Irish Lit is Lit

Coming to Ireland, I only knew the island for its drinking of Guinness and stories of deception and tales of the supernatural. Recently I adventured on the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl by accompanying three professional actors as they performed renditions of some of Ireland’s famous writers like James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Brendan Behan, Oscar Wilde, and many others.

This insightful tour gave me knowledge of past writer’s ideals through the portrayal of their famous works. I now can see the Irish for more than just the drinking I once believed was their talent. The voice and passion of the Irish now stand out most. Having both the intelligence and the charisma to produce such beautiful literature truly opened a different perspective to me.

Two actors performing "Waiting for Godot" at Dukes Pub

If the stories about the writers were not engaging enough for some, there was an added incentive to paying attention along the tour. When the pub crawl started at the Duke Pub in Dublin, the actors announced there would be a trivia challenge at the very end with two potential prizes to those who could answer the most correct answers about both the writers and their literary movements. Anyone with a competitive mindset was truly engaