Ireland Journal
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Durrow Made the Day Special
On Sunday, June 7th, Barry and I went to Belvedere House and Gardens near Mullingar. The year Carol and Mike Kearney were here, we went twice and loved it both times, so I was excited to go again. We’d seen signs during our travels the previous days advertising a home and garden show at…
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The Goddess of Rocky Places
Friday, June 5th, was our annual visit to Loughcrew. I always look forward to visiting the Sliabh na Callighe, which translates roughly as the hill of the hag. I’ve come to expect to learn stories about the Cailleach when I am there and this time was no different. We left Athlone at 10:30, got…
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An Overly Rigid Schedule
Check out my horoscope for today, which I just got because back home it’s morning. Here, of course, I’ve already spent two-thirds of my day. Wednesday, Jun 10th, 2009 — An overly rigid schedule can be your temporary downfall today. If one appointment runs late, then each one will follow in turn, compounding the problem…
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A Mythic Night at The Shack
Clare Murphy, who kicked off the first week of the Three Rivers Storytelling Festival, is a serious student of Irish myth. After we met in Ballinasloe on Wednesday afternoon, we spent the rest of the day talking about myth, how to find it, craft it, tell it, and especially how to build audience for it. …
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Clare Murphy delights Athlone and Moate
Clare had a busy day on Thursday. Her session at the Aidan Heavey Library started at 11:00. I got there just before 12:00 and she was still going strong. I was just in time to hear the Irish version of Clever Manka. I got to say hello to Mae McLynn, the librarian there that I…
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Clare Murphy Kicks of the 2nd Annual Three Rivers Storytelling Festival
Wednesday afternoon at the Ballinasloe Library, Clare Murphy officially launched the 2nd Annual Three Rivers Festival. I’d never heard her before, and I was completely captivated. She told the best version of The Storyteller at Fault that I’ve ever heard. Click here to see a version of the story. Her version of how CuChulainn got…
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The Official Study Abroad Ireland Hairstyle for Men
As you can see, Study Abroad Ireland has mandated a hairstyle for its male participants. This is our director, Barry Vaughan giving his commendable and riveting mini-lecture on Dunamase Castle while sitting on the ruins of same. On either side of him sit two of our three male students, Ryan on the left and Jeremy…
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Green Dream
Yesterday was a bank holiday in Ireland. Study Abroad Ireland always uses the holiday to take an excursion. We all piled on the mini-bus (there are only 20 of us including faculty) at 10:30 and headed for Emo Court. Emo Court is a Palladian style manor house, built in the 1800’s and designed by the…
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Greetings from the Other Side!
Last week before we left, we got an email from Barry telling us that it was rainy, rainy, rainy and cold. He reminded us to bring proper clothing and to be prepared for a very different kind of summer. When we got off the plane on Saturday morning the sky was a…
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Shack Attack!
We arrived yesterday morning after an undramatic, uneventful set of flights. After we got to Athlone and got more or less settled, we all walked down to The Shack Old World Inn, home of the Hog’s Rose Brewery, commonly known as The Shack. Study Abroad Ireland's director, Barry Vaughan (standing in the white shirt), bought a…
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Study Abroad Ireland is a Go!
I've been holding my breath the last few weeks as we waited to learn whether MCC's Study Abroad Ireland Program would make. I found out Thursday from SAI's director, Barry Vaughan, that we have fifteen paid participants. That's enough for us to offer the program. I'll be teaching The Irish Storytelling Tradition, Barry will be teaching…
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The Busiest Day I Ever Had in Ireland
My busiest day ever in Ireland started late afternoon on Wednesday, June 18th. The next day, June 19th, included a guest storyteller in class, a trip to Portumna to tell stories, Sandy and Dwight Oglesby arriving in Athlone, and the evening concert of the Three Rivers Storytelling Festival. I picked up…