Hello everyone! My name is Megan Aldrup, and I'll be writing this journal about my year abroad in Maynooth, Ireland. I'm a sophomore from Texas with two intended majors, Biology and English Writing. In about a week, I'll catch my flight from Houston to Dublin, and I simply can't wait to go! It might be difficult to be away from my parents and my siblings - a sister who's a high school senior and a brother who's a freshman - for an entire nine months, but I know from my first year up at Saint Mary's that any homesickness will be trumped by new friends and adventures.
I have a little recent experience with world travel. Growing up in northeast Ohio, the furthest I went was to visit my relatives, who all live in the South. But my interest in global culture grew when my family moved here to Katy, a diverse suburb of Houston, after my sophomore year in high school. I soon met friends who had lived on four continents, who answered the phone in Norwegian then spoke in a mix of Hindi and English, and I needed to find a more interesting story than "Well, Dubai sounds cool and all, but my best friend's aunt lives in the middle of Amish country." During the next two years, I went on a couple of mission trips to rural Mexico with my youth group. I also took my first (and until now only) trip to Europe when my family and I went to Germany for the 2006 World Cup. Being big soccer fans, we had a ball seeing people from around the globe share in the excitement of our favorite game. It was an absolute delight for me to see a World Cup match, even if the U.S. did choke and lose miserably (it’s a European curse - but enough about that.) Those trips sparked my interest in international travel. Soon I decided for sure that I wanted to study abroad during college, and it was an important part of my decision to attend Saint Mary's.
And now I get to realize my travel dreams! During all the stages of planning for this year, the reality never really set in until these last few weeks before my departure. Now, I'm trying to squeeze a few more outfits out of my wardrobe, cooking lessons out of my mom, and books and films on Ireland into my head. I know the real learning will occur, though, once I actually get to Maynooth. 11 days and counting!
I’m finally here at NUIM, and it’s absolutely great! It’s been a hectic last week or so. My pre-departure was somewhat complicated by Hurricane Ike, but one upside was that the resulting cool temperatures prepared me for a smoother transition to Irish weather. I made it to Ireland safe and fairly sound, and even through the jet lag and culture shock, I was excited to be in Maynooth, my home for the next nine months! The first day here was a fog - I couldn’t figure out the electrical outlets, the shower controls, or even how to open the door to the bank! But I didn’t have much time to dwell on my foreignness, because orientation for international students started the next day. I met lots of fellow Americans and Europeans who are doing the same thing I’m doing, and we all have different perspectives on what’s different here in Ireland, which makes for plenty of good conversation.
On Friday afternoon all of us from SMC got away to take a trip, the first of many we’ll be taking on the weekends, when many of the Irish students go home. We went up to Northern Ireland to see the coast, which was absolutely beautiful. Saturday morning began with a tour of the Bushmills distillery, where whiskey has been produced for centuries. After that we continued to Dunluce Castle, which is built high on an outcrop connected to the coast by a tiny little bridge, making it very defendable. Although the castle is only ruins now, it’s easy to see why it was an attractive spot for the many people who lived there over the years. The views were absolutely spectacular! After Dunluce Castle, we visited the Giant’s Causeway, one of the most well-known spots of this region. It consists of lots of vertical rock pillars, which might not be that cool - except that the pillars are hexagonal. It’s hard to believe that this occurred naturally due to the rapid cooling and cracking of lava, which is probably why there’s a much better explanation. According to legend, the Causeway was created by the giant Finn McCool, who needed a bridge across the sea to confront a rival Scottish giant. Whatever the origin, this place is awesome. We hiked all around to get a good look at it all, and even though my legs are sore, the natural beauty of the area was well worth it. On the long drive back to the Maynooth, we stopped at a place called Monasterboice to see some high crosses, huge stone crosses engraved on all sides with scenes from scripture. They were amazingly detailed; I could have spent ages looking at all the tiny figures, but we had to get back to Maynooth, where there’s plenty to keep me busy for now.
10/18/08
...getting into the swing of life in Maynooth. Classes have been going for two weeks now. I’m enjoying them, but adjusting to school here will take some time. There must be at least a hundred people in my English course! It’s definitely a change from the small, discussion-based style of Saint Mary’s. One exception to this is Introduction to Modern Irish, which is probably my favorite class - we’ve already learned some of the basics of Irish (Gaeilge), which is very unique compared to the other languages I’m familiar with. I can now say Is maith liom Má Nuad - I like Maynooth!
