1000 Jefs and 2 Cars to Mayo

For days, maybe even weeks I was hearing about the feast my friend was going to make for Easter. In my general manner, I said sure, prove it and personally thought there would be too much hype for one meal. However, when my friend Kelly started cooking on Easter Sunday at noon in my apartment, I had a sneaking suspicion I was going to be put to shame. Food has been piled into my kitchen the day before and I was wondering how long it was going to take to prepare all of the food sitting on my kitchen table. The next day I learned that Kelly and her friend visiting from Rome, were going to certainly make a feast. At about noon they started creating several dishes and the immense ham. After nine hours of watching tv, my other friend Audrey and I were growing hungry and anxious to eat. At about half eight/nine, we finally sat down for dinner and joined with two other girls, we feasted on carrot casserole, sesame seed rolls, funeral potatoes, ham, and a host of other goods. Needless to say the meal was a success and a great time enjoyed with friends and a huge boost in the confidence of friends' cooking.





The next day my mom, sister, and cousin were set to arrive so I woke up early and together with my Irish relatives Luke and Kevin, we went to the airport and picked them up. From the airport we headed back to Luke's and had some tea. Deciding they wanted to get out and see some of Dublin and the Guinness Storehouse, we took the bus into the city. Walking around Grafton Street and St. Stephen's Green, we headed to the Guinness Storehouse and took the tour. Since I've been here I have wanted to go on the tour so it was nice to finally get a chance to go to one of Ireland's most famous tourist attractions and to see how its icon is made. Walking through all of the levels to see the ingredients and how the famous black stuff is produced, we were able to enjoy a "free" pint (you have to pay a lofty entrance fee so really it's not free) on the 360 gravity bar. Since being in Ireland I actually have not had a full pint of Guinness so it was my first pint which wasn't as bad as people make it out to be. It was a beautiful sunny day in Dublin so you were able to see all of the attractions of the city and even out to the sea. Once we were done, we headed to the bus stop and headed back to Luke's house where my family was staying. Since all the relatives knew my family was in town, they wanted to see them so we went to dinner with Luke's other son Des and his wife Anna and their new baby boy, Alex. We had a lovely dinner with them and we were all able to meet Alex. After our time with Des, we headed with Luke to see his wife Nora. Nora, unfortunately, was overtaken by Alzheimer's several years ago. Going to see Nora made me appreciate how much trust and how open Luke and his family have given to my family and me. Knowing how personal Luke is, it was greatly special for him to bring us to see Nora. She was in good spirits when we saw her and despite the disease, it was beautiful to see the interaction and love between Luke and Nora. After saying good-bye to Nora, we stopped quickly by Kevin's house and my family was able to meet Kevin's wife Erin and their three girls. After only stopping by for a quick visit, we left and headed for bed before the journey around Ireland commenced the next day.







The next morning I met up with my friend Audrey who was going to join us on the trip. Kevin picked us up and then we went to his house for a traditional Irish fry with rashers, sausage, toast, bread, tea, etc. where the my mom, sister, and cousin were waiting. After breakfast we started out on the immense journey southward and then all along the West coast of Ireland. We started out by heading southward to Kilkenny. During our drive down we were met with the only rain we would encounter throughout the journey for which one would be eternally grateful especially traveling through the traditionally rainy Ireland. Normally when a typical tourist heads to Kilkenny, they go to the famous castle or the design center or a myriad of other attractions in the town. However, we were headed just outside Kilkenny to a favorite of my mom's, Nicholas Mosse pottery. In this small village is where Mosse started and where much of his work is still continually made and one can witness how the pots and plates and kettles are made, right before your eyes. Personally after a few minutes of looking at the pottery, although it is all beautiful and well-crafted, I was drawn to the cafe and needed some nourishment for the rest of the trip that day. After my mom, Caitlin, and Meghan were done looking at all the patterns and picked out what they wanted and after Audrey and I had finished our food, we packed ourselves back into the car and headed for Cork. However, when traveling with the McGee's, things do not go smoothly. We lose luggage, we lose a child, we lose control of the car and end up in a snow-packed ditch (twice!), things just never go our way when traveling and we typically like to call ourselves the Griswald's. So it was fitting that during the short drive from the small village where Nicholas Mosse was situated to Kilkenny also with my mom driving on the left side of the road that we crash into a deep pothole, for which we can thank Ireland's worst winter. The car kept running, but not long after, a message came on saying that we had a flat tire. Oh saints be patient! My mom drove, more like panicly maneuvered around a few roundabouts with several cars honking behind and then a few on the other side nearly crashing into us, attempting to get to a gas station to try and fill up the tire. In the backseat there were murmurs of Hail Marys and Our Fathers as we prayed that we would at least we able to first make it around the several roundabouts in order to get then get to the gas station. After a few painful stops in the middle of the roundabout and commands from the GPS, we made it. Alleluia! After the tire had been filled with air, the message still read flat tire (go figure!)...so we dabbled around with what to do and drove to Clonmel and tried to find a place where we could fix our tire. After going one place, we headed to Tipp Tyres and met a lad, one of Meghan's potential Irish husbands, who informed us that on rental cars they put on Run-Flat tires which are designed not to go completely flat and can keep running, however, he suggested that we get it fixed in the near future. So with the help of the Clonmel Jef (the name of Meghan's loves), we headed to Cork and once we got there we stopped off again to check the tire and fill it with air. Since we were only 20 minutes away from where we had originally decided to stop, Kinsale, we risked the tire and made our way down to the coastal village town. The views on the way down where breathtaking, winding on and around hills revealing the road covered with trees and finally leading down into the village was picturesque. Since we had booked no hotels, we pulled up to the one by the harbor and we were lucky to get rooms. After we settled in, we headed out to look for a place to eat dinner. We went to a recommended seafood restaurant, after we finished our meal we headed back to the hotel due to the lacking or dead pub/music scene in Kinsale.





