I Remember That Summer in Dublin

When I woke up Monday, it began to hit me that it really was just about the end. Monday morning I woke up and few of the girls and I went down the street to a pub that serves an Irish breakfast. I was really expecting it to be any good, however, I was pleasantly surprised. I was able to delight in toast, tea, rashers, sausage, eggs, and beans. My future meal has come to be the unhealthy traditional Irish fry. We sat outside and I could not have been happier at that moment-beautiful day, amazing food, and great company. I then made a pit stop at the Spar, convenience store, on the corner by our house to see if they had a box I could use to ship some things home and my dear Polish friend assured me that he would save one for me. From there we then went to Henry St. to do some shopping. I knew I could not join them for the whole time, so I soon left and then went back home to try and finish my paper and presentation. I made some progress and then started another project of my own. I had bought an Irish flag on the street and wanted all of my roommates to sign it so I went around bothering everyone as they were also working on their papers and was able to get my flag fully signatured. That night a few of us went out for a few drinks and talked about the last few weeks, then on our way home we ran into a group from our program who were out celebrating our friend’s birthday so we decided to join them and headed back down the street.



On Tuesday, I was determined to finish everything up and for the most part was able to for the whole day. Later that evening we had a farewell dinner provided by UCD so we all got ready and sat outside for a bit enjoying the weather in our back garden. Then we walked over to the Brazen Head, which is Ireland’s oldest pub. There we were in a private room and given a three course dinner. In between each course there was a man who stood up and told us stories about the famine, fairy forts, and a variety of different things. At the end, we were simply told we could go so the dinner really didn’t feel like a good-bye dinner and didn’t really provide any closure for the program. However, we then headed home and since almost everyone except me and two other girls in my house had to present the next day.



Everyone was off presenting their internship projects in the morning, so I tried to review and finish everything before they got back. When they did come back bragging and boasting, I was quite jealous and had wished I could enjoy the day. However, I was still able to get out with some of my roommates and enjoy our time as we went to Stephen’s Green for lunch and enjoyed the weather for a bit. After our lunch, I went to print out my paper and buy a few gifts and then headed back to the house. That night one of my roommates wanted to take advantage of all of the ethnic restaurants near us, so we went to a Lebanese place down the street and my mouth has never been happier. I delighted in my chicken something or other…and then we went home and I finished everything up for my presentation and then we went out with almost everyone in our program. Basically everyone had finished except for nine of us, but we all went out and had fun, while saying good-bye to everyone.





The next day I woke up early and headed to UCD on the #10 one last time. I met two other girls in my presentation group on the way. My presentation went well I thought and as much as I hate speaking in front of people, the presentation was pretty easy and I’m not sure if that’s only because it was with only 4 other people or I’ve just gained more confidence in Ireland, but it went well and on the way home I had surprise. As I was waiting for the bus, someone in an Irish accent called my name and completely confused, I made out that it was my roommate from Maynooth (Brid’s) friend Jackie. Even though it wasn’t Brid, it was great to see Jackie before I left. I was so happy to finally be done and actually have the chance to feel like it was summer. However, I was consumed with thoughts of packing and saying good-bye. Two of my roommates left on Thursday so it was all entirely bittersweet even though it didn’t feel like they were actually leaving. One of my good friends, Melissa, was leaving Friday morning so a few of us went out to dinner at a place called the Porterhouse and enjoyed some traditional Irish fare. After dinner, Melissa wanted to go listen to some music so we walked around Temple Bar and eventually wound up at O’Donoghues by Grafton Street. There weren’t many people there and a female folk singer had the mic for the night so it wasn’t your typical Irish music, but we sat upstairs and talked for a few hours thinking about the summer. Eventually Melissa had to get back and finish some packing so we headed back and went to bed.





The next morning I was woken up by Melissa saying good-bye and as I watched her walk down the stoop and disappear, it didn’t seem real that summer in Dublin was ending. I couldn’t even imagine being Melissa and getting on a plane home that morning. The rest of the day was pretty rainy and I did not feel well from suspected mold infiltrating the house so I just packed a little and hung around with my other roommates. Our landlord decided to send over some gardeners on our last day so of course our back garden actually looked enjoyable for once, which was a shame since we never used it. For dinner, Marissa, Kat, and I met up with our other housemate Mal, her sister, and friend at a Thai place down the canal for dinner. The food was incredible and made me wish we had discovered some more of the restaurants in our area. When we got home, the four of us got ready and headed out for our last night. I truly did not feel as though it was the end and we headed to our favorite pub down the street, Flannery’s. The place was packed and made for a great last night to end our time together. We headed back and since Mal had to leave the house at 4:30 for her flight to Paris, we stayed up and saw her off.







The next morning was certainly hard with no sleep and packing up and saying good-bye. Again I said good-bye to Marissa and Kat and felt as though I was simply going away for the weekend to visit a friend or something, not to move out and go back to America. I hurriedly had to run out the door and get a cab to take me to the train station across the city with my huge suitcase. As I passed Camden St., Grafton, Trinity, and O’Connell St., I started to cry and knew things just would not be the same. Soon the cab pulled up to Connolly Station and I went to get my train ticket for Boyle, Co. Roscommon to visit my roommate Helena from Maynooth. I lugged my suitcase onto the train and made myself comfortable, the train ride was about 2.5 hours and as soon as I got there, I was met by Helena and her neighbor. We went into town for pizza and then we were met by her parents who took us back to her house. For the afternoon we hung out and then went to mass during which I had a massive cough attack and had to leave. That night we headed to Carrick on Shannon and had a great time.









On Sunday, Helena’s family went to the Roscommon Football match in Dublin so we simply hung out all day and then that night her neighbor picked me up and drove me to Castlerea to catch the train to Westport, Co. Mayo. Again I had to say good-bye but it did not feel real. When I arrived in Westport, I was met by my cousin Des and his wife Anna and their son Alex. I had not seen them since May so it was great to see them and see how big Alex had gotten. From Westport, we drove to the house that my cousins all share in a “village” called Accony outside Louisburgh. I had been to the house for a week with Des’ brother Kevin a few weeks before, so it was nice to be somewhere familiar. When we arrived, Des’ dad Luke was there and we talked for a bit and then I headed to bed.



The purpose of my trip down to the house was to visit Inishturk…