Ireland - Day 8 and 9 - June 12 and 13, 2013

We've arrived in Galway for the next two days and change.  After arriving yesterday afternoon (day 7) we walked to Eyre Square, which is about 2 miles from the dorm rooms.  For very tired people, it felt like 10 miles.  Needless to say the group didn't stay long as everyone was tired.

Day 8 started with a walking tour of the very same area that everyone had walked the evening before, except this one included a tour guide who told the history of the city.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to go as I had a student needing medical attention (nothing serious).  In the afternoon we were provided with a lecture from..... of the National University of Ireland Galway.

The night was spent doing a chore that had to be done...laundry.


Thursday, 13 June (Day 9)

I've about learned this Irish weather.  It's going to be sunny first thing in the morning, but possibly windy (very!) and at some point in the afternoon it's going to start raining - it  may be a little and it may just continue to drizzle, you just never know.

The newspaper for 13 June 2013

We started the morning with a lecture on Abortion Rights delivered by Dr. Niamh Reilly, senior lecturer in the School of Political Science and Sociology and Co-director of the Global Women's Studies Centre at the NUIG.  This is a very controversial topic in Ireland at the present and we just happen to be in Galway where history is being made today.   Abortion and women's conceptration rights is nothing new in Ireland, but abortion came to the forefront again last year (October) with the death of Savita Halappanavar.  You can read a story about her case here and about today's headlines here.  Ireland is a very religious and conservative country and there is quite a bit of history in terms of abortion rights.  It's a great deal more in-depth and complicated than many people think.



After lunch we ventured back into City Centre for a tour of the History Museum of Galway.  Our tour guide was very interesting and quite a good storyteller.  He related many folklore tales about the city.  Three that I found intriguing were The Devil's Steps, the third boat out and the curse of red hair.  Folklore tells that if you are on the steps at night that lead down to where the Carrib River meets Galway Bay the Devil will reach up, grab you by the hands, and pull you into the water, never to be seen again.  To be the third boat out is unlucky, so how does one not become the third boat out?  I'll let you ponder this.  The third story is that the Claddagh found anything with red hair - people, animals, or words - to be a sign that it wasn't worth going out to fish for the day.  If a person or animal with red hair came into their path they simply turned around and went home.  To curse someone they would just say, "fox hook" - red being the color of a foxes coat.  Even surnames like Fox were not allowed in the village.  If this is something that you find interesting, the tour guide recommended the book "Meeting the Other Crowd" by Eddie Lenihan, which can be found here.

The Museum also had John Ford's directors chair.  John Ford directed the film "The Quiet Man" starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in Galway.  I love this movie!!!