry Davis, the Chief Executive of the Public Relations Institute of Ireland, gave a lecture to us on a basic overview of the Irish PR strategies and tactics. He was extremely interesting. I learned that over seventy percent of all PR specialists are women; this is very similar to the U.S. Then we walked to the Ogilvy and Mather where we met with Jo Wood, Account Planner. She showed us their many different advertisement campaigns. She said that Ireland as a whole is trying to integrate their advertisements with the web. Social media is becoming more important to Ireland. In that way, Ireland is following the U.S. with their digital media based advertisements.

This afternoon Kristen and I went to the National Museum of Ireland and the National Gallery of Ireland. Both were really amazing. The National Museum had a lot of historical artifacts dating back to 7000BC. The most interesting artifacts were from ancient Egypt. The National Gallery had hundreds of paintings ranging from Monet to Yeats, Caravaggio to Henry. There were much older paintings in the gallery than any I have seen in the U.S. We met an Irish security guard named Grahem. He was very friendly and informed us about local events and places to go. Tonight, my roommates and I are having tacos!

Day 2 - Photos

The Brazen Head: Oldest Pub in Dublin

Interesting Fact:

Irish street signs are located on the sides of buildings

Building covered in Green Vines

Man outside Hotel

Doors in Ireland are very colorful

Day 2 - Night

Tonight, we were in the studio audience for Frontline, an Irish current affairs debate show. They talked about events in the economic downfall in Ireland. They are currently in a resection just like the United States. There were many ideas for how to get out of the bad economy. I have never been in a studio audience before. It was very interesting to see the show live and actually be there for the filming. The cameras were fascinating to watch; there were also hundreds of the lights. The overall experience of the Frontline show was pretty great.

Now, I’m off to bed. I’ll be getting up early for an Advertisement and PR lecture. The luck of the Irish be with you!

Day 2 - Morning

This morning we had a lecture on the Irish print and broadcasting media. It was an overview of the Irish newspapers, TV channels, and radio stations. The speaker was Rodrick Flinn. He was very interesting and knowledgeable. He gave us a lot of information about print journalism such as: fifty percent of all Irish people buy newspapers, the main newspapers are printed nation-wide (not by city like in the U.S.), and the Irish do not rely on the internet to get their news. He also told us that the Irish people only own five stations on TV. The rest of the stations come from overseas, like the United States and Britain. Overall, I learned a lot.

For lunch I went to O'Brien's. They had great sandwiches and soup. I noticed that the meat is a little different here. It is less processed than in the U.S., but still tastes great. Then, we went on a Hop On-Hop Off Dublin Tour Bus. It was very interesting. I compare it to the Just Ducky Tours in Pittsburgh. The tour guide told us about the city and some of the buildings. It was full of history, and I took many photos. Chelsea and I stopped at the Temple Bar. I got a Bailey's coffee; it was very warm on a chilly day like today.

Day 1 Photos

Table at Dublin Castle

The Book of Kells

Ducks at the Park

Horse at the Park

Day 1

We arrived in Ireland today after a seven-hour plane ride from Philadelphia. The trip went surprisingly well. We got to eat and sleep, which were my two main goals. The scenery was amazing when we first saw Ireland. There were a lot of farms and it was very green.

When we first arrived today, in order to keep us all awake, we went shopping and to the park. I got a lot of photographs for my web project on Irish fashion. Then we went to Trinity College where they keep the Book of Kells. There was also a huge library full of books. I have never seen so many books in one place in all my life. There were thousands of books—rows upon rows of them.

Next we went to the Dublin Castle, which is better defined as an estate than a castle. It was full of history; I learned so much. The furniture and woodwork were also amazing. Tonight, we all went out to eat at the oldest pub in Ireland. The food there was great.

Now it is time for bed. I have the luck of the Irish on my mind, so I’m sure those thoughts will give me great dreams.

Flight Numbers:

May 08 USAirways #3466/722 PIT/PHL/DUB 300P/428P 900P/850A (May 9)

May 21 USAirways #723/#806 DUB/PHL/PIT 1100A/140P 335P/447P

Wish me luck!!