Veneda and Jesse S. solemnly taking in the history surrounding them at the old cemetary and stone tower on our walk through Castle Woods. The trail felt like Vermont at first. There were amazing trees, ruins of a stable, field with beautiful horses, and wildflowers. Oh I cannot forget the buzz in the air of the far off bees. We never came across the hive, thank goodness.

Carole L.

This was a cross in the cemetary at the Hill of Tara. It was so magnificent!

Carole L.

Cliffs of Moher

While looking out over the cliffs, I realize I am actually in Ireland. It sank in right here while a woman played the harp and sang on the steps. It was so surreal.

Carole L.

This is Fungi, the resident dolphin of The Dingle Bay.

Carole L.

My after thoughts of my dream come true

This was an amazing experience for me that would not have been possible if not for CCV. I enjoyed meeting and spending time with all of my classmates in Ireland.

Some of my highlights would have to be: The Cliffs of Moher, The Great Blasket Island, The Hill of Tara, Newgrange, Tour by Colm of Fethard, The Literary Pub Crawl in Dublin, and getting to know my new friends and fellow students.

I will never forget the memories I now have. We are all so close that we plan on getting together this summer. We also know that one of the traditional pub bands will be playing in New York sometime in August and we are planning on getting together then and going to see them. I now have added to my family.

The relationships we have all developed surprised us all. Ireland is truly magical in so many ways. We are living proof. This trip has created a bond between us all.

Carole L.

Day 6 - Moone High Cross

One of the stops we made on our tour of Ireland was to look at a Celtic Cross, or High Cross as they are sometimes called. These crosses were used in medieval times as a meeting place for religious purposes and/or as a way to mark boundaries. For more detailed information about what the symbols mean on this particular cross follow this link:

http://www.megalithicireland.com/High%20Cross%20Moone.htm



I enjoyed this stop for another reason though. There was a cemetery next to the cross and while walking through it I stumbled upon a grave stone that might be an ancestor of mine. My Grandmothers Maiden name is Kelly. My Grandmother is not too sure of the dates but her mother and aunts and uncles came over to America sometime in the 1800's. The Grave stone that I found reads:

"Erected by Micheal Kelly Late of Clongh in the Parish of Balungla and now in America in memory of his beloved wife Ellen Kelly who departed this life on the 3rd of November 1857aged 47 yrs. Also his son James died June the 6th 1859 aged 17yrs. "




Kelly C.

Final Thoughts

Memories of her flow through my head,
like her history full of beauty and dread.
The majesty lies in her heart heavy like a stone,
without all, her secrets I could not have discovered alone.
Her cliffs, castles, abbeys, delight
when the flocks of tourist bed for the night.
Her love I must leave to an untold year,
and with much pain and a salty tear.

Chris L.


Photo donated by Carole L.

More from Great Blasket

The Blasket Island
As soon as the island came into view I fell in love. The Blasket is the most surreal beautiful place I have ever had the opportunity to visit. It is like a piece of heaven was cut out and placed off the shores of Dingle Bay. I had a feeling it would be an amazing place as soon as the dolphin started following our ferry out of the bay. I had never seen a dolphin until that point. The locals said that "Fungi" (the dolphin) has been living in their bay for over 20 years. Even animals can recognize the magic of that area. Pulling into the area where we exited the boat I could barely contain my excitement. As we walked up the hill to the area where the house ruins stood I felt that overwhelmed (in a good way) feeling of enjoyment. Once I walked to the top of the hill it was a sensory overload. There were sheep, donkeys, and seals, a beach, a cliff area, and bright green grass everywhere. A small group of us immediately went to the beach. We sat on the beach watching the seals for about an hour and a half. Rachel told us a folk tale about the seal taking off their seal skin. We did not end up doing a lot of hiking around the island but the experience we did have was fabulous. Taylor and I fed the donkeys some pieces of bread and they wouldn't leave us alone after. Even though the island seemed like the perfect paradise it also held the face of reality. On the beach there was a dead seal and also a dead sheep. I'm unsure of what happened to the seal but pretty sure that the sheep had fallen off from a cliff drop. The island was also home to an unpleasant plant, a nettle. A few of us ended up getting stuck by them. Luckily it only burns for a bit. Before we knew it the boat was back to pick us up. It was time to leave this new paradise known as the Blasket Island.

Kim G.

Last Day

This is a bitter sweet momment for us all. We truly enjoyed our time here, but are of course missing our families and friends. We do realize that we have quite a few posts to catch up on. I believe that most of us will be doing so when we return home and can look through our journals. The time to reflect on all the beauty we have seen will be a surreal momment for us, I'm sure.

