Ireland is defined by many things. The Cromwellian invasion had one of the most lasting impacts on the Irish psyche due to the brutality displayed by Oliver Cromwell. This hatred of Cromwell remains strong despite him being revered by the people of Great Britain. Our classes often take us out of the classroom at Park Lodge to help us get up close and personal with the coursework. So, last Monday, we took the bus to Galway where we had class at the King’s Head Pub. This class took the form of a debate with one side arguing that Cromwell was deserving of the wretched reputation he has in Ireland while the other side argued that he wasn’t as bad as the Irish remember him. The King’s Head was chosen because, according to legend, the man that executed Charles the 1st, took Galway by siege and set up residence in the building. Not to brag, but my team won the debate!
Later that week, we had a day of stellar weather that was impossible to not take advantage of. I played some basketball at the playground nearby while waiting for laundry and took some time alone to take a walk up the Relic Road by the cemetary. It still blows my mind that I can see the ocean and, on clear days, the Aran Islands as well. To round out a beautiful day, we gathered up almost all the students to walk to the beach and watch the sunset together.
The best sunset
The Cromwellian invasion also caused long term problems, as seen by the separation of Ireland. Though one small island, two very different nations coincide here. Northern Ireland is part of the U.K. and consists of six counties. When Ireland became an independent nation, these six counties were left behind and had a disproportionate amount of British v. Irish, a 2:1 ratio. While in Northern Ireland, we got a better understanding of the conflict that came from this division of the island on our Troubles Tour in Belfast. Within Belfast, there exists two very different communities in one city. The Troubles were a period of intense conflict between the Catholic, Republican Irish and the Protestant, Loyalist British. The Irish were generally discriminated against in Northern Ireland and wanted the north and south to become a united Ireland. The Loyalists wanted to remain part of the U.K. Going into the trip, I was unaware of the continuing tension between the Republicans and Loyalists. During the Troubles, a “peace wall” was constructed between their communities. I was expecting the wall to be small, not a massive concrete, fence topped wall. Our tour guide informed us that there is no integration between them and Belfast contains two of everything. Even the bus system is segregated with the two bus routes never crossing the wall to the other side. The gates between the walls then close at 7:00PM and open again at 7:00AM the next day. If you’re not on your side of the wall at 7:00PM, you’re stuck there for the next 12 hours. Our tour was conducted first by a British loyalist whose father was killed during the Troubles and then we were handed off to our second guide on the opposite side of the wall. This man was a former member of the IRA and served 6 years in prison for it. It was interesting to hear both sides view of the Troubles and what the future holds for their country. I found this tour to be quite gloomy and really gave you a sense of how impactful this period of time was, not just in Belfast but all over Northern Ireland.
The walk along the wall 
The gates between communities 
Belfast is also home to a massive harbor and is well known for its ship building. One of the most famous ships, the Titanic, was built there and began its fateful voyage in Belfast. The Titanic Museum was constructed in the same area its namesake was and we were able to walk the area in which the ship was built. Nearby was Titanic Studios, where many of the green screen scenes for Game of Thrones were filmed.
Titanic Museum 
Titanic Studios 
My favorite day was definitely Saturday when we got to see some of the natural beauty of Northern Ireland. We started with the Gobbins Walk, a dramatic walk along the cliffs of Northern Ireland on a series of metal pathways and steps in the rock. We even got to see dolphins! We made a stop at the Dark Hedges, another Game of Thrones filming location that was stunning even if you don’t know Game of Thrones. The Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge was next on the agenda with a beautiful walk along the coast. The 100 foot tall bridge connects the mainland to a little island used for fishing. I’m terrified of heights but refuse to let that fear stop be from doing amazing things like that. Finally, we stopped at Giant’s Causeway, my favorite stop on the entire trip. The rocks were all geometric shapes and were so fun to jump around on and climb up on, even when the wind blew like crazy. We very happily went back to the hostel and went out for dinner where our bus driver, Russel, showed us the bar’s Game of Thrones room with the Iron Chair and all.
On our last day, we visited the Strokestown Famine Museum where met our history teacher for another out of the classroom experience. In addition to the Cromwellian Settlement, the Potato Famine was another watershed moment for the Irish people. The tenant farmers of the time produced other crops but all of them were sold in order to pay the rent so these families had a place to live. Potatoes took up very little space to grow but were highly nutritious with an adult male eating up to 45 potatoes per day! The potato blight affected other countries as well but none were hit quite as hard as Ireland due to their dependence on the potato. Previously, I had only heard of this time period as the butt of jokes. But in Ireland, it’s still very fresh and real. The population before the Famine was estimated to be about 8 million people but due to starvation and emigration, the population dropped by about 2.5 million people or about 25% of the population. 171 years later, the population of Ireland has yet to recover from this catastrophe.
This trip was the first time that I felt our entire class started to become really close. We shared lots of stories, created new memories together, and learned more about each other. Leaving them all, especially the Iceland gang, is going to be rough. Even spring break is going to be weird as we all split up for nearly two weeks. When you’re with people day in and day out, you’d think you would get sick of them but that hasn’t hit yet. Even when I took an afternoon for myself without the group, it felt like I hadn’t seen them in 5 years. I’ve been so grateful for my new friends and all the experiences we get to share together. Until next time,
Kylee
And She's Everywhere 