Student Bloggers

For the first four days in Ireland, I spent orientation with Arcadia in Dublin. One of the best decisions I have made thus far is flying into Dublin a day early. It enabled me to catch up on some much needed sleep before a busy first day of orientation and of course make a memorable first day in the city. My study abroad excursion began in the Harding Hotel lobby where a crowd of at least 60 students crammed into the small space before walking to the Clarence Hotel. After taking a good look at the hotel owned by U2’s Bono, we all walked up to a reception room to be greeted by the Arcadia Ireland staff and meet one another over refreshments. Our first activity of the day, a historical tour of Dublin, began shortly after the reception. Though most of the students were exhausted after a long day of travel, it was a great way to be introduced to the city and keep everyone awake throughout the day.

My group reached the first location for the tour, Trinity College, after a 15 minute walk from the hotel. An Irish graduate student from the University College Dublin, commonly referred to as “UCD”, energetically greeted our group and began a wonderful tour of the city. Trinity College is Dublin’s oldest college and was a male school until the early 1900s. The library holds all four editions of the Book of Kells, lavish and decorative manuscript of the New Testament created by monks in approximately 800 A.D. Ironically, the books were created off the coast of Scotland, not Ireland, and only two versions are on display in the library. The other two are stored for conservation. The college was beautiful and filled with historical stone architecture that appeared to be a popular tourist attraction for the city. Before leaving the college, our guide told us elaborate stories and ended by stating, “The Irish don’t let the facts interfere with a good story.”

Directly across the road from Trinity College is the Irish Bank. Before the bank was created, it was the Irish Parliament until it voted itself out of existence thanks to corruption within the British parliament. It was vacant for many years until it was purchased to be a bank for the mere price of 400,000 euros. Jonathan Swift said, “The Irish Parliament is a stone’s throw away from Trinity College and a world’s away from any knowledge.”

Several yards away was O’Connell street. A statue of Daniel O’Connell is placed in the center of the road and is surrounded by other political influencers of Ireland and angels along the lower parts of the statue. Our tour guide had us take a closer look at the statue which revealed bullet holes in the angels’ breasts and arms. Remnants of the 1916 Easter Rising Rebellion. Behind the O’Connell statue was the Spire, the odd needle that Fahad showed me the night before.

Our next stop was near the Ha’Penny Bridge, a short walk from O’Connell Street. As the lecture proceeded, we learned that the Ha’Penny Bridge will be turning 200 years old next year. The bridge was created by a wealthy family that made a fortune from the ferry company on the River Liffey which transported Dubliners and visitors from the south of the city to the north side of the city and vice versa. As times progressed, the family decided to build a bridge, but still charge people a penny to transport between one side of the city to the other. The family decided that the building of a bridge would save them money on labor, fuel, and equipment while still making a generous income. The city agreed to the bridge as long as if it could be granted to the city after so many years. When the contract came of age, the city allowed citizens to cross for free as we do today.

Like so many before us, we crossed the Ha’Penny Bridge and entered the Temple Bar District of Dublin. Our tour guide gathered us on the sidewalk and said, “The locals of Dublin have a love-hate relationship with the Temple Bar area. It is known as the tourist area of the city, but also brings in a lot of income. The vast amount of pubs also irritates the locals. You can actually find a way to go through Dublin without passing a single pub, but it may take you six days or so…,” he laughed.

Down the road was our next stop to the modern artsy and cultural district of the city, which is home to a photography exhibition museum and art studios. Around the corner and created hundreds of years in the past was the Dublin Castle. The castle remains built by the vikings when they invaded Ireland in the early 800s-1000s. In the square of the castles sits four different eras of architecture: the viking’s 800s-1000s stone design, the 1800s architecture, 1900s architecture, and 21st century architecture. It was interesting to see four diverse buildings placed next together in one square.

Continuing on, we walked to our final destination: the ChristChurch Cathedral which is conveniently located across from our hotel. We didn’t spend too much time talking about the cathedral, but our guide did take us behind the cathedral to show us the design or early days ”blueprint” to a viking home. I can’t imagine how an entire family could have fit in such a tiny layout. After the final lecture, our tour came to a close and the tour guide gave us a farewell by wishing us all a wonderful visit in Dublin and let us depart to our hotel. We gave him a warm applause and thanked him for his tour that revealed a fascinating insight into the historical context of Dublin.

When the tour ended, we were all free to explore the city on our own. My hotel roommate and I decided to find a pub to eat some authentic Irish food for dinner and walk through the Temple Bar district. To end the night, both of my hotel roommates and I visited Whalen’s pub to see the setting of my favorite movie, P.S. I Love You (the scene where Galway Girl makes an appearance). After a long day, we were both eager to call it an early night and excited for what tomorrow would bring.