Sunny Liquid Dreams

July 28-29, 2009

I continued to work on my papers and both were due on Wednesday. I also had to give a brief presentation on my internship paper, so I traveled, for the last time, to UCD.

It was a great relief to finish early and I went home and took some rest. Since I only had a few more days in Ireland, I planned on how to spend my remaining days.

June 27, 2009

I still had to work on my papers and I spent the majority of the day trying to finish them up.

UCD also held its last event - a farewell dinner - at the Merry Ploughboy pub for all the students. It was our chance to say goodbye to our program directors.

Our dinner was accompanied by music from the Merry Ploughboys and a small show of Riverdance. They sang and played old Irish tunes such as "King of the Fairies", "The Fields of Athenry", "Whiskey in the Jar", and "Four Green Fields".

I also bought their CD. I hadn't bothered once to attend a live music show or listen to any traditional Irish music. It is something I regretted, but I'm glad that I at least attended one show.

The night was a lot of fun and music and dancing were a lot of fun. I wasn't looking forward to returning home and working on my papers.

July 26, 2009

I did not go anywhere on Sunday, but locked myself in the house, scribbled away on my laptop, and was upset that I could not go outside and enjoy the nice weather. We had to write two ten-page papers: one on Irish history and the other on our internship. For the Irish history, we were given a list of prompts, and were told to choose one.

I chose to evaluate the place of Wolfe Tone, a leader of the 1798 rebellion, in history. Since I have nothing else to write about, I'm going to briefly describe his life, his role in the rebellion, and his rather gruesome death.

Wolfe Tone was the son of a Protestant coach-maker and was educated at Trinity College. During his youth, he wanted nothing more than to enlist as a soldier, but his father forced him to study, and he grudgingly entered the field of law. He married, and had several children, and all died young.

At that time, the French Revolution sent waves of both excitement through radicals and chills through the monarchial heads of government. Tone, alongside many other Irishmen, looked to France as an example.


During Tone's time, Ireland's parliament was controlled by a select few Protestants. Middle class Protestants and Catholics could not gain access to it and at first, both sought peaceful reform. Around that time, Tone became interested in politics and began to write pamphlets that advocated rights for the Catholics.

Tone held no love for Catholicism itself, but he believed that the only way to solve Ireland's problems was forge a united people under "the common name of the Irishman". He worked between Ulster Presbyterians in Belfast and the Catholic gentry in Dublin.

Unfortunately, he was in danger of being accused of high treason in 1795 for a secret memorandum that described Ireland as a country that was ready for revolution. He was allowed to flee to America.


Evenutally, Tone realized that parliamentary reform was not going to acheive his goals and he only began to advocated separatism (from Britain) as a result of his circumstances. From America, he traveled to France to convince the government to send military aid for an Irish rebellion.


His solo trip to France was successful and he sailed out with General Hoche and 14,000 men. They were due to land at Bantry Bay, but bad weather split the forces and expedition resulted in failure.


Tone attempted two more expeditions, and on the third, he was captured in 1798. He was accused of high treason, and after realizing that he would be sentenced to death, Tone asked to be shot as a prisoner-of-war. He was serving as an officer in the French army at the time, and expected to be treated as such.


However, his request was denied and he was sentenced to be hanged on November 12. However, the night before his execution, he slit his throat with a blunt knife. Since he missed his jugular vein, he did not immediately die. His wound was sewn up and he was strapped to his bed.


Tone died seven days later. The result of the 1798 rebellion was the exact opposite of his original goals. In 1800, England passed the Act of Union that formally bound both Ireland and England together.

July 25, 2009

I celebrated the end of my internship with a trip to Kilkenny. Kilkenny (Cill Chainnigh) is a city southwest of Dublin, famous for its medieval buildings and craft shops. It was suggested by many people as a perfect place for a one day trip and I went with one of my housemates.

We caught a train in the morning to the city and attempted to keep our eyes so we wouldn't miss our stop. Once we reached the city, we wandered around and stopped in numerous shops.

I didn't have very good luck that day: I realized, as soon as I reached Kilkenny Castle, that I hadn't charged my camera. I took about three shots until it died and I was just a little grumpy that I forgot.