I’m also exploring outside of Maynooth. On our second weekend here, the SMC group took another trip. We spent a fine Saturday morning hiking up a hill at Loughcrew. The views from the hill were beautiful, but the 5,000-year-old cairn at the top was the focus of our attention. On one side of the cairn is an entrance to the passage tombs beneath, and on another side is a stone slab which looks like an altar or throne. Some of us sat on it and made a wish which is supposed to be granted, but others avoided it, since some accounts say you’ll be cursed forever. I guess I’ll see which one’s true. After Loughcrew we spent the afternoon in Trim, home to the largest Norman castle in Ireland. Trim Castle was an English stronghold for over seven centuries, and it’s an impressive sight both inside and out.
This weekend there was no planned trip, so some friends and I spent Saturday in Dublin. We had a good time wandering around Trinity College, St. Stephen’s Green, and the Temple Bar area. For dinner, we decided on a pub filled both with locals watching rugby and with tourists attracted by the promise of live Irish dancing. I didn’t count on being asked to participate in the dancing, but somehow that’s how it worked out. All in all it was a lively day, only somewhat dampened by the ubiquitous rain - I guess Irish weather is going to live up to its stereotype!
I can’t believe I’ve been here almost a whole month already! It seems like the weeks are flying by - I’m glad I’m here for the whole year, so I get eight more months to enjoy. I joined the soccer club last week, and we already had our first match. It was against Trinity College, and we went into Dublin to play them. It was a little strange, because the playing fields there are right in the middle of campus - I had walked past them as a tourist, but thought they were just practice fields. A little while into the game, I glanced over and saw benches full of people watching us! Also, being in the heart of Dublin meant all the chaos of the city was just out of sight - I swear a saxophone player nearby didn’t stop once during the whole ninety minutes.
It’s not all games and trips, though. Living in the campus apartments brings more responsibilities than dorm life. Cooking for myself isn’t nearly as delicious and varied as eating at the SMC Dining Hall - it involves a lot of pasta, for one. There are also lots of little chores to keep on top of. I remember being told before I went to college that you’re not really independent until you buy your own toilet paper. Well, I guess I’m independent now - and I have the receipts to prove it.
Last weekend we went on another day trip, and we saw some more awe-inspiring ancient sites. First we stopped at the Hill of Tara, the seat of the high kings of Ireland. St. Patrick is said to have converted the pagan high king here, winning the right to preach Christianity throughout Ireland. He accomplished this by explaining the Holy Trinity with a handy symbol that is now permanently associated with Ireland: the shamrock. (He would of course have used a normal three-leaf clover; a four-leaf clover would have made no sense at all.)
Next we went to an area known as Brú na Bóinne, home to many archaeological sites and about two-thirds of the world’s Neolithic art. The most famous site there is Newgrange, a passage tomb built over 5,000 years ago, before Stonehenge or the pyramids at Giza. Newgrange is truly an architectural wonder, expertly designed and built with precision. The central chamber is pitch dark (well, without electricity it would have been) year-round except for seventeen minutes on the morning of the winter solstice. Then, a beam of light makes its way up the narrow passage to illuminate the chamber where the remains of the dead were placed, possibly in the belief that the sunlight would carry their souls to the afterlife.
Near Newgrange is Knowth, another passage tomb. Knowth is not open inside, due to later Christian settlements which blocked off the passages, but it’s aligned to light up on the spring and fall equinoxes. Knowth is still interesting, though, because the outside of the mound has a great deal of well-preserved Neolithic art - a third of the world’s collection! It doesn’t seem like your typical gallery, and the artists have long been forgotten, but it’s still fun to walk around and admire the skill and time it would have taken to carve all of the patterns decorating the walls.
Last week was our fall break, so two friends and I took off for continental Europe to have some new adventures. First stop: Budapest, Hungary! Budapest was really grand. It used to play a very large role in Europe, ruling one half of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and the buildings around the city reflect that importance. It was quite beautiful, especially at night, strolling along the Danube. We managed to squeeze a lot into our time there. We visited everything from the little Stamp Museum, where we were unable to tour the whole building because a new stamp was actually being commissioned that morning, to the House of Terror, a sobering reminder of Hungary’s twentieth-century troubles housed in the former headquarters of the Nazi and communist regimes. We toured a labyrinth beneath Buda Castle, ate pastries in one of the city’s many charming cafés, and shopped in the busy Great Market Hall. But the best part of Budapest by far was soaking for almost four hours in one of the many famous thermal baths, splashing and relaxing and watching the Hungarians do the same.
