Dublin Part 2

7/24

Tonight, the Irish Way group got all dolled up to see Riverdance. We gathered outside the Gaiety Theatre to take pictures and enjoy the mild Dublin night. The kids were especially excited for this night after all their Irish step dance classes this month. With this newfound appreciation, even those students who had seen the show before found it impressive. One of our stand-out dancers, Cody Z., commented that there was a uniqueness to seeing Riverdance in its hometown. After the show, our group hit up the McDonalds on Grafton Street. Connor and Kayt got into the spirit of Grafton, setting out a cap and doing a Spanish dance for spare change.

7/25

Today, we visited Kilmainham Gaol, the infamous jail where many Irish rebels were held. In the later half of the 20^th century, this jail was falling into disrepair and was initially restored by volunteer tradesmen who did not want to see the history of their country disappear. On our tour, the students explored the jail cells of Eamon DeValera and Charles Parnell in addition to the execution yard where the leaders of the 1916 Rising were shot. We also saw the chapel where Joseph Plunkett and his wife, Grace, were married 15 minutes before his execution. The dark history of the jail is still palpable and most of the kids came out of this experience with shocked expressions. Still, this is one of the most important historical stops we make on our sightseeing tour of the country. The rest of the day was filled with free-time in the city. Some students took a bus tour, others went to the Dublin Writers Museum and others took the time to explore St. Steven’s Green. Meghan McGuire said that she loves Dublin, especially the cobblestone streets and Temple Bar.

7/26-27

This weekend saw our last day of classes. While the kids all agreed that they would rather not be in school in the summer, they did enjoy their Irish-focused studies. Cody L. said his favourite class was literature with Angie. He liked how the course was structured to give the biographies of the writers along with samples of their work. Meghan F. thought that Taryn’s class was perfect for the program because it answered all of random questions she had, like: how hard is it to get Irish citizenship?

With their notebooks turned in, the students spent much of the weekend preparing for their drama group presentations. The students are broken up into 8 groups and assigned historical or mythical Irish figures to research. Earlier in the trip, counsellors Pete and Norah organized a limerick contest, where each student had to write a limerick on their historical figure. Moira won the contest with this limerick:

The man Patrick Pearse does rot

He drew an unfortunate lot

He met his demise

Straight through the eyes

Of a firing squad’s sharp shot!

Whether her group wins the whole drama competition remains to be seen. The students will present their creative plays and acts tonight!