I can tell you that I myself have times when I just think this may be a dream, when in fact my dream came true.

I know collectively we have tons of pictures and will also be posting them here. I am thinking of also setting up a CCV Ireland Trip facebook page, so that we can share our many pictures. Our little group has become so close during the last 10 days that we are all going to become facebook friends if we have it. I have truly enjoyed this whole experience.

Carole L.

Dublin - day 2

Another busy day in dublin . First up a great lecture on myths and the landscape of Ireland. Made me want to study here in Dublin. Then on to a madcap tour of the city with stops at the Kilmainham Jail, which was sad and depressing. Just a horrible place to have been locked up.Then on to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. Such intricate and beautiful work. (I may go back tomorrow to spend more time there) And Lastly a quick tour of St. Patricks Cathedral.

Dublin is so full of history and beauty that it would take much more time than we have to see everything.Tomorrow we're off to the Hill of Tara. Can't wait!

vg

Blasket Island - May 16th

Crashing waves
The sound of motor boats
The ruins left behind
Mountains
Seals on the beach
People hiking
Peaceful
Sunny
Breathtaking... Blasket Island.

--Alyssa

May 16th - Blasket Island

After climbing and exploring Blasket Island and it's ruins I found myself a little nook away from the cold wind to sit and look out at the beauty that I was lucky enough to have in front of me. Looking out at the beach on Blasket Island and across the ocean to the town of Dingle. It was a magical and fascinating place to visit.

EJSF

Images of the Great Blasket Island

These are images of our second day, out on the Great Blasket Island. We were met by a dolphin as we ferried out to the island a place of high cliffs and fallen stone houses in various states of ruin and disrepair. The ground is covered with rough grass, wildflowers, thistles, tufts of wool and the leavings of sheep. Seals rest effortlessly on the edges of the crashing waves, and lie on the sun in the beach. Gulls circle in the distance and white caps and spray surround the distant islands. One woman remains on the island now, and the village is otherwise uninhabited.

The experience of being on the island was a reflective and spiritual experience for many of us. The silence, measured only by the crashing of the waves, the clear skies and bold geography of the place captivated us.

J.S.

Day 5 - Kilkenny

So far, we've all been incredibly busy making it difficult to find time to post and/or we've had marginal internet access to do it. We'll need to back fill text and photos over the coming days and should have an easier time to do this when we get to Dublin.

Today we began with a 4 mile forest walk at Claremorris Woods 20 miles south of Kilkenny. These are the lands around the former 17th century Claremorris estate comprising hundreds of acres of mature mixed forest and the remains of what was once the largest country home in Ireland - destroyed during the Irish Civil War in 1922. During the walk we serendipitously came across the old monastic ruin of Aghaviller, consisting of a small Medieval church and stump of an earlier Round Tower.

This afternoon was free time in the City - an opportunity for all to explore. A few of us climbed the 90 ft. 9th Century Round Tower and explored the 13th century cathedral of St Canice - the latter a marvel of design, construction and repository of centuries-old artifacts.
Peter K.

Sorry these are so sporadic, internet time is often hard to come by. We are so busy and sometimes just too tired. But we are having a good time and learning so much....
Tues. May 18 -
Another great day, though windy and rainy. Went to Kilkenny castle, which is right across the street from where we are staying. really beautiful. Then on to Kells Priory- the most extensive Priory in Ireland.Even tumbling down over the ages, you can feel the spirit of the place. Next, Fethard and an Irish history lesson Colum.He made it come alive. then dinner and music by the Keltic Kats. these guys are great. We are really getting to know one another and traveling well together.
Ireland is beautiful - everything that I expected and more.

Veneda Gabourel

Day 1 in Ireland

Landed at Shannon Airport at 6am Ireland time!! We were all rearing to go!!

Meet our bus driver, Kevin.
We headed to Dingle with a few stops along the way. We stopped at Leamahen Castle to take pictures.
We stopped next at Poulabrone Megalithis Tomb to look around and take pictures.

Headed to The Cliffs of Moher next. They were indescribable! There was a harpist playing on the stairs named Tina. She was absolutely beautiful! So much so that I was crying and Venita was as well.

Stopped at Ballyhaighy Beach for a bit.

We took a ferry over to Dingle where we were going to be staying for two nights. Cute town with a harbor.
Went to dinner and visited a pub to listen to traditional music.

Will continue later this evening.

Carole LaVanway