Irish Way lands in Ireland!!!

Monday, July 3rd, Irish Way 2007 arrives in Ireland!

After a long goodbye in JFK airport the 32nd session of the Irish Way departs! It was a busy day and there were some tired and anxious eyes but the air was buzzing with excitement as we flew high across the Atlantic. This meant a lot of firsts for many of us: first time in a plane, first time out of the country, first time away from home and away from our families.

We arrived in Dublin greeted by the rest of the staff and welcomed by blue skies. The next stop: Newtown School in Waterford via Glendalough, an ancient monastic settlement built in the 6th century by St. Kevin. Tucked beside two dark lakes in the county of Wicklow, Glendalough is one of the most picturesque settings in Ireland. Right off the bat we were blown away from the magic of the Irish land. Here, we braved the rain as the sun and mist took their turns, it was a true summer afternoon in Ireland!

It was a bit of a quieter ride to the Newtown School in Waterford. We gathered our bags and our bearings and settled in to our first residence at our new home away from home. After dinner we got to know each other a bit better with some fun and games; then it was early to bed for a serious catch up on sleep!

Tuesday, July 4th 2007, Happy Fourth of July!

The fourth of July was our first full day in Ireland, and first day of classes! Irish Studies, Irish American History, and Gaelic were on today’s schedule. There were instant results with Irish language in particular as Molly Ferns “spoke Gaelic on the phone to my parents!” And later on Andrea Celino enthused, “my favorite class is definitely learning Gaelic, on our free time out in Waterford I chatted with a man in an antique store in Irish! He gave us some pointers as he blessed us and sent us on our way”. After a more formal orientation the students were split into their drama presentation groups. The creative juices were flowing as each group got to know one another and a bit about their assigned iconic figure in Ireland’s history. These presentations will take place in Dublin towards the end of the program.

In true USA style the red, white and blue were well represented as a barbecue was held for dinner. Burgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, we had it all! …Inside, just in case! It was almost as good as the real thing, the only thing missing were the fireworks. All this was Followed by a disco on Newtown campus which was best described by Andrea Celino “I loved the disco so much, everyone did! I think I made twenty friends that night, nobody wanted to be alone on the fourth!” We cut a rug to all of our favorites and were certainly ready for bed by the end of the night.

Wednesday, July 5th 2007, First day of workshops!

We are beginning to find ourselves at ease with the schedule and the happening in and around the Newtown School in Waterford. After our 9 a.m. breakfast another day of classes and once again the Gaelic language seemed to be the favorite of the day! Katie Lynch describes Gaelic as “different than any other language. The phonetics will take some practice but I love it!” Closely following were Irish Literature and Irish History.

An important feature of Irish Way is the workshop component and the day kicked off with two all-stars. The tin whistle workshop began with the basics of traditional Irish music, and it was a hit! “We all went out and bought our own!” said Fiona Rada. Later on in the afternoon students painted Celtic designs on t-shirts. They came out brilliantly! The evening brought with it a lesson in Irish dance wherein students learned an Irish set dance. And though there were ranges in skill and background the lines were straight and the beat was on.

After dinner the presentation groups met again and prepped and planned for not only their end of program presentations but each group performed a skit for the evening’s talent show. Each group was more creative than the next and we were all amazed by what the students did. From competitive knitting to a reenactment of the life of a raindrop to Irish break dancing, the craic was mighty! What a talented bunch we have! Even the counselors got up on stage for a bit of fun. “Oh the talent show was super! I just loved the participation, honestly though I’m looking forward to learning more Gaelic, it’s so much easier than Spanish…and more fun!” said student John O’Brien.

Thursday, July 6th 2007, First day of Touring! Kilkenny Castle and Rock of Cashel

We were up and out with an early start today, on the road at 9am, the venture to Kilkenny made for an exciting jaunt with a perfect day on the road. Blue skies and the green mountains paved the way as we travelled to Kilkenny, a medieval city and arguably the only proper Irish city not located on a coast. We stopped for a picnic lunch and then enjoyed a perfect tour of Kilkenny Castle, a furnished Victorian castle. Sam Tolzmann especially loved the tour, “Free roam of the town following Kilkenny Castle which really gave us more of an insight into the history of the city and one of the most prominent families in Ireland’s past”. The town center of Kilkenny was a huge hit with the students and we had some free time to explore and walk around. Ryan Parker said “I loved walking around in Kilkenny, it’s a great place and thankfully the weather held up! It’s great to have both structure and freedom”. All of the students enjoyed themselves, “It was a gorgeous day, and the castle was glowing! Our trip into the city was fun, how great is Kilkenny?!” said Meghan Butler.

Driving home from Kilkenny we stopped in Cashel to see one of Ireland’s most spectacular archaeological sites, the Rock of Cashel, a limestone fortification and remains of a 12th century chapel. Seamus Riley laughs describing the rare sunshine we had all day and saying “my favorite was the view from the Rock of Cashel, just breathtaking!” For all of us, it took our breath away, Nicholas Comeaux said “I couldn’t get over the view of the Irish countryside…it was as if I could hear the hills and valleys singing the songs of my past”. And so we headed back home to Newtown School in Waterford for an evening of activities. Can’t wait for the next day of tours!