Ireland Journal
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Proud Owner of a Genuine Bodhrán
Last year around Halloween, my musical partner John Good announced that he was going to learn to play the harp. I said if he could commit to learning the harp, I could commit to learning the bodhrán. John bought a beautiful harp, took lessons, and can now play it. Before I left in late…
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Dandelions at Dunamase
In addition to the hawthorn at Dunamase, there were lots of dandelions just waiting to be plucked and wafted. Ashley and Alysha (above), and Adriana (below) were happy to oblige. This summer we have three Ashleys, one Alysha, and an Alyssa. We also have Katie, Caitlin, Katelyn, Kailee, and two Samanthas. You might think…
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Banish Misfortune
Last night I went to Flannery’s (my favorite pub in Athlone) with my colleague Chas Moore who is teaching music this summer. We got there about 8:00 and it was still quite bright outside. There were a few musicians there and Chas sat in. I only stayed about an hour. Of course many more people…
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The First of Our Two Bank Holidays
We have a routine in Study Abroad Ireland. Our first Monday is always a bank holiday in Ireland. That means that the classroom we use at the Athlone Institute of Technology is not available to us. So, even though it’s the first day of summer school in Arizona, we always take a bus trip to…
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May Bloom
On the Coming of Arthur By ways unknown, unseen, The summer makes things green, The pastures and the boughs Wherein birds house. Summer will come again, For sick things become sane, And dead things fat the root That brings forth fruit. Arthur, like summer, waits, For Wit and Will are gates, Like those…
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Don’t Drive into the Shannon!
This is my sixth summer teaching in Mesa Community College’s Study Abroad Ireland Program. We normally leave on a Friday, arrive on a Saturday, and take a walking tour of Athlone, where we are based, on Sunday. This year we left on Saturday, arrived on Sunday, and then still went on the walking…
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A Gilbert Connection
I met the mother of one of our participants at Sky Harbor the morning that we left for Ireland. Ashley McCleve is our student, and her mother is Julia McCleve. When Julia introduced herself, I said that her name was familiar. That’s when I learned that she had been on the Gilbert School Board…
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Taking Stories
The Ireland Journal usually begins as soon as I arrive in Ireland. That didn’t happen this year. My blog fell victim to jetlag and exhaustion. I’m happy to report that I’m full recovered and in possession of my motivation. Let the blogging begin! The back of this bus was the sight that greeted me when…
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My Travels at a Glance
View Ireland 2009 in a larger map Google has a cool tool for creating interactive maps. Click on the blue balloons for brief descriptions of where I traveled this summer. On the map I created, the straight line that runs from Derry to Roscommon actually went through Donegal and Sligo. I'm not sure why it…
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SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE BARN by Eileen McIlwaine
I've written posts here, here, and here about a great session at Ballyeamon Barn on Saturday night, June 27. Eileen McIwaine, a regular on Saturday nights and at the weekly writer's group also held at the barn, thought it was a great session, too. She wrote the poem below in praise of it. Thank you, Eileen! Do you…
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As You Do
A phrase that really caught my attention this summer in Ireland was “as you do”. I first encountered it in a newspaper article in, I think, the Irish Independent. I wish I’d cut it out, but alas, I did not. The article was entitled something like, “Mystery Solved”. It described how the strange hairless animal…
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An Chailleach Bhéara – The Hag of Beara
The point of our drive to the Beara Peninsula on Monday was to see An Chailleach Bhéara, a rock shaped like a head facing out to sea with her hair blowing out behind her. The legend is that this is the head of the Cailleach, turned to stone, as she waited for her lover, the…