With A Little Help From My Friends

Hey. Long time no update. My apologies. It’s been pretty hectic around here since St. Patty’s Day. I’ll try my best to catch you up to speed.

St. Patty’s Day in Ireland was awesome. We started the festivities early before the parade in Clifden. The parade was for the younger kids mainly; it was cool that they could participate in St. Patty’s Day too since in the States it’s mainly for adults. After the Parade we hung around Clifden for a little bit and shopped for groceries and then arrived back in Tully Cross to meet some guests from AQ that were staying with Dr. Dawson, Matt and Hannah. We then proceeded to start the festivities again down at cottages 8 and 9. The weather was SO GORGEOUS on that day that we spent all afternoon and evening outside. After an hour break for dinner we went back down to the other cottages for a few more hours before finally making it to the pub, where I had a sip of Guinness before falling asleep due to sheer exhaustion. I at least made it to the pub which is a lot more than other people can say though. Honestly, St. Patty’s Day in Ireland = One of the best days ever.

The next day Dr. Dawson had planned a hike for us in the afternoon. Convenient. We shook off the after effects of the day before and took a walk down to Lettergesh beach. I don’t know how many times I’ve said this about various places in Ireland, but Lettergesh beach was honestly one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen. We had another clear day which was awesome and we sat out on the rocks and watched the ocean for a while before heading back.

The weekend was spent working on homework and playing some much needed soccer and Ultimate Frisbee. On Monday we departed for Bunratty. Bunratty is a traditional even for the program. Each year, AQ students go and get served a massive feast and they crown a King and a Queen from our group. This year they crowned Jake and Beth. The feast was awesome and we were all in a food coma from the amount of meat, coupled with Meade and Wine.

Dr. Dawson and I at Bunratty.

We were whisked back to our B&B and crashed for the night. The next morning we went back to Bunratty and got a tour of the castle and the surrounding village. On our way back to Tully Cross we stopped at Coole Park, where Yeats got the inspiration for some of his poems and where he wrote some of his poems. Again, one of my favorite places in Ireland. Beth and I successfully climbed a tree in the park. Score. The rest of the day was spent relaxing in our cottages and getting things together for the rest of the week.

Climbing the tree was not an easy feat.

We had class the next two days, but it was the best weather we’d had so far in Ireland. I wore shorts and a tee-shirt for two days in a row and Dr. Dawson had class outside that week. It was awesome. We finally found the grills that last year left for us too, so we are hoping to have a barbecue sometime soon while the weather is nice. Friday was the start of our extended weekend, which I spent with Rian, Jake, and Ken. We went to Dublin Friday to Sunday just to get out of Tully Cross and be able to do something. Maggie, Heather and Beth were in Dublin for a night as well before they flew out for their trip, so we met up and did a pub crawl across the city with them. I spilled a pint on Heather (not out of drunkenness). My bad! After a milkshake from McDonalds, we got the girls in a taxi to the airport and proceeded to crash.

Halfway through the pub crawl at Dawson's Pub, the smallest pub in Dublin, and probably the most uncomfortable.

The next day we had the goal of getting to the Poetry Festival Awards Ceremony that was taking place in Dublin that week. We called and got FREE tickets. Whoot! In the meantime we went to almost every bookstore that Dublin had and I proceeded to spend around 50 Euro on six books. I spent more money on books than I did on alcohol. I felt like a very responsible student. We managed to find our way to the awards ceremony and saw Seamus Heaney win the award for his newest collection of poems, which I also bought. We then got to MEET Seamus Heaney and get our picture taken with him. SCORE! Rian was basically star struck and I think the rest of us can die happy now. The rest of the day was spent in St. Stephen’s Green reading, another one of my favorite places in the country. We went out for a pint and some live music and called it a night.

Meeting Seamus Heaney. Best. Day. Ever.

Sunday we got back to Tully Cross and settled back in. The rest of the extended weekend was spent working through homework and trying to get as far ahead as I could because James and Annie were coming on Wednesday and I wanted to spend as much time with them as I could.