After Budapest, we took a twelve-hour train ride to Romania. This was a test of our travel skills, and looking back, I don’t think I would have had the confidence to manage before we came to Ireland; I can definitely see that I’ve grown in independence. With a lack of English-speaking conductors, my friend and I used our rusty high-school German to get on the right side of the train (or else we’d have ended up in Prague.) We all had a bit of a scare when the Romanian passport officials got off the train with our passports to head to their office - and then the train started up its engine again! We were totally prepared to jump off the train if it started moving, but our adrenaline was unnecessary, as they came back in a little while. Riding through the beautiful mountain landscapes of Transylvania as night fell, we read a bit from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. That’s right: we went to Transylvania for Halloween!
It was “pretty cool,” as we said in our understating way the whole time we were there. On Halloween we toured three Transylvanian castles. One, Rasnov, was a ruined fortress. Another, Peles, was a beautifully decorated royal palace. And the third was Bran Castle. It’s not the actual castle of Vlad Dracul - that’s in ruins in another part of Romania - but it is the place around which the legend was built. I had a great time imagining vampires around the place; they could hide in a dark closet here, hang from an arched ceiling there, fly from roof to roof over the courtyard. It was simply exciting to be there!
Last week was, of course, the week of our presidential election, and it was certainly an exciting time for me as a first-time voter. Although I actually mailed in my absentee ballot several weeks ago, the fourth of November was still an important date, and many of us Americans stayed up until four or five in the morning to watch the results come in. The American election was the talk of the town here, too, and it was interesting to watch the Irish watch us. I’ve never really understood why the rest of the world pays attention to our politics, but it’s clear that many people here think our decision of president affects their lives as well. It reinforces what I’ve been told so many times about our responsibilities as citizens and the importance of every person’s vote. I think being in Ireland has helped me to appreciate my role in the democratic process, especially when I consider that other countries’ leaders, such as Ireland’s Taoiseach, are elected not by the public but by the majority party or coalition in the parliament.
The start of November brings more than elections, of course. It brings a transition from the “refreshingly crisp” temperatures of early fall to the “uncomfortably nippy” cold of late fall. And in this particular climate it marks a high time for color change in the trees. This weekend we got to see this in its full glory on our trip to Powerscourt. The estate there is filled with gardens, from a Japanese grotto to a valley filled with huge North American trees. It was the perfect time to see the leaves lit up like fireworks in red, orange, and yellow. I was a little surprised to find that the flower gardens were still in bloom too! The gorgeous roses were still thriving while I was bundled up, gloves and all. After a delicious lunch at Powerscourt’s award-winning restaurant we headed to Glendalough, where St. Kevin lived as a hermit in the wilderness. Later it was home to a religious community, and it has one of the best examples of the essential Irish monastic landmark - the round tower. The tower at Glendalough is quite tall and stands out above everything else in the landscape . . . even in the rain, which started to pour down on us in truckloads. The dreary weather that afternoon even made my color pictures look black-and-white!
It’s been several weeks since I last wrote - sorry about that. In that time we’ve had the last of our group trips for this semester. We spent a Saturday crisscrossing the local area with Seamus, a bit of a local history expert. For every sight we saw, he had a story or an obscure fact about something that had happened there or someone important who was connected with the place. We went to a cemetery with a mound grave of an ancient queen, a mausoleum of an influential local family, and a cross carved from the recycled original tomb of Wolfe Tone, one of Ireland’s early revolutionaries. We saw a piece of skull poking through the ground of a ruined monastery. We finished at Wolfe Tone’s tomb - the new one, since his old one was worn away by admirers.
Although that was our last weekend trip, I haven’t stopped traveling. The next weekend some friends and I went into Dublin to tour two heritage sites. We started at Kilmainham Gaol, which has held some of Ireland’s most influential people. Prisoners at the jail have included Charles Stewart Parnell, an Irish MP who pushed for home rule and land reform, and Eamon de Valera, the first President of the Dáil, along with many of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising, which jump-started the struggle for independence. After the jail we went to Dublin Castle, originally a Viking settlement, later a Norman castle, then a royal residence. It was the seat of British rule in Ireland for many years, and now holds important government functions such as the President’s inauguration. In the evening we strolled down Grafton Street, which is all lit up for Christmas. It’s beautiful!