So, I don't have any pictures to post. But we wandered around the castle (we didn't actually go inside) and found our way to the craft shops that the city is famous for.

Of course, every time I visit such shops, I feel like buying everything. The stores sold everything: clothing, jewelry, pottery, Waterford crystal, tourist souvenirs, etc. However, my favorite items were the handmade pottery pieces and there were a few designers I especially liked.

Colm de Ris is a designer based in Dublin and uses the ancient spiral pattern from Newgrange in many of his pieces. He combines a beautiful shade of dark blue and brown earthen hues to create very interesting shapes. One of his pieces is shaped exactly like a curl of cheese and we had to ask what it could be used for.

Paul Maloney is a designer based in Wexford and creates what he calls his "Ocean Range". He mixes blue and white tones and also incorporates the spiral into some of his pieces. The pieces that were displayed in the craft store were more traditional: cups, plates, vases, goblets, and bowls.

Louis Mulcahy is a designer based in Dingle and combines dark brown or black with other colors to create his pottery. Again, he creates more traditional shapes, but I especially loved his russet-coloured vases and goblets.

I had trouble deciding what to buy, but since Colm de Ris was my personal favorite, I chose to buy a small decorative bowl from his line.

After spending too much time in the store, we wandered around the city and headed to look at the cathedrals. There were at least four all within close vicinity of each other. We visited St. Mary's Cathedral, the Black Abbey, and St. Canice's Cathedral. We did not go inside the latter, but we did climb to the top of the viewing tower. From there, we had a fantastic view of the entire city (which is not very big) and took a few photos.

After climbing back down, we continued to wander around the city and eventually headed back to the train station to catch one back to Dublin.

July 23-24, 2009

On Thursday, we had an UCD sponsored event to the Leopardstown Horse Races. I knew nothing about horses, except what little my roommate told me, and even less about horse racing. But we were given a free ticket, free dinner, and a free pint of beer.

There were about seven or eight horse races in total. We were given a booklet describing how to bet, the different types of betting, and information about the jockeys and horses. We were told which horses might win, which to look out for, and which had to prove something.

We arrived a bit late and we only got around to betting after eating dinner. However, I was able to bet on the last four races. There were at least 5 different methods of betting. A “win” was to pick the exact horse that would come in first place. If I remember correctly, an "each way" was a bet that horse would either win or at least place. I don't recall the others, and I unfortunately no longer have the booklet.

My method of choosing horses can be described as rather pathetically uninformed. I chose the horses by reading all their names and picking one that sounded interesting or cool. I also have a bit of a soft spot for underdogs, so I sometimes picked them over the favorite.

I only bet 2 Euros on each race. The first three were quite disappointing, and like most other people, I would get up and shout in anticipation, and then consequently sit down and glare at my losing ticket.

However, I held out and I bet correctly on the winning horse, Grand Aurora. I was excited but as soon as I went to pick up my winnings, I realized that I bet on the favorite. So I only received 2 Euro for every Euro that I bet.

So in total, I bet 8 Euros on all the races, and only made a profit of 4 Euros. I guess it could have been worse, but I wasn't expecting too much in the first place.

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures worth posting for this trip. All my pictures came out horribly grainy (I think I needed to clean my lens) and we were not close at all to the racetrack. So I didn't get any decent pictures of the horses or the jockeys.

On Friday, I spent my last day at work and I received a farewell, including some gifts, from my colleagues. I wasn't expecting it at all, but I thanked them for all for helping me accomplish my work and enduring my constant requests for more work.

July 20-22, 2009

After my weekend trip to the Aran Islands, I was ready for some rest (although the point of the entire trip was to get a break). But traveling in itself is tiring, so I wasn’t prepared to run around, especially during the work week.

I did continue to miss Inis Meain, but I didn’t accomplish much, except updating this blog and reviewing and editing my pictures.

July 19, 2009

I woke up, again not very early, and sadly prepared to leave Inis Meáin. As soon as I went downstairs, I was ushered into the breakfast room by Maura. I had a delicious breakfast, said many thanks and goodbyes to the Eogans and Maura, and carried my luggage out. Sean drove me to the small airport and told me, that if I were to ever return to the island and stay at Ard Alainn, I need not worry because he would be there to pick me up from the port. I laughed, thanked him, and watched him drive back up to Ard Alainn.

