It was my
first time visiting Ireland and, I must say, what I've seen set my expectations
high for the eventual next visit. We started in a small town in the Gaeltacht
area called Bunbeg. The place was beautiful – wherever one looked there were
small white cottages scattered around rocky hills and flocks of sheep grazing
peacefully; all of that was accompanied by a quiet sound of crashing waves of
the Atlantic Ocean. But not only the sights took my breath away – the people
who live there are one of the nicest I have ever had pleasure to meet. And
although my Irish is (for now, at least) almost non-existent, my every attempt
to communicate was met with encouraging smiles and offers of help. When not
butchering the language, I spent my time with the rest of our group, exploring
the wilderness around the town and sampling the local brew of Guinness in a
pub. :) We also went to a local monthly event which promotes Irish-language
music called Cabaret Craicealite. There, I witnessed small, but still vibrant and very
much alive community of people who are united in their love for the Irish
language. Bunbeg has made quite an impression on me and I'm sure I'm going to
go back to that place one day.
Our next stop was Derry – a city which may
be small, but full of monuments and museums that document its turbulent
history. We took our time exploring both the distant and the immediate past of
Derry – we admired the City Walls, supposedly the oldest ones in Europe that
still remain intact and St Columb's Cathedral. Later we delved into more recent
events – The Troubles. We saw the Bogside and the famous murals (including the
“You are now entering free Derry” one), Bloody Sunday memorial and museum. What
struck me the most was in the Museum of Bloody Sunday – there was an exhibition
devoted to the famous 13 victims. The pictures and the notes about them were
really personal and touching. Apart from the historical sights, we also visited
Cultúrlann – local centre for learning Irish language.
It surprised me how many people seemed to attend their classes – but it also
warmed my heart too. It was nice to see Irish language being used even outside
Gaeltacht areas.
Our final destination was Dublin. Of
course, the first place to visit was Trinity College and the ever-famous Book
of Kells, about which we've heard so much during our Celtic Studies classes.
After seeing it first-hand, I must say that no picture gives it enough credit –
I was amazed with the amount of detail one could find on a single page. Another
thing that left me staring in wonder was the old library of the Trinity
College. I admit that my first thought after entering it was that it looked
like a place out of JK Rowling's books – the long hall adorned with busts of
famous people and old wooden bookshelves, filled with thick tomes and almost
touching the ceiling. There, among the shelves one could also see Brian Boru's
harp – one of few Gaelic harps that survived and certainly the most famous one.
The rest of our day was a free time for
us, but that didn't stop us from searching for other famous Dublin sights – we
managed to see the statue of Molly Malone, the Spire, the old General Post
Office (where we sent our postcards from) and many more. I also managed to buy
some beautiful, locally spun yarn to make myself a keepsake that would remind
me the wonderful time I had in Ireland.
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