Last week was Comedy Week at the Students’ Union, and I got a ticket for stand-up comedian Neil Delamere just before they sold out. I’m very glad I did, because he was hilarious. I especially laughed at his jokes about Ryanair, and his suggestion that to alleviate the prison system, everyone be required to put up a criminal in their house for two weeks a year. It was quite a fun night, and I think I got a great look into Irish culture - what makes people laugh, after all, helps you get to know them. Last week was also Thanksgiving, and we took time to celebrate our American culture with a delicious big dinner at Castletown, a Georgian house nearby. It was interesting to celebrate such an exclusively American holiday here in Ireland, and to try to explain its meaning to our Irish friends. It’s more than just a big dinner like Christmas dinner, of course, but why exactly we’ll travel hours to be with family just for one day of eating turkey and watching football and parades on TV is hard to articulate to someone who asks.
Well, it’s a new year and I’m starting it in Maynooth. Classes resume on Monday, which means an end to my delightfully empty schedule. Not that I’ve done nothing since the end of last semester. The day after classes got out, I left for Austria to celebrate Christmas in Kirchberg in Tirol. I met students who had been studying in Rome and Innsbruck while we spent a week in a hotel halfway up a mountain in the Alps. It was wonderful to see familiar faces from Saint Mary’s and make some new connections. I got to brush up on my skiing and my German, ride in a horse-drawn sleigh, and sample Gluhwein, an Austrian specialty. We took a day trip to Salzburg, where I wandered through the Christkindlmarkt, saw where Mozart was born, followed in the steps of the Von Trapp children, passed two Irish pubs in a row, and bought cashew and pineapple chocolate (different but delicious!) I learned about Austrian Christmas traditions, such as the terrifying Krampus - monstrous creatures who come with the Christkind to whip children who have been naughty. Actually, we got a firsthand demonstration of that tradition when some of them showed up at our hotel! Though I knew it was only some teenage boys in costumes, I still shrieked until my throat was sore. It’s certainly a better incentive to behave than a measly lump of coal! On Christmas Eve we had a delicious feast and a very merry evening before going to midnight mass. Everyone got along splendidly and we had some great craic. I had such a wonderful time that I completely forgot to be lonely about not going home for the holidays!
I had to be back in Maynooth for our January exams, which are very important here because they can be worth up to 100% of the grade! Campus was very crowded, with students who rarely even attend lectures flooding to the library to get in some last-minute studying. I managed to avoid that trap and once I was finished I had time to relax. Last week I went to Galway with a friend of mine. The west coast of Ireland is lovely, although the rain seemed fiercer than in Maynooth. Galway contained the old fishing community of the Claddagh, home to the original Claddagh ring - two hands holding a heart with a crown, symbolizing friendship, love, and loyalty. Galway is also known for its pub scene, and we were able to take in some live music over a pint.
This week the girls who are studying here for the spring semester arrived, bringing in lots of new faces to befriend. It’s very odd to see them experience the same culture shock that I went through way back in September, and I realized how much I’ve changed and grown over the past four months. I hardly notice things like Irish accents, three-pronged plugs, French fries being chips, or cars driving on the left anymore. I’ve also changed in personality - more laid-back, less eager to rush the process of having a cup of tea. My friend who’s just arrived told me she doesn’t drink tea - I used to say the same thing, but I know better now. She’ll be going through three cups a day by March.
Classes began again last week, and although it’s nice to have a regular schedule again, I’ve been complaining about how “early” my lectures are this semester. I have class at ten three mornings a week! This seems awful to me now, which is odd, because I had Chemistry at eight all last year at Saint Mary’s and didn’t moan nearly as much. It seems the Irish sense of time, which is very laid-back, has gotten into me! Good thing I have three alarms at my disposal or I would never have made it to class. After the effort of actually attending, I’m enjoying my classes this semester quite a bit. I’m continuing to take Irish and I hope to visit some of the Gaeltachts (Irish-speaking areas) this spring to try out my skills. I’m also studying Irish literature, early Irish history, and moral theology.
