Through My Eyes, In My Words:

The Land and Landscape of Ireland

Taught by Joseph J. Martin, associate professor emeritus of English, and Jack Truten, visiting assistant professor of English

Stephen Malloy of Stratford, Conn., is double majoring in economics and business and government and law. He is a javelin thrower on the varsity track and field team and a works with other student athletes as a peer mentor. He is also a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity.

By Stephen Malloy '06

During this interim session I was finally able to take a trip to Ireland, something I had been wanting to do for years. I have always wanted to see where my family was from and learn more about my ancestry.

When we arrived in Dublin, I had no trouble quickly adjusting to the five-hour time difference, but I did have some trouble with some subtleties that I was not expecting. For one thing, it rained almost every day we were there, and it got to a point where it was almost depressing not to see the sun (a common joke amongst the Irish is that the rainy and depressing weather is why they drink so much). Another adjustment was that every morning it was not light out until about 9 a.m. because the country is so much farther north than United States. This makes for ideal sleeping conditions, but is no good when you are trying to wake up early to visit sites.

Also, believe me that people are not joking when they say you will be eating a lot of potatoes over there. We had them for almost every meal (which was not a bad thing) because the Irish, to put it kindly, are not renowned for their culinary genius. Their servings are also much smaller than what Americans are used to. The biggest difference might have been the strength of the euro or the weakness of the dollar. When we were there the exchange rate was usually around $1.35 per euro, which shocked many of us and helped to empty our wallets that much quicker. For example, a lunch over here that may cost about five or seven dollars would be closer to ten euros or $13.

Our trip to Ireland did not consist of formal classes, rather a fair deal of travel to many different sites. We usually had tours and Professors Martin and Truten would give us additional insight to add to our learning experience. Our class visited old monasteries and abbeys such as Old Mellifont Abbey and Glendalough. We saw towers that were used to watch for Viking invaders at places like Monasterboice. We also visited Newgrange, which is the best-known Irish passage tomb.

Some of my favorite spots to visit were the old castles such as Blarney and Cahir. The defenses were ingenious. We also kissed the Blarney stone for good luck and eloquence, as the legend says is supposed to result. It was also interesting to see the different architectural styles, ranging from gothic to Romanesque.

We visited museums, learning about the great migrations from Ireland as well as the many political struggles throughout Ireland’s history. In Dublin we went to the post office where the famous Easter rebellion of 1916 took place, which was the start of many bloody battles to gain independence from Britain. At night, we saw several comedic plays including The Shaugraun, which was the best play I have ever seen.

My favorite site had to be the Cliffs of Moher, which are the Irish equivalent of our Grand Canyon, but on a smaller scale. These breathtaking, picturesque cliffs were 200 meters high. In high winds we crawled to the edge of the cliffs and looked down at the pounding surf. It was an amazing place that you just have to see to understand its beauty.

It was very apparent that Ireland is truly a fast-growing country. Every town or city we went to had construction going on, and cranes often covered the skyline. Although they had no skyscrapers over there, buildings and housing developments were, as many of the Irish said, “popping up overnight.” In the past 10 years Ireland has seen tremendous growth and accumulation of wealth.

I am thrilled that I was able to have this wonderful experience and be exposed to Irish culture. This is a course that I would highly recommend to others. In a few short weeks, we were exposed to and learned so much. The group on the trip was great and the professors added so much to our experience, making the Ireland interim trip that much better.