Because the islands are a popular destination, there are small flights that run to and from the mainland. The flights are tiny – they can seat about 12 people, including the pilot. I waited around for a while for the flight to arrive and once our luggage was boarded, we were seated. I got to sit right next to the pilot in the cockpit and it was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. I was espeically careful not to touch any of the switches or buttons.

The flight is less than ten minutes to and from the mainland. But while in the air, we all had fantastic views of the islands, the Burren, Galway Bay, and Connemara. The Cliffs of Moher would have been visible it had been a clear day.

I would have liked to just fly around for the aerial views, but we landed soon afterwards. The company does run scenic flights of the Cliffs, Connemara, and the bay, but I didn’t have time. Next time I go to Galway, booking a ticket on that flight is definitely on my list of things to do.

So I waited around for a bus to Galway and since I was the only passenger, I chatted with the driver about my stay and travels in Ireland. I was stuck in Galway for about two hours till my train, so I took a quick bus tour of the city. I had already seen the entire city when I came during the July 4th weekend, so I was a bit bored when I was there.

I finally boarded my train and arrived in Dublin in the evening. I was a bit bummed that I wasted the entire day in transit, but I needed to go home early enough so I could catch some proper rest.

Considering that it was the first trip that I had ever planned all by myself, I’ll say that I did a decent job. Frankly, I was a bit worried to be traveling by myself, but it all worked out perfectly in the end. The islands are a good place for some quiet and peaceful time, and I was happy to be away from the noise and traffic of the city.

As soon as I left Inis Meáin, I began to miss it terribly. It is truly a place where time does stand still. People don’t look at the clock (although they do bother keeping one) and one wouldn’t notice how time passes until the sky changes colors.

It's also peacefully quiet and the silence is only punctuated by the occasional sheep. I loved how much I could just sit and hear myself think. I loved that I could suspend thought as well, as if it were something too bothersome. I could just sit and be, and for a brief moment in time, I was without identity or responsibility.

If I try to describe the time I spent on the island, I can only narrate what I did. I cannot explain how I felt. Any picture of Inis Meáin is incomplete without actually experiencing a day on the island. And even what little I saw is hardly representative of the daily lives of the islanders.

It has become one of my life goals to return and spend at least one week on the island. For now, I'm content with the one day I was able to spend there.

July 18, 2009

There are, perhaps, no words to describe the day I spent on Inis Meáin. Any attempt will sound like I'm just repeating clichés or making things up. Inis Meáin is a place of its own and it only appeals to certain people. However, I think I spent one perfect day on that island.

I woke up on Inis Mór on Saturday, packed my luggage, and headed down towards the port. I could't attach my small carry-on to my bicycle, so I walked, about 20 minutes, down to the port with a carry-on in one hand, and my bicycle in the other. It was an awkward arrangement.

But I eventually reached the port in good time and just walked around and took pictures of the port.

The weather was not bad that morning, so the ferries would make a trip to Inis Meáin around lunchtime. There aren't a lot of ferries between the islands (they only run twice a day), so I lost some hours in the morning. But once the ferry came into the dock, I loaded my luggage and went to stand out on the deck.

The wake.

The distance from Inis Mór to Inis Meáin looks small, but it actually took about an hour to get there. The morning was still a bit foggy and when I looked back at Inis Mór, it was partially covered with clouds.

Inis Meáin is markedly different from the bustling, and much visited port of Killronan. Only two other people besides me disembarked at Inis Meáin and the rest would head to Inis Oírr or back to the mainland. There are no buildings at the port, and only one taxi was there to meet us.

I had booked a place at the B&B Ard Alainn and the owner, Sean, said that he would come pick me up at the port. However, he wasn't there and I was afraid that he might have forgotten. The taxi was heading up to Ard Alainn to drop off the other two people, so I hitched a ride with them.

Inis Meáin only has about 300 permanent residents and the rest of the island is mostly farmland. The land is split in half by two hills. One side faces the mainland and contains all the houses on the island. The other side faces the harsh weather of the Atlantic Ocean and is uninhabitable.