This weekend we took the first of our trips for the spring semester. I had been missing our Saturdays as a group, so it was nice to get back on that bus. We went into Dublin and visited several of the national museums. One of the exhibits at the Decorative Arts and History branch was a collection of Irish clothing, from the 18th century up to the 20th. I especially enjoyed the old wedding dresses, and the clothes from the 1960s. The most memorable part of the Archaeology branch was the exhibit housing two (and a half) bog bodies. These ancient Iron Age corpses have well-preserved skin and even hair. To be honest, I was a little squeamish when I looked at the bodies, but I kept having to go back for another peek! We finished the day at an art museum. Although I enjoy art galleries, I always leave wishing I’d taken art history. That way I’d know what I’m looking at and, I think, enjoy it more. Since I don’t really know much about art history (yet,) the next best thing is to have an art major or two on hand, and luckily there are a couple in our group.
There’s no trip this Saturday but I think I’ll be able to fill the weekend anyway. There’s an international film festival on in Dublin right now, and I’m hoping to see a couple films that have caught my eye. Last weekend was also the start of the Six Nations, a big rugby tournament between Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, France, and Italy. Rugby is pretty popular here and the matches are sure to be shown in the pubs in town, so I might decide to pass the time watching some of the action. It goes without saying, of course, that I’ll be rooting for Ireland.
This week a friend from high school came to visit me. I enjoyed playing the host, showing her around Maynooth and Dublin. We enjoyed wandering through O’Connell Street, Grafton Street, and the Temple Bar, and we spent a couple of afternoons in Dublin’s museums. The weather was really fine this week, so we took advantage of the bright, dry days by spending much of our time in parks. In central Dublin, we stepped into St. Stephen’s Green and Merrion Square; west of downtown is Phoenix Park, which is just vast. My friend and I only managed to explore a small corner of it in the time we had, but I hope to go back with a bike to conquer more of it. Clearly the Dubliners also realized how great the weather was, because all of the parks were full of people. The paths were covered with couples holding hands and parents strolling behind excited kids, armed with half a loaf of bread to try to coax the swans out of the ponds. It seems to me like the Irish, and Europeans in general, are better suited to this kind of park than Americans; they mostly keep off the grass, just wandering the many paved pathways. I might just think that because I’ve never lived in a big city with organized parks, but even here in Maynooth, people love to walk up and down a long straight avenue just off the main street in town. I compare my experience of parks here with a park near where I grew up. There was a paved pathway, but I never stayed on it, preferring to roll down the hill or play tag in the grass; adults came to the park to use the tennis or basketball courts. If they did use the park just to walk, it was for exercise, not relaxation. We Americans like to walk with a purpose, possibly because we think our time is very precious and we don’t like to waste any of it. Sometimes I have to remind myself to slow down to a stroll, even just walking on campus here, because I’m passing all the Irish without realizing it!
It’s March already! Supposedly we should be getting into spring, but it snowed this week so I don’t buy it. Last Tuesday was Mardi Gras, which is called Pancake Tuesday here. As you can probably guess, the treat that day was pancakes - good “American-style” pancakes as my housemate told me, although I noticed a conspicuous lack of maple syrup. The day was a lot simpler here than it is in other parts of the world, with no great parades or festivities. I enjoyed it a lot, though, because I’ve always liked having breakfast for dinner.
Our Saturday trip brought back Seamus, the local historian who led us around in the fall. We began by travelling on the straightest road in Ireland, which stretches a whole ten miles, to a place called Lullymore “Island,” so called because the town is on high dry ground in the middle of a bog. After learning about how Irish bogs were formed, their unique ecosystems, and the process of turf-cutting (digging up peat for fuel) we got to go out onto the bog itself. Although the surface of the bog is solid and fine to walk on, every step brought water squelching up, and when we split into two groups to take turns jumping up and down; we could feel the ground ripple like a waterbed - quite a strange experience!
After that Seamus took us to a forest park called Donadea. It used to be the estate of an influential local family and he showed us around their castle and the church they built nearby. It was an interesting church, because although the family eventually became Protestant they were always mindful of their Catholic roots, which showed in the design and decoration. The site also held the ruins of an older church which had grown from an even older one founded by Saint Patrick. Seamus even had some ghost stories to mix in with the history. It takes someone like him to demonstrate how Ireland is so richly steeped in stories!
Our trip ended mid-afternoon, which gave us time to get to the pub to watch a much-anticipated rugby match: Ireland versus England! It was a close game, with England coming back at the very end, but Ireland edged out a narrow victory of 14-13, which is good enough for me. Another reason to celebrate was the arrival of RAG week. Raise And Give week meant that the Students’ Union was devoted to fundraising for charity, and all of campus (and most of the town, for that matter) joined in the festivities. Now it’s Friday, though, so campus has emptied out as usual for the quiet weekend.
