Discovering Dublin

This weekend we set off on a 3 day excursion to Dublin. First up was Croke Park, the official stadium of the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association). Despite being 2 days away from the biggest game of the season, we got a private tour through the locker rooms and around the stadium. I'm not on top of my hurling and Gaelic football but the stadium was impressive no matter what sport you follow. About 4 times the size of an American football field, it seats around 80,000 fans. The best part was learning that all these nationally idolized athletes that compete on the field are amateurs. They have regular jobs during the week and receive no monetary compensation for their athletic performances. It is evident that this has fostered an incredible amount of sportsmanship among players and the sports played in this facility unite the while country.

The stadium

Group photo at Croke Park

Janine, me, Abby, and Caroline

The next stop was the National Museum of Ireland and the site of the Book of Kells. We were on a tight schedule so we were only there for a short period time but it was worth the stop.

After that our program took us to the Guinness Brewery. After a self guided tour through the 6 story factory, we reached the top where we were rewarded with a birds-eye view of Dublin and a pint of Guinness. I'm not about that beer milkshake life so it was my first and also my last Guinness.

Group photo at the Guinness Brewery

A drink with a view

Obligatory photo

I stayed in my first hostile, Kinlay House, while in Dublin. It was in a prime location, just a 5-10 minute walk from Temple Bar and Trinity. It's sad that my bed at the hostile was actually more comfortable than my bed at NUIG and there was more hot water too. The space was definitely limited with 6 of us in a room about the size of an elevator.

At Kinlay House: Aileen, me, Elizabeth, Kai, Caroline, and Abby (taking the picture)

Saturday started off with a walking tour of Dublin. Our tour guide, a lecturer from Trinity, threw a lot of information at us with little context. We didn't end up seeing as much of the city as we expected but luckily we had the afternoon free to explore on our own. After a third meal of PB&Js in the hostile, a group of 6 of us headed to the Jameson Distillery for our free afternoon. We had a guided history tour followed by a tasting. I'm no where near an expert but I definitely liked it better than the Guinness.

Ben, Caroline, Me, Kai, Abby, and Dennis at the Jameson Distillery

Jameson, ginger ale, and lime

Our day of scheduled events ended with a production of Borstol Boy at the Gaeity Theatre. After that, Caroline and I joined Ben and some friends studying abroad in Dublin for some pubbing and clubbing. After a fun night, we got to wake up bright and early to hit the road back to Galway. On the way, we stopped at Newgrange. I learned about this neolithic burial mound in a prehistoric archaeology class I took last fall so it was awesome to see it in real life. We also stopped at Clonmacnoise, an early Christian settlement, on our way home. Before the final hour on the road back to Galway we went to a small pub to watch the Gaelic football final between Kerry and Donegal. 

Newgrange 

Group photo at the entrance of Newgrange

Clonmacnoise

Me and Janine at Clonmacnoise 

Clonmacnoise

While Dublin is a booming city with a lot to enjoy, Galway remains my Irish city of choice (not solely because Dublin gave us our first Irish rain). After a busy weekend, we are ready for some rest, but nope! We've still got a full week of classes ahead of us. Today was registration day for international students. I am officially taking Castles, Crannogs, and Colonists, Applied Behavior Analysis, as well as the two courses specifically for our program: Irish Life and Culture and Irish in Sports. Water polo practice again tonight and hopefully Connemara on Friday. Cheers!