I booked a night at Ard Alainn because every other place on the island was booked. However, the B&B is perched on top of one of the hills and I had a beautiful view of the rest of the island.

July 17, 2009

My destination for my three-day solo trip was across country and ocean: the Aran Islands. The Aran Islands are a group of three islands - Inis Mór, Inis Meáin, and Inis Oírr. They are located in Galway Bay and can be reached by either ferry or plane.

My original goal was to see all three islands in three days. However, I realized that I was trying to see too much and limited myself to seeing the largest and most visited island, Inis Mór, and the middle and least visited island, Inis Meáin. I feel bad that I missed seeing Inis Oírr, but I am definitely making plans for a longer stay next time.

The Aran Islands are a popular tourist destination for the hordes that visit Galway City. They are well-known for the preservation of the Irish language and culture. The majority of people speak Gaelic on the island, although they will speak English to tourists. Electricity was only introduced in 1975 and time has seen the slow erosion of the traditional lifestyle. Many young people leave the islands to seek out work on the mainland, although they will visit during summer or winter vacations. They were also completely self-sufficient and made enough food through fishing and farming.

I wanted to visit the islands because many students from previous years said that it was definitely worth a trip. However, people suggested that at least a few day stay was necessary to see more than just the tourist locations. I went, and I went by myself, because I fancied some time alone. I would be able to set my own schedule, see what I want and when I want, and I wouldn't have to forgo anything because someone else wanted to see something different.

I left early on Friday to catch the train from Dublin to Galway City. When I arrived, I had a little over one hour to spare before catching a ferry to Inis Mór.

The ferry ride itself was interesting. The weather forecast wasn't great for the weekend and we were going up against the waves as they rolled into the mainland. The ferry did rock, almost violently, from side to side, but the journey was safe. I was amazed at how people were able to drink their coffees and teas without spilling anything. I surely would have made a mess everywhere.

Once we disembarked at the port, Cill Rónáin (Killronan), I was immediately accosted by at least four people trying to get me to rent a bike. It is a big island and it was suggested that the best way to see it was to rent a bike. I was carrying some luggage, so I promised to return and rent one later.

I caught a taxi to the hostel and dropped off my stuff. I walked back towards Killronan and picked up some food along the way. I rented a bike (which was old and squeaky) and headed out across the island.

July 13-16, 2009

Once again, I'm going to lump my four day work-week into one post because I have nothing interesting to note from it. I spent the evenings planning carefully for a 3 day weekend trip to one of the edges of Europe.

I was to make a solo trip, and therefore had to plan for all circumstances and events. I wanted to go alone and see what that was like. My friends here had plans to go to London or to finish their papers in order to spend more free time at the end of our stay. It was the first time I would plan any such trip and go by myself. Of course, I was apprehensive and excited, but I went to bed on Thursday night, hoping that I arranged my trip as best as I could.

A kid waving the flag for Dublin.

Because we sat right behind the goalpost, I didn't get many good pictures of the game or players. I got better pictures of the crowd. Then again, I didn't want to miss the game by watching it through my camera lens, so I eventually put it away.

It started to rain too (big surprise) and everyone, in a singular motion, reached over the heads and pulled up their hood. It would have been amusing if I hadn't been sitting without an umbrella or hood. But I took off my jacket and shielded my head and camera.

Dublin won the game 2-15 (a total of 21 points) to Kildare's 0-18. (a total of 18 points). Dublin has won the Leinster final for the past several years, so they were the favorites to win again. Kildare put up a great fight and even spectators at home said that it was one of the best matches they had seen.

I didn't really pick a side before I went in. I didn't feel any obligation to support Dublin, and I was partially rooting for Kildare as the underdog,but I clapped when either side scored goals. So now that Dublin won the provincial final, I'm rooting for a win at the all-Ireland championship.

Once the game concluded, the crowd overwhelmed the Garda and poured over the fences and across the pitch. The fans ran towards the stand for the trophy presentation and some of the players gave some speeches. I had no idea who they were or what they said, but I was interested in seeing how people reacted. It was somewhat sad to see the drooping shoulders of the Kildare supporters as they walked out.