The next day we bid farewell to Kinsale and headed to Blarney Castle which was just north of Cork city. I never thought I would actually make it down to the famous attraction, but there we were and up the million round steps we headed...Eventually making it to the top and also after almost toppling over, we walked around to the famous of all stones. In one swift motion, I sat down, prayed, leaned back, put my faith in a man who probably would not be have the strength to save me if I slid off, and planted my lips on one of the most germ infested items (certainly stones) in the world. Then just as quick as it had come, I was back on my feet and was handed a ticket for two cheesy photos of my five second experience. After rising from a near-death free fall, I certainly did not possess the power to gab for hours. Unfortunately, the legend had not been bestowed on me, however, a bout of dizziness had and I was ready to get back on the ground. Although we could have spent more time in Blarney, we had to figure out what was wrong with our tire and remedy the problem. We located a dealership in Cork and our next stop was the waiting room of the dealership to wait to hear of our car's situation. After some time, a striping young man, another of Meghan's potential husbands, told us that we needed to essentially switch cars--of course. So again we were off and this time we were headed for Cork Airport to see our good friends at Hertz. Oh what a joy it was to hear the man ask if the vehicle he had brought up would be alright for us since it was the only one which would suit with automatic transmission and to then see the reaction on my mother's face as he had rolled up in a Range Rover. Oh Jay-sus, what were we in for? Now it had already been a rocky drive in a small, normal car, but here we were about to set off in essentially a tank on the wrong side of the road and on the narrow, teeth clenching roads of Ireland which are almost the size of one American lane. Saying a few Hail Marys, we piled our stuff into the mammoth and we were off...with a bit of difficulty getting used to the height and the amount of room our new vehicle took up on the road, we were off for the beautiful and famous Dingle.

Saint Marys' Takes Over the Aran Islands

For our final Saint Mary's trip, we were off to the Aran Islands for the weekend. However, our trip would be better described as an invasion...

At about half four, which turned into half five by the time our director showed up, two buses loaded with thirtysome Saint Mary's girls drove from Maynooth off to the West Coast. We were all settled in for the journey praying that we were going to be fed along the way. Thankfully we stopped for a beautiful meal on the border of County Roscommon and Galway and were fueled for the rest of the long five hour total journey. For the night we were staying in Doolin, Co. Clare. Doolin is an extremely small town on the coast, but size is no matter in Ireland as three pubs are within the village limits (quite typical the number of pubs outnumbers churches and challenges the population number). When we arrived at our hostel in Doolin, we literally seized the place just as though we were Napoleon's troops. With thirty girls comes thirtysome odd bags of food and endless amounts of luggage. As we were thrown into rooms with no apparent order, we settled in and headed to the pub for some of Ireland's most highly regarded live music. The small, quiet village reminded me of the setting in Waking Ned Devine and the jeers and plucking of the fiddle inside the doors of Gus O'Connors reminded me of everything I loved about Ireland, the friendly and welcoming atmosphere providing great craic. As much as we were enjoying ourselves, we had to end the night early in order to wake up for our early morning tours.





