This week was a very exhausting, but exciting week. We had a long trip all over Northern Ireland. To start the week, we had class on Monday at The Kings Head, which is a pub in Galway. We learned about the history behind the pub and had a friendly debate about Oliver Cromwell. Our debate was over whether Cromwell is deserving of the bad reputation that he has in Ireland. My team and I were proving this argument and won the debate. Our professor gave us a small prize of very tall socks for winning the debate. After class we stayed in town and did some shopping and ate a late lunch.
Tuesday was one of the only days that was spent relaxing this week. After class, I did a whole lot of nothing! On Wednesday, we had class, as usual and then I had my community connection project. For my community connection project, I go to a nursing home and talk with residents. I really enjoyed talking with some of the residents, we talked about their life and they asked me several questions about mine and why I came to Ireland. I am excited to visit the nursing home weekly and talk with different residents. After getting back from the nursing home a couple of us students and our professor played an intense game of basketball. After the basketball game a couple of us walked down to the beach to watch the sunset.
We had to be up early and on the road by seven on Wednesday. Our first stop was at the Lissadell House in County Sligo. After a tour of this enormous house we were on our way to the Ulster American Folk Park. This museum showed how people in Ireland immigrated to America. We arrived at our hostel later that evening, we all ate supper at a restaurant just around the corner from our hostel. Friday morning, we were off to a tour at the Crumlin Road Goal. We were also taken on a tour through the different sides in Belfast. This tour showed the struggles that the Protestant and Catholic side went through during the Troubles. After this three-mile tour we had a big bowl of soup and were on our way to the Titanic Museum. We arrived at the Titanic Museum later that afternoon. Later that evening we got some drinks and played some games.
Troubles Tour 
Crumlin Road Goal 
original noose used for hangings 
Crumlin Road Goal 
Lissadell House 
Ulster American Folk Park
Saturday morning, we checked out of our hostel and headed to the Gobbins Walk. This was a walk along the rocky coast, it was one of my favorite things that we did on this trip. After the Gobbins Walk, we went to the Carrick-a-Rede Bridge and Giant’s Causeway. Carrick-a-Rede Bridge was an extremely high rope bridge that made me face my fears, but I made it across. We stayed at a hostel in Ballintoy on Saturday night.
Carrick-a-Rede Bridge 
Giant’s Causeway 
Sunday was another day filled with tours. We first stopped at the McCrannah City Walking Tour. Our guide took us on a tour of the wall that surrounds Derry. She explained how this wall divided people similarly to how Belfast is divided. We then went to the Free Derry Museum, we got to see the effects of Bloody Sunday on Derry and the struggle that people went through to get to the nonviolent stage that they are at now. Sunday night, we stayed at another hostel in Buncrana. We left early Monday morning to Strokestown. We met our history professor at the Strokestown Famine Museum for class that day. All in all, I felt that this was a great long weekend trip, we were all exhausted by the time we got back to the cottages late Monday evening.
On top of the wall around Derry 
original bullet holes left from Bloody Sunday 
Ireland 2020 