First days in Ireland

We arrived after a long trip. 4-hour bus from Michigan to Chicago, 7-hour plane from Chicago to Dublin. 4-hour bus from Dublin to Cork.

On the way to Cork, we stopped at Cashel. This castle/monastery sits atop the Rock of Cashel.


In Cashel town, there are quaint buildings, like this thatched cottage. (The Irish say "tached.")

Gotta protect the beer.



We arrived in Cork and our lodgings at Victoria Lodge, part of University College, Cork.

We walk through a residential neighborhood to the rest of campus. Most of the houses are named, rather than have a street address. I thought the name of this one was clever (think "anvil").



That was yesterday. Today we traveled a short train ride to Cobh, the coastal town where 3 1/2 Irish immigrants migrated away from Ireland between 1855 and 1950. This is in the train station at Cork.

After arriving in Cobh, what happened next was rather astonishing. One year ago, on July 20, 2006, Don and I were in this same town, on this same study abroad program, and when we came around the corner to go down to St. Colman's cathedral, a casket was being carried out of the church. We watched the entire funeral procession file past, with 1,000 mourners walking behind the hearse. See my post about it here.

On the train to Cobh today, I was telling some of the students about that incredible experience. A 19-year-old woman had been murdered, and the whole town was in shock. My old time readers will remember it.

Today, we all walked toward the cathedral, came around the corner, and this is what we saw, again.

I stood, stunned, in the windy rain, umbrella blown inside out. My own insides were rather blown away too. This time the funeral was for a 70-year-old man who died of natural causes and lived a good life. I'm glad it wasn't a tragic death.

This is St. Colman's from city centre.

On the train back to Cork, several girls sat by us who had been at a wildlife camp in Cobh. We had a great little talk. The one on the left in the hat showed me three feathers she'd found. Sometimes I couldn't understand them in their beautiful Irish brogue. But we understood each other just fine.