The West of Ireland!

On the weekend of March 28th, our group of 40 American students set out to discover the west of Ireland! Our first stop was in the beautiful (but expensive!) Galway! In Galway we had some lunch (I had apple pie!) and shopped around for an hour or so. We didn't have much time in Galway because it was just a stop on our way to the gorgeous Aran Islands!

We took a very rocky ferry ride to the island of Inishmor, the largest of the 3 Aran Islands. We stayed at the only hotel on the Island right on the beach. We learned that the island consists of 800 people, 1 ambulance, 3 policemen that trade shifts, a doctor and a nurse (who live right next to each other) and a bank that is only open on Wednesdays! It was so secluded and beautiful. While on the island we saw the sight of the 7 churches. It is really just a site where 7 old cobblestone churches runes lay and there are many gaelic headstones. We also traveled to Dun Aengus, a prehistoric fort where a celtic tribe lived. Dun Aenus is a bit of a climb to get to, but once up there it is a 300 foot drop off of a cliff! It was so windy that I was afraid to even get close for fear of falling off, so I got on my hands and knees and crawled to the edge to look off! It was absolutely breathtaking and I could never describe it with justice. The fort built around this huge cliff is equally as magnificent, and I give the members of the ancient celtic tribes a lot of credit for building a fort so dangerously close to the 300 foot drop and living there! While on the Aran Islands we also had a lesson in Irish. The native people of Ireland do not refer to speaking their native language as speaking Gaelic, they refer to it as speaking Irish! I can now say my name and ask for a pint in Irish!

After we left the Aran Islands we came back to the mainland and took a long drive to the town of Westport in County Mayo. On the way to Westport we stopped for lunch at Kylemore Abbey in Connemara. We learned that this private girls boarding school run by Benedictine Nuns (which Madonna's daughter attended) was actually built by Mitchel Henry in 1866 for his wife for her birthday. His wife saw the area and fell in love with it when they were on their honeymoon in the area. Unfortunately, his wife died early, and Mr. Henry never stepped foot in the Abbey again. He built a memorial chapel on the grounds though and had his wife buried there, and he too, was eventually buried there. Then, in WWI, the Benedictine Nuns bought the estate because they were refugees from Belgium. Needless to say, I loved this amazing Abbey. My birthday is coming up, perhaps someone will build one for me!

After Kylemore Abbey, we went onward to Westport. Just outside of Westport we stopped at this memorial statue. It is a huge ship with starved bodies and bones all over it. It represents the ships that left Ireland during the Great Famine. These ships were often known as "Coffin Ships" because so many people died on the ships from starvation and disease before they ever reached their destination. We had studied these ships in class, however it was even more moving to see this memorial. It is in County Mayo because this was the county that was most affected by the Famine. To this day if you ask someone from Mayo where they are from, they will respond "County Mayo, God help me!"

After the sadness of the memorial, we made it into the actual small town of Westport. After dinner, my friends and I went into town to see the local pubs. We ended up in the Porterhouse just having a pint when a group of men started setting up instruments 2 feet behind me. It was a small pub, so we were pretty cramped and the band introduced themselves to us. They were extremely friendly and it turns out they're a rater popular folk band in Ireland called The Mulloy Brothers. They are a group of 3 brothers (they're 4th brother had just died last summer) who play old Irish songs. They were very impressed with my knowledge of traditional Irish songs (all of which I know from my dad singing them all the time!) and told me I look very Irish! Throughout the night they played all of the songs I requested and even let me sing with them! I sang Molly Malone and Wild Rover with them! At the end of the night they gave me a DVD of themselves playing in their hometown. I hope I run into them again someday, they were absolutely the best!

Altogether, I loved the west of Ireland, especially my new friends, The Mulloy Brothers!

I hope everyone at hope is doing well, I miss you all!

Next time I will tell you about my adventures at Phoenix Park and the Dublin Zoo!!