I woke up on Wednesday to a call from James saying that he and Annie had landed and I would be seeing them shortly. I got up and got the rest of my homework done and took care of a few other items. They arrived outside my cottage at 10:00 a.m. which was much sooner than I thought, so it was a pleasant surprise to see them already. We caught up over some tea and then had some food at Sammons before I had to head to class. That night, we had a welcome dinner for James and Annie at Cottage 9 and then decided to go out to the pub for a few drinks as well.

The next day we had our Literature class and I still had some things to finish up for that, so I was studious while James took Annie down to the Tully beach. That evening we saw a show called “Hunger”. It was a dramatic reading about the Famine in the mid 1800s. The two that put on the show are actually coming to Aquinas to perform it in October in the Moose and then doing a tour in the States. After the show, we got the party started in Cottage 6 for Brittany’s Birthday before heading to the pub for the Disco. I unfortunately missed Dr. Duncan and Dr. Dawson dancing to “Dancing Queen”. Someone has a video of it though, so I’ll have to watch that at some point. Everyone ended up back at our cottage where James and I ended up making grilled cheeses for everyone while the guys tore down our mantle. We finally got everyone out of the cottage and I got myself into bed.

Friday was a rough morning for some people. Bailey and I had planned to have breakfast at Sammons with our guests, so we started off there and then James and Annie took me out to Westport for the afternoon. We wandered around the city, found another bookshop where I almost bought more books, and then had some tea and caught up with each other since we hadn’t had the opportunity to yet. That evening we got dinner at the hotel. A little pricy but definitely good food. Fish and Chips since it was a Friday in Lent. After stuffing ourselves we sat around and just talked some more and they updated me on everything Aquinas. We proceeded to Coynes and had a few drinks. The others trickled into the pub and then eventually left until it was just the three of us with Bailey talking to Erika at the bar. We went back to cottage 9 and hung out for a while before crashing hard.

Saturday was another beautiful day. After grabbing lunch at Sammons we went to the Park in Letterfrack and hiked the lower part of the Diamond with Dr. Dawson and her family. I was tempted to go to the top but no one else seemed game, so some other time this month. Afterwards the three of us took a joy ride out to Lettergesh beach and sat on the rocks again and just admired our surroundings. I read Nature on a rock as I listened to the Ocean. I think Emerson would be proud of me. It’s not the woods, but it’s what I’ve got. We just chilled for the afternoon before introducing the two of them to the Chipper across the street and then heading out for a few drinks at Sammons while they had live music.

Our night out at Sammon's with our guests of honor.

Sunday we went to mass and then James and Annie took me into Clifden to grab some groceries. On the way back, the three of us hit the Sky Road in Clifden. It was the most beautiful view ever. The sun was starting to go down and it was really clear. I want to make it back out there. After that the three of us hung out with Vaughn for the rest of the night.

The view from the Sky Road in Clifden. Probably one of my favorite places around here. This picture doesn't do it justice, but I have a video that I'll post on Facebook soon.

Monday was their last day in Ireland. I started off the day with the hiking class while they went for a ride in the car. We hiked around the bottom of Diamond again and through the Nature Trail. The rain held out for us which was nice.

The Waterfall at the Bottom of Diamond. So serene.

Afterward James took me out in the car to talk and check out Tully Mountain since I'll be leading a hike up that mountain on Easter Morning. He showed me where he went in for the hike his year, so that was helpful. Then we just took a small joyride before heading back to the cottages for their going away dinner/party. I bought wine for the night that maybe five of us drank...over estimated that a little bit. Then we went out to Coynes for some live music and a few drinks. After the pub, the three of us stayed up until 4 when they had to leave. Bailey met us at the car and we said our goodbyes and reminded each other that we'll see them again in less than a month.

The next day was a little rough as I tried to get back into the swing of things. We had our Lit Class in the afternoon, so I spent my day getting ready for that and then Ken's parents who are visiting made our cottage dinner. SO GOOD! The rest of the night was chill and I was in bed early since I'd gotten little sleep the night before.

Today is a chill day again. We have a history quiz that I'll study for but that's it. Tomorrow we are going down to Kylemore Abbey and actually going into the property. Friday we depart for the South for the weekend, and after that we have just three weeks left. I'll be excited to go home, but I'll definitely be sad to leave Ireland.

That’s all. I’ll try to update more often this last month!

Peace. Love. Ireland.

Rob