It was a lot of fun to watch and it was my first ticket to a live sports game. I definitely want to go to another match someday. It was easy to get caught up with the crowd - the collecting cheering and booing was fun to watch, and to participate in.

Once the match was over, I just followed the crowd until they reached O'Connell Street and then hopped on a bus to head home. I really wanted nothing more than a hot shower and some proper food.

(P.S. The title of this post comes from a GAA commercial sponsored by Vodafone. It is taken from Kipling's poem "If". This was one of the first commercials I remember seeing in Ireland and I thought it was cool. I have posted the video below. Make sure to see some hurling and gaelic football plays when at YouTube.)

July 11, 2009

It seemed that I just needed some time to walk around and do nothing. Our previous weekend trip to Galway was fun, exciting, and long. I didn't do much in the morning, but I headed out to another beach during the afternoon.

I hopped on the DART(the coastal railine) to Killiney Beach. The day had promised rain and parts of the hills surrounding the beach were covered with low clouds. The storm was visible on the horizon, but I decided to take my chances and spend an hour or so just walking around.

July 6-10, 2009

It was a week of work, planning, and research. I have a three day weekend coming up and I had to research and book hotels and transportation for my trip. Therefore, I didn't have any time to explore the city or the surrounding areas.

I did do some minor shopping on Thursday and had a very interesting night out with the girls that evening.

On Friday, I saw a group of protestors outside the Bank of Ireland, holding signs and walking back and forth. They were protesting the disintegration of order and democracy in Iran and the imprisonment of protestors in Iran. I didn't see them the next day and I'm not sure if their goal was to raise awareness.

Otherwise, it was a slow week and I definitely loooked forward to the weekend.

July 5, 2009

We awoke bright and early (not really) to hop onto yet another coach bus tour. This time, we would see the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher, both of which are south of Galway City and within the county of Clare.

The Burren (Boireann, meaning "great rock" or "rocky place") is karst-landscape region. I had no clue what a karst landscape is, so I looked it up. According to Wikipedia, karst topography is a "landscape shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone or dolomite."

The Burren hosts many monuments and sites of ancient Ireland (which of course, we did not see, save for one). However, the Burren might best be remembered in a quote by Edmund Ludlow, the second-in-command of Parliamentary forces in Ireland during the Cromwellian era. He said the Burren "is a country where there is not water enough to drown a man, wood enough to hang one, nor earth enough to bury them."

July 4, 2009

Oliver Cromwell, ruler of Britain after the monarchy was temporarily overthrown, told the Catholics of Ireland to go "to hell or Connacht".

The island of Ireland is split into four provinces: Ulster, Munster, Leinster, and Connacht. Ulter is commonly associated with Northern Ireland, but the province of Ulster is actually divided between the two separate governments. Six counties belong to the United Kingdom, and the remaining three belong to the Republic. Leinster contains Dublin and most of the east coast. Munster contains the southwest of the country, including Kerry and Dingle. Connacht is the northwest part of Ireland and contains Galway, Sligo, and the majority of the Gaelic speaking population.

Cromwell forced Irish Catholics to Connacht because of its poor living conditions. The terrain is rocky and the soil is only suitable for grazing cattle. Much of the country's poorest lived in Connacht and it was hardest hit area during the Great Famine.

We were taken on a guided tour of Connemara, a peninsula in Connacht known for its natural beauty: the Twelve Bens (a mountain range), Killary Harbour (Ireland's only fjord), lakes, and bog lands.

We started the tour with a small stop at the Connemara Marble Visitor Centre. The region is famous for its marble mines. Green is by far the most popular colour, but the mines also produce black, opal, and rose coloured marble. Amethyst is also mined in Connemara, and combined, they are used to make jewelry and other souvenirs. The mines used to supply marble for big projects (the last big project was to construct the entire floor of the Galway Cathedral with Connemara marble), but they are being quickly depleted. Now, only small bits of marble are mined for use in small gifts. I bought a lovely bracelet of green marble and amethyst, alternating between the symbol of the Trinity.

A picture of the workshop behind the marble shop. The model for Christ was interesting, but the small bust of JFK makes this indistinguishably Irish.