Ha! I suppose I might not be able to update every other day, but I'm doing the best I can. What a great last few days! I have experienced much. I hope everyone is having a great time, wherever you may be. Well... let's get started on this update.. Wednesday was a class day. In the evening, we took a bus into Galway, toured a museum, and explored Galway further. We all pitched in on a couple bikes for us to use to get between the PLH and Spiddal (it only cost each of us 10 Euro). I'm glad to have the bikes, as the walk between Spiddal and Galway is sometimes a bit long. We returned Wednesday night to a great time in the PLH pub with J.P., the one of the kind managers of the PLH. He's a great guy to hang around with, and is caring, funny, and kind. We are blessed to have him as a resource as we explore the greater area of Galway.
Thursday, Arthur Day, was a day in which we spent recuperating from plenty of schoolwork and classes. Class was cancelled by Dr. Davis and we spent our day doing laundry, organizing our cabins, and preparing for the excursion on the weekend. That night, we all got a bus into town for the day's celebrations.
Arthur Day was a terrific time. I ended up spending the time with John Murray and Kyle
McLaughlin in the Foxtrot Porthouse, a quiet pub that had many locals in it (we avoided the
popular 'Aun Puncan' pub, where many of our classmates were. The place was PACKED! We wanted a quieter atmosphere). We spent the 'official' Arthur Day time, 17:59 (which is 5:59pm) standing and watching a TV (much like New Year's Eve). Within the last minute, the pub began to play the song I recognized as "The Guinness Theme." At 17:59, everyone in the pub proclaimed with little effort.. "To Arthur!" and drank their pint. We remained in the porthouse for awhile. We ordered a appetizer for 10 Euro that was supposed to be for two people, but it satisfied all three of us (see photo).
After a great time at the Foxtrot, we left, walked around for a bit, and ended up at the King's Head pub. Here we ended our night with a few pints, some "Rock Band" (for which we received 2 free pints for our high score), and terrific traditional irish music, along with the occasional "To Arthur" salutation. Rori picked us up by Eire Square and we headed home with lots of Guinness running through our veins.
At 8:30 a.m. on Friday we were on the bus and ready (kind of) for our first stop in this weekend's excursion. On the way to Ballintubber Abbey, I spotted a town where I could've sworn that every other business was 'Joyce' this, 'Joyce' that. I wanted to stop, but I doubted that everyone else on the bus would've cared for a stop!
Our first stop was at Ballintubber Abbey, a famous Abbey/church in County Mayo. The church was surreal and our tourguide was wonderful, and I marked that experience as one of my favorite experiences thus far. The church was very old and primitive, but it was beautiful in its own natural way. Famous celebrities, such as Pierce Brosnan, have been married there. If anyone's interested, its a TWO YEAR waiting list. I cannot perfectly describe the place, so hopefully the pictures will do a better job.
Our next stop was at Foxford Woolen Mills. This location, in my opinion, was of more interest to the women of the trip than the men, but it was still interesting to see all the machines creating intricate textures and patterns with wool. While I did not spend any money there (sorry Mom... I promise I'll find something better for you), plenty of students purchased woolen fabrics for family members and friends.
Our next stop was at an original irish cottage (made in the 1800's?). The owner, who lived in the cottage, gave us a first-hand narrative of the irish lifestyle and the trials and tribulations of an irish farmer. This visit was LONG and in-depth, but completely worth it. Mr. Hennigan, the tourguide/owner, had a lot to say, and was certainly a great wealth of information.
We arrived to our hostel in Westport around 6-7p.m. The hostel was wonderful and very comfortable. After walking around town and picking up some food for dinner, we all dined together in the hostel's kitchen. I cooked a nice soup (which was suitable for the weather), and others did grilled cheese and soup as well. After finishing dinner, we walked out to a art exhibit, went to a few pubs, and ended our night at Matt Malloy's, one of the most famous pubs in Ireland. I heard a song that I needed to download immediately when I got internet access. (check out Steve Harsley's "Make Me Smile") After enjoying music at Matt Malloy's, we retired at our hostel.
