Swank family in Ireland!

The Swanks and Sarah Swol arrived to the Emerald Isle on Saturday, March 10th! I arranged to meet them in Maynooth at an easily spotable location on Main Street, Maynooth. Well, the five of them cruised into town in nothing other than a 9-passenger VW Transporter! I swiftly hopped in the bus, and directed them to my apartment! After some tea and brown bread at my place, we headed out. The first adventure: trip to Carlingford, a coastal town on the east coast, about 1.5 hours north of Dublin (also the location of the hike I did a few weekends ago). The stops on the way included Trim (location of the largest Norman castle in Europe) to see that castle, then we were on to the Hills of Tara. From there, we made our way to Newgrange, where we got to see both the outside and inside of the 5,000 year old monument! We made it to Carlingford by dinner time, were we had dinner at a pub. They were exhausted, so we all were in bed by 10 pm! The next morning we dined on an Irish breakfast, with a field of sheep just outside our B&B breakfast room window :) On the journey back to Maynooth, we stopped at Monasterboise, a medieval monastic settlement about an hour north of Dublin. There, we were awed by the 10th century High Crosses that remain standing there amid the cemetary and other remains of the monastic settlement.

Back in Maynooth, my family came to the chorale concert, in which we performed Beethoven's Mass in C and Haydn's Nelson Mass. The Chapel is absolutely stunning, and it was a nice evening. Dinner at an Indian Restaurant in Maynooth followed by drinks at the pub right below it finished off the night! Ann, Dan, and Sarah went in to Dublin early the next day. After a class, I went in on the bus with mom and dad, and Monday night consisted of a Swank pub crawl! fun :)

They then went out to Sligo City and travelled down the west coast to Galway city, where I met them Thursday night. After I met them, we spent the evening in a pub, and after another great B&B stay (they said they had particularly great ones in co. Sligo), we headed off in the now very loved and cozy Transporter, first stopping at the Cliffs of Moher. Unfortunately, it was extremely windy and raining/sleeting, and as of last month, there are walkways, parking lots, and a visitors center to greet one at the cliffs... not too romantic Ireland anymore. However, the manmade walls actually made me feel a bit safer, given the huge winds. From there, we had lunch in the very quaint, seaside Doolin. A long trip to Mallow ensued, and that is where we spent 1.5 days, including St. Patty's day. It's a small town outside of Cork, where Ann and Dan had a group of friends whom they met when in Europe last summer. Their friends worked in a pub there, so not surprisingly, we spent a lot of time at the pub! On St. Patty's day we all headed to mass at a church in town, and from there went directly to the pub, where we caught the Six Nations Ireland vs. Italy match, then stepped right outside to view the very short, but very cute parade (mostly because the streets were lined with adorable young and festive children). On our way back to Maynooth from Mallow we stopped at Cahir Castle.. definately the neatest castle I've been to thus far! Unfortunately, the Rock of Cashel was closed due to high winds, but we did catch a nice glimpse and get a good photo-op of it from afar.

To end the week, we went to a favorite pub of mine in Maynooth for dinner and filled our tummies on none other than fish 'n chips :)

Some shots from the week:


Sarah during breakfast at our Carlingford B&B.


Ann with Carlingford behind her.


Ann at Monasterboise.


Myself, Cliffs of Moher.


Sarah and I with some kids at a pub in Mallow watching a Six Nation's Tournament on St. Patrick's Day.


Family shot at Maureen's Pub in Mallow, St. Patrick's Day.


Dad and I, Cahin Castle.


Dan and Sarah, Rock of Cashel.

March Madness

I'm not really referring to the basketball, as I don't believe I'll be catching much, if any, of it. However, it's March and it's madness that I've already been in Ireland for 6 weeks! It's also mad windy here all the time. I'm sort of shocked it hasn't knocked me over yet, and it makes the thought of emerging from the still-aired comfort of my apartment a bit daunting.

I realize I haven't posted anything in a month, so I will have to update! Things have been going very well! In the last month I've had a good share of traveling. I did a day hike in Carlingford, a quaint town on the east coast, about 1.5 hour drive north of Dublin, and just below Northern Ireland. It would be considered a "hill-climb," and it was intense! About 2 hours going straight up first, very rocky with thick tuffs of grass and very boggy land. The way back down was also surprisingly wet and challenging. However, the sheep studding the mountainside and views of the Irish sea in three directions from the top was breathtaking. Here are some pictures from the hike:


With my friend, Jenna, at the beginning.


The group (which was made up of primarily International students, as most Irish students are home on the weekends) on the way up!


The group (and sheep) nearly at the top!

The next exciting thing to happen in February was probably seeing a very fun and talented band, Kila, perform on campus. They play traditional Irish instruments, but the music has a bit of an african and jam band influence. The performance space was packed with enthusiastic students. Here's a peak:

The uilleann (pronounced "ill-en") pipes and wooden flute.


And the Bodhran player.

The most recent highlight of the month was a weekend trip to Northern Ireland, organized for the American students in the program. We spent a day going from the town of Derry (which is similar to Belfast regarding it's history with CatholicProtestant/NationalistLoyalist issues), then spent the afternoon along the northern coast - walking through the ruins of the ocean-side Dunluce Castle and walking along the spectacular Giant's Causeway (which I've been told rivals the Cliffs of Moher in splendor and beauty. I have yet to see the Cliffs!). We also had a free day in Belfast, during which I saw some of Queen's University and Botanical Gardens, and the poorer, Loyalist streets of the city and their murals:

Mural in Derry


Dunluce Castle


Looking over Giant's Causeway.

As for March, I'm looking forward to my parents, Ann, Dan, and Dan's girlfriend, Sarah's visit! They are arriving this Saturday, March 10th! They will be in Maynooth for a night (that's about all one needs to see this town!), taking a trip into Dublin and a day trip along the east coast, then they will be heading west, where I'm hoping to join them toward the end of the week!