Last Saturday our group headed down to Kilkenny, where we took a tour of Kilkenny Castle. The castle was built shortly after the Normans arrived in Ireland and was home to some very influential Irish nobility. It even received visits from some of the British royals, and it has been restored to its very posh Victorian decorations. The highlight was its famous family portrait gallery. I’d say it was probably the prettiest castle, inside and out, that I’ve seen in Ireland so far. The city of Kilkenny itself was also a delight to walk through. In medieval times it was a major center in Ireland, even holding the Irish parliament at times, due to its castle and its cathedral (“Kilkenny” comes from the Irish for “Church of Canice.”) Traces of its medieval structure mixed right in with modern shops; I passed a café named after Paris, TX and just had to take a picture.
After leaving Kilkenny we drove through County Carlow, stopping along the way to check out the Brownshill Dolmen. This is a passage tomb with a massive 150-ton capstone - smack dab in the middle of nowhere. One of my friends, ever the brave explorer, managed to clamber up the back to provide a good reference for size. How anyone living thousands of years ago could have managed to drag that stone to its current position is beyond me! I’m realizing through my class on early Irish history that going back in time, reliable accounts fade into fuzzy mixtures of legend and reality, and then into a void of information left for archaeology to try to fill. The tour guide at Kilkenny could give us so many details about the past eight centuries, but another eight centuries back and it’s prehistory!
This week was spring break at NUIM, and my family came to visit me in Ireland! It was fantastic to see them again after six months apart - my brother has grown even taller than me since I left. They visited me in Maynooth and were able to check out my apartment, as well as drop off some American goodies like Mac'n'Cheese. We spent three nights in Dublin, taking in a tour of Croke Park and the Gaelic Athletic Association museum, mass at St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral, a play at the Gate Theatre, and of course the St. Patrick's festivities. Besides the parade on Tuesday (which wasn't as big as the ones in New York or Chicago, but was still a lot of fun,) there were various events in the days leading up to 17 March. We saw one of them on Saturday night, an acrobatic act called the Spheres. The celebrations for St. Patrick's Day - a national holiday here - weren't all strictly about Irish culture as they would be in the States. They were more like Mardi Gras, really - it's a time to have fun, and there was room for entertainment outside of the green shamrock-covered box.
After our time in Dublin we drove across the country to Dingle, in Co. Kerry on the southwest coast. Having a car opened up a different kind of travel than I've been able to experience this year so far. In a rare streak of warm, bright days, we drove up the coast through three counties with some wonderful landscapes - hills and mountains, farmland dotted with new lambs, sandy beaches, the grand Cliffs of Moher, the weird rocky Burren, and rugged Connemara. It was great to see so much variety and beauty while spending time with my family.
The weekend after my family left was the final of the Six Nations rugby tournament, and the Irish team beat Wales to win the Grand Slam. Everyone was delighted, but it wasn’t the only Irish sports triumph of the past couple of weeks. Last Wednesday the Irish soccer team played a World Cup qualifier against Italy, and I gathered in the Students’ Union with what must have been half the student body to watch the match. To put things in perspective, you should know that Ireland didn’t even qualify for the last World Cup, while Italy is the reigning champion. It was a tense, close match, and when Ireland came back to tie it at the end, a few pints of Guinness were accidentally launched up in elation. I cheered until my voice was gone, more than satisfied with a draw.
On our Saturday trips of the past two weekends we’ve covered a lot of ground. First, we visited the Rock of Cashel, which was the political center of Munster (the southern province.) I had just been learning about the Munster kings in my early Irish history class, so it was interesting to be at the site. Little from that period remains, though; it was handed over to the Church in medieval times and now holds the remains of several churches, unique because of their continental styles of architecture (e.g. Romanesque or Gothic.) That afternoon we went to Cahir, which has a well-restored Norman castle, and St. Brigid’s Well. The well is one of several holy wells throughout Ireland; it was probably used by the Celts and appropriated by Christianity. It’s supposed to have healing properties, and it’s clearly still visited – there were ribbons, like Tibetan prayer flags, tied around the branches of a tree there. Last weekend we went to Clonmacnoise, an important early monastic settlement. It had several great crosses and a fun “whispering arch” – grooves in the doorway allowed us to whisper into one corner and send messages to a friend on the other side.
