Halfway Point thoughts

I’m sitting on the train, eating one of Joanne’s Bagged 24-hour Baked Scones (4 for 2 euro, how could I have resisted that?) and staring at my screen. It’s 16:25 and the sun has already disappeared, dark purple flowing over the sky to fill the empty space. Past the reflection of myself and the Irish …

Where’s the Spera in Deo? A look into religion of Modern Ireland

The place demands attention. Controls it, in a sense, the way a preacher must have controlled the attention of his flock in years past, spitting in their faces warnings of hell and brimstone. That was then, but in 2020 the scene plays out a little differently. Both the preachers at Christchurch Cathedral and the Dublin …

Ireland: Myth and Magic

“Do you see that over there, up on the wall next to the driver?” I ask my friend as we slide into our seats on the bus. A line of IES students file their way in behind us. I point to a wooden design the driver must have put up on the wall. “Remember when …

Day Trip: Howth, Co. Dublin

During their taxi rides in, several members of our writers group had been told of a quaint fishing village nearby, that had the best cliffside views one could hope for. After a bit of research, we discovered that this village was called Howth- from Old Norse Hofuth, meaning a promontory- and was only a half …

Reflections from a hobbit (at heart)

If I took a quiz on which fictional fantasy character I would be, based on personality, I am at least 80% sure I would end up as Bilbo Baggins. Specifically, pre-dwarven company Bilbo Baggins; the Bilbo Baggins who sits in his aesthetically-pleasing hobbit hole, drinking tea, and by firelight reading in a plush armchair. Maybe …

On The Rocky Road to Dublin

January 8th (first day of orientation), I woke up not exactly remembering where I was. Squinting out my window into a powerful gray sky, and listening to the harsh calls of seagulls reminded me: oh yeah, I’m in Dublin. There are far more seagulls in Dublin than I expected, as I didn’t even think there would …