The next morning, all of us were on the bus at 8:30 a.m., ready to climb Croagh Patrick. We arrived at the base of Croagh Patrick at 9:00 a.m. Three of our crew (Jimmy Backes, Patrick McLoone, and myself) elected to make the pilgrimage barefoot, as is tradition for pilgrims in search of repentance. The climb was tough, but praying a Hail Mary and Our Father interchangeably was enough to help me to reach the top. The climb was fairly rocky, and took about an hour and a half to reach the summit. A little more than half-way up, the mountain became clouded, and was very moist. The summit proved to be fierce on this particular day- cold and not visible at all. After saying a few prayers, talking with other pilgrims, and returning my shoes to my feet, I was ready to regress down the mountain. On the way down, I encountered some mountain sheep, along with many treacherous rock trenches. The way down took about 20 minutes less. It was a humbling, faithful experience.
Prior to returning home, we stopped back at Westport for a Horse Festival/Flea Market. This was fairly interesting, yet most of us were exhausted and were quite happy to get back on the bus and sleep.
We returned to the PLH, exhausted and thinking about the daunting homework load that had built up over the week (which none of had, of course, completed). For a Saturday night, it was pretty low key and quiet. Everyone got caught up on readings and homework, and just took it easy after a long, exhausting day.
On Sunday morning John and I took the bikes into town and went to the Irish Catholic mass in Spiddal. This was all spoken in Irish, and although it seemed as if the mass would be completely different, I noticed that the mass structure was almost exactly the same as in the States. After returning from mass, a few of us took a bus over to the Gaelic Football regional championships between Hardford and Spiddal (our village and who we cheered for). Here I discovered that Gaelic Football is a BRUTAL game, and was without a doubt one of the most entertaining sports I had ever watched. Lots of hitting, lots of kicking, lots of running, and lots of fierce tackling- everything a guy could want in a good sport. The game was close and rough... yet Spiddal prevailed. Afterwards a bus took us to TESCO to get some supermarket shopping done, and it was back to the PLH. Sunday night was once again a relaxed night, as everyone rushed to get homework done.
Monday (yesterday) is our six-hour class day. History was a discussion mostly concerning the expansion of plantations into Ireland and the rule of King James, while Irish Catholicism discussed Saint Patrick and, of all things, Guy Fawkes Day (the gunpowder, treason, and plot). Monday night I completed a paper concerning a book that had been assigned for reading, Confessions of a Pagan Nun, by Kate Horsley. It was an interesting, short read. Somewhat depressing (not necessarily my kind of book) but certainly interesting.
Today in Ethics Seminar we talked about the book for a majority of the time, focusing in on the book's central themes, being questioning and strengthening one's faith, and discovering one's identity in relation to their beliefs. After class, I ate a big breakfast that I cooked myself (eggs and sausages), did my laundry, and composed a "To Do" list for the day. This brings me to some exciting news....
I have finally planned what I will be doing over our Fall Break (October 18 - October 25). I have purchased tickets with my fellow friends on this trip to go on a cruise through the Mediterranean. Our destinations are as follows...
| Departure Port | Date | Arrival Time | Departure Time |
| Barcelona | 10-18-2009 | -- | 07:00 PM |
| At Sea | 10-19-2009 | -- | -- |
| Valletta | 10-20-2009 | 08:00 AM | 03:00 PM |
| Naples/pompeii | 10-21-2009 | 08:00 AM | 07:00 PM |
| Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy | 10-22-2009 | 07:00 AM | 07:00 PM |
| Livorno | 10-23-2009 | 07:00 AM | 07:00 PM |
| Cannes | 10-24-2009 | 07:00 AM | 03:00 PM |
| Barcelona | 10-25-2009 | 05:00 AM | -- |
I am very excited to explore these parts of Italy and Southern France.
Tonight, I may be going into Galway... this weekend is an excursion to County Kerry and Dingle! Until next time...
mahalo..
Thomas
This morning we woke up and visited the Aran Islands. The boat ride was long but beautiful (another wonderful day by the way) and the Islands were awesome. We rented bikes and drove them all over. The photos will speak louder than words. We saw a Gaelic Football match in which a bagpipe player marched his 
team out onto the field prior to the start of the game. The field was right next to the Irish Sea, and the combination of the bagpipes and landscape was breath-taking. Another unforgettable moment.
which saw the likes of Yeats, GB Shaw, and the Gregory Family (among others). We visited a tree within the park called the "Autograph Tree," upon which Yeats, Shaw, and other famous poets and noblemen had carved their names in. The carvings, while old and tattered, still showed. Prior to returning to PLH, we went on a shopping spree at a nearby ALDI. I picked up plenty of food and supplies for the week.
made the trip worth it. We passed the National Theatre which looked absolutely brilliant when lit up at night.
