Izzy's Ireland Travel Blog

  The Chester Beatty Museum is a museum that hosts many ancient religious texts and relics that transport you into ancient religions. I enjoyed my trip here and was astounded by how many texts they had for each religion. They had texts and relics from Islam, Hindu, Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, and many more. I come from a small town where there is not a lot of religious diversity and getting to immerse and experience new religions was amazing. I learned a lot about the Buddhist faith and what their core values are. I also got to see how each religion started and got popular at different times and in different areas, so we were able to see how that affected their text styles and artifacts. What I found most compelling though was seeing all the different religions that this seemed to honor and how that showed Ireland's commitment to educate those about other religions. As we know Ireland started and is still very catholic, but getting to see all the different religious texts open...

  Howth is a small, quaint fishing town outside of Dublin . It was only about a 30 min train ride away, and well worth the short trip. This town transports you outside of Dublin city life and shows you a different Irish culture. This town was filled with cute shops and homes that all seemed to be centered around fishing and the quaint culture of the town. When we first arrived we got to see the cutest seals floating in the water. We could tell that they were used to seeing tourists, by their readiness to accept food. I then walked down the edge of the ship port and got to see the coast and water. This scenery was beautiful and even off into the distance you could see a small island that we were told had many species of birds. After enjoying the scenery we got to eat lunch, which was one of my favorite parts. We walked into the cutest sea side restaurant that had the most warm and homey feel to it. Because we were in a seaside town I knew that I had to try the fish and chips. This w...

  We started our day in Belfast by getting a tour of the city and learning about the different demographics and important facts about Belfast. We first went to their parliament building, which was very beautiful and surrounded by trees. I have never been to the UK so I was very excited to learn more about how their government works being under the monarchy. I also think that while they are under the British monarchy rule, it felt different than being in England and still felt like the relationship they had was unique to Northern Ireland. I got to ask some questions about the royal family and the government in Belfast and it was able to give me a better view of how they work under British rule. The rest of our tour we got to walk and drive around different parts of the city. Something that was very interesting was we got to see the peace walls. The peace walls are walls that they had to put up in response to the only way to keep peace between the two neighborhoods. They now are al...

  Going into this tour I was unsure of what to expect from a woman's tour at a cemetery, but this tour exceeded any expectations I had and expanded my knowledge of important Irish women. Getting to hear about many descended women who had such important roles in past events was very empowering. We heard about women who started hospitals and gave so much for those around them. We also got to hear about some compassionate stories about brave women and heroic women. Getting to hear stories about some very strong women who made changes in the course of Ireland becoming a republic was my favorite part. In American history we never get to hear about women in history when it comes to war, but this tour we heard stories of determined women who changed the course of Ireland's fight for independence. Maud Gonne McBride is just one example of a woman who was an iconic Irish figure who worked with other women buried in the cemetery to help fight for the republic. The whole tone of the tour ...

  Getting to hike at Glendalough has been one of the highlights on my trip. To start we had the most beautiful day, with the sun shining and accompanying it was a nice cool breeze. This set the tone for the hike for it to be lovely and enjoyable. Along with the great weather, the views were some of the most stunning landscapes I have ever seen. On the ride there we passed rolling green hills with livestock roaming all around. Then getting out of the bus and seeing tall mountains and hills with bright green landscapes, was amazing. I grew up in what seems like the flattest place on earth, so getting to experience any type of mountain and or big hill is amazing for me. Once we got started into the hike to the lake and the water fall, I knew the scenery would not disappoint. We eventually made it out of the path surrounded by trees and walked out to an amazing view of the lake and surrounding mountains. This view was so beautiful and reminded me of the landscapes I saw while visiting ...

  Getting to visit Trinity College’s Nursing and Midwifery schools was a reframing and transformative experience that expanded my knowledge about the education system in Ireland. Previous to this, I had very little knowledge about how university and nursing school worked in European countries and I was excited to learn more. We first learned more about the demographic of Ireland pertaining to all aspects that make up one's identity. We also talked about Irish people's access to education and the statistics of Irish people who attended primary, secondary and higher education. We also learned more about Irelands health care system, which was very interesting. I still don't know enough about Americas Health care to really grasp which system benefits the public the most, but from what I see in Irelands healthcare, they have better access to health for all individuals in Ireland. Even just the small fact that ambulances are free greatly impacts the access that people in Irela...