A few hours of sleep were too soon interrupted by a knock at the door to wake up and of course the knock was just as quickly ignored, resulting in six girls scrambling to get ready, packed, and "breakfasted" to get on the bus. Our first stop was a tomb in the burren. To put the burren simply, it is a giant collection of large rocks spanning over a good area of Co. Clare, also where my friend and I fell simply trying to take a picture and getting caught within one of the crevices. Needless to say, the near broken ankle and unnecessary early wake up call for a few stones piled on top of the other did not provide me with a positive view of the burren. From there, we journeyed to the top tourist destination in Ireland and a finalist in the new Seven Wonders of the World: the Cliffs of Moher. While we were there, there was a bit of fog, but the cliffs were still majestic. You look out and the down, and are overtaken with just how grand they are...photos certainly do not do them justice. Jumping over the stone fence and walking down to the edge, I attempted to crawl to the edge and peer over. However, my lifelong fear of heights and lightheadedness stopped me a mere foot from the edge by which time I was having a spasm attack and probably an ulcer or two. Watching all of my friends crawl to the edge and sit there influenced me to want to join them, but then again I pictured myself being launched over the edge just as Lizzie in Waking Ned Devine was and I found my safe distance to be satisfactory. Eventually it was time to go and we had to race to the pier in Doolin to catch our ferry to the Aran Islands. If you've ever been to Ireland and have ridden in a car, particularly a bus, through the rough, uneven, windy roads, you may know that nauseous sensation that envelopes you when you are barreling along to your destination. However, combining that feeling with an hour and a half boat ride through choppy water can be a lethal combination. Let's just say by the time I planted my feet on Inismore, I had never been so happy just to use my own mode of transportation, my feet. As soon as we arrived on the largest island of the Arans, news spread quickly of all the American girls who had arrived. As soon as we were situated in our hostel, had had some lunch, and walked outside there were several Aran tour buses and vans sitting outside waiting and wishing to take us around. We were the few tourists that weekend and were a hot commodity. Everyone wanted our service and so we heard several "Pick me! I give the best tour!," etc. However, we piled into whatever van we could fit into and then we were all off on a tour of the island and were taken to a small village (a village on the island can be made up of one person if necessary), at the base of Dun Aengus, the ring fort. By the time we got out of the van it was starting to rain and as we took the walk up the hill to the fort, it began to pour and we stuck on top of a cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in a downpour. So far, the trip was looking great! After a very quick tour, we raced back down the hill and did a quick bit of shopping and then hopped in the vans again and finished the tour. There were several unfinished projects throughout the island and as our tour guide said the motto, "have a drink. think about it. have a drink. forget about it," is taken to heart there. Eventually we made it back to the hostel and freezing, we took showers and then made fajitas for dinner. That night all of the girls I was sharing my room with were finishing our history essay I had already submitted so we stayed in and hoped they would finish soon.







The next day had been a complete 180 of the previous day. The sun was shining and the water looked beautiful, we also had to the entire day to do whatever we wanted. So my roommates and I decided to rent bikes and go around the island. We opted for the coastal route and did not regret it for a second. As soon as we veered onto the coastal road, we knew exactly what Heaven on Earth looked like. The fields were green and outlined with the traditional stone fences and the cool blue of the ocean rising in the background. The weather and the scenery could not be beaten. As we glided along the road with no one else traveling on it, we sang and enjoyed every second of the moment we were experiencing. Eventually we came to a beach and we stopped for a few minutes to enjoy the sun and then we hopped back on our bikes and made our way to the village where we had been the day before. However along the way we met some travelers of a different kind. Only in Ireland would you have to stop on your bike to wait for a car herding a mother and baby cow, the traffic on the Aran Islands is much more agriculturally influenced than the likes of Los Angeles. Just as my two friends were able to sneak past the mother and calf, I made my move and my friends having startled the baby, proceeded to scare the baby into almost darting in front of me. Needless to say, I almost wound up slamming into the stone wall and facing the wrath of the baby and mother. However, I was able to make it out alive and we journeyed on to the village. In the small village, mainly comprised of shops, we had some lunch and then made our Aran Island purchases. Clearly we had not thought out the plan to journey back to our hostel as I walked out of the shop with two large bags full of Aran woolen goods. I tried different strategies with one bag on each handlebar and two on one side, but eventually both bags ended up ripping. It was quite the site to see...Eventually I was able to put some goods on the back of my bike and the ride with the other lot under my arm and the other hand on the bike handles. It was a difficult journey back with the windy roads and the hills, but we made it back in time and had all items in tact. A nap was necessary after the most exercise I had had since being in Ireland, as well as a good dinner.







Once we had relaxed and finished eating, the sun had set and my friends and I decided to go for a walk when we started talking with some people from different places in Europe who were working on the island and in Galway. They mentioned there were salsa lessons taking place at the island hotel and suggested it would be good craic. So on a whim we headed to the hotel pub and in fact on the dance floor, there was a giant group learning various salsa moves. Despite my best efforts I abandoned the dancefloor for a seat with a few of my friends and had a pint. Learning that the American girls were there, we were approached by several of the locals, intrigued as to what we had done of the island. We eneded up meeting various different people, one who was an extra in the film Leap Year and was a fisherman, another who had played Gaelic football in Chicago, and another who was the neighbor and brother-in-law of the former. The island people were certainly a different breed with the fast talk and their Italian-esque fluctuations in their dialect. They also had a different sense of humor as they tried to make jokes whenever they could and then proceeding to laugh at themselves...maybe they have spent too much time on the island. Nonetheless, it was a great night and we eventually made our way back through the sleepy town to our hostel.



