Fun Times in Dublin!

On Sunday, the students were able to have a lie in. They woke up mid-morning, got their packed lunches, and all got public transportation into the city. They had free time to shop and walk along Grafton Street and Temple Bar area. Many even went to see the Book of Kells at Trinity. The ILE’ers are becoming more familiar with Dublin and are truly enjoying everything the big city has to offer. We returned back to campus after a few hours and had dinner. Everyone wanted to go to the movies, so we took a trip to the cinema-many students seeing the new Harry Potter! After the movies, we thought it was important for them to see another Irish movie, In the Name of the Father. In the Name of the Father, is about a small time thief from Belfast, Gerry Conlon, who is falsely implicated in the IRA bombing of a pub that kills several people while he is in London. Bullied by the British police, he and four of his friends are coerced into confessing their guilt. Gerry's father and other relatives in London are also implicated in the crime. He spends 15 years in prison with his father trying to prove his innocence with the help of a British attorney. It’s a great movie and appropriate, since we would be going to Kilmainham Gaol on Monday-which is where some of the movie was filmed. Many students enjoyed the movie and said that it was interesting learning about more history of the Troubles. A few said it’s also becoming easier to understand the Irish accents. Monday was the next tour of the program. We went to Kilmainham Gaol first. Kilmainham gives the visitor a dramatic and realistic insight into what is was like to have been confined in one of these forbidding bastions of punishment and correction between 1796 when it opened and 1924 when it closed and offers a panoramic insight into some of the most profound, disturbing and inspirational themes of modern Irish history. Leaders of the rebellions of 1798, 1803, 1848, 1867 and 1916 were detained here. Such names as Robert Emmet, Charles Stewart Parnell, leaders of the 1916 Rising and DeValera are associated with the Gaol. Two of the movies that the students have watched-Michael Collins and In the Name of the Father, were filmed at the Gaol. One of the Staff's favorite tours of the Program-it truly is moving and the students were able to piece more of of the puzzle together about Ireland's history today. After Kilmainham, students had time to eat their packed lunches in St. Stephen's Green Park, before boarding the Viking Splash Tour. The Viking Splash Tour Guides are most engaging and amusing. The students were able to wear viking hats and we all had to pretend people on the streets were Celts. When we saw Celts, we had to let out a loud Viking ROAR! It was a great tour to show the ILE around the sights of Viking Dublin City by land and by water, as the vehicles are also amphibious. When we returned back to King's Hospital for dinner, we celebrated Angie's birthday with a card signed by all of the students and a delicious chocolate cake. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANGIE!!! Counselor Pete had a fun activity planned for the students, so after dinner we had the Counselor Olympics. Complete with wheelbarrow, spoon and egg, and dizzy bat relays. The final competition was a water balloon toss. Students were broken into their drama groups for the Olympics and the Charles Stewart Parnell team pulled off the win! Needless to say, the winning team and Counselor Pete were pegged with water balloons at the end. Ha! What a great day!

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