The next day we were set to leave Inismore. Even though we had been advised by all of the locals that the ferry was at noon, our director decided to yield the advice and was convinced it came at one...we would soon wait until two for the next ferry. Through rough waters we made our way back to Doolin and were warmly greeted with the yells of a bus driver who was quite upset that we were a few hours late and had held him back from getting to Dublin in time. So we were left with no dinner on the way back. Eventually we made it to Maynooth again, and in record time!, but despite the wonderful weekend we had had, it was nice to be back in Maynooth. It was a shame that the trip had not been earlier in the semester as everyone became closer on the trip and got to know each other better, but no matter it was an experience which created memories for everyone to share together.

My Day with the Taoiseach and the Dail

10:30am outside the Buswell Hotel, Dublin.

These were my instructions on when and where to meet my relative's neighbor who works in the Dail or Irish Parliament. Ever since my relative Kevin had mentioned that he would be able to have his neighbor take me in with him to the Dail, I was extremely excited for the day to finally come. I had thought about what I would wear for days and was ready to walk among those who represented the Irish people and those who were the successors of those such as Eamon de Valera. The day was put off a few weeks from the initial date, so when the day finally came I was quite anxious. I woke up early and tried to look as presentable as possible, trying to look like I belonged. When Kevin had called me the night before giving me all of the specific information, he told me I would be witnessing one of the most heated days in the Dail due to issues with banks seeking aid and the whole issue of Nama here. Needless to say I was ready to see it all unfold. So on a Wednesday morning, I walked to the train station and made my way to Dublin. I felt so professional as I was sitting there commuting into the city reading the newspaper. I was trying to read up as much as could on the bank controversy and to memorize names in the paper, hoping to see them in a matter of minutes. I sat beside a man in a suit on his blackberry, also reading the newspaper and I felt like I was a part of it all. I hopped off at my normal stop and since I had half an hour to spare, I walked around a bit and took in the city, making my way just as though I had been doing this for years. I walked past Trinity College and Grafton Street, making my way to Kildare Street and the Buswell Hotel. I waited outside for my host. I arrived five minutes early, thinking very much in my American lifestyle, and was a bit anxious when he was five minutes late. I, for the moment, forgot that I was in Ireland where when you are supposed to somewhere at a certain time, you don't actually leave until that time. I have greatly grown accustom to this difference, but reverted back to my American habits and grew a bit scared for a few seconds that he had forgotten about me. I stood there watching men in suits pass by looking serious and ready to legislate. When Kevin's friend appeared, he was very friendly and he was in a rush to get me in so I could see the debate going on against the Taoiseach or Prime Minister. I was so excited as I passed easily through security and was easily escorted in since I was with a parliamentary member. As I walked through the gates, I was so excited to get in and see everything. Paul gave me a brief introduction to the Irish system of government and what he did, I then received a security badge and we made our way to the chamber to see the debate. Walking past various Garda and security made my adrenaline start rushing. For some they get a rush from sky diving, but all I need is the Dail. I don't think you could have wiped the smile off my face, although I tried to look as though I was used to this and was you know..professional, but I couldn't help it. Paul took me into the upper viewing area and we had a front row seat. We sat facing the Taoiseach who was in a rampant rampage trying to defend himself against all of the firing which was being thrown his way. Apparently he is not well liked by many of the Irish people and so much of the blame for the bank situation was being placed on him, especially since he was the previous Minister of Finance. He was even called out for economic treason, so it was a thrilling day in Parliament indeed! Paul briefed me on what had been going on and asked me various questions, but then he had to get back to work so I was left on my own to stay for a bit longer. So I sat listening to the debate for a bit longer, taking it all in as much as possible. Eventually I decided to leave and as I walked back down the hallway to the entrance, I looked around me and smiled, thinking of the amazing opportunity I just had and how thankful I was for everything-my semester in Ireland and the generosity of my Irish family. I returned my badge and then walked out past various representatives and said hello to a few and walked out of the Dail and down Kildare Street. I headed to St. Stephen's Green, walking around in the sunshine and thinking that the day just couldn't get better. On Grafton Street I had some lunch and then wishing I could stay for the day, headed back to the train station with the thought of an essay drawing me back to Maynooth. I walked down Grafton talking to Kevin, thanking him for the opportunity and then stopped to listen to some street performers and then walked through Trinity College. As I boarded the train back to Maynooth, I had a smile that couldn't be erased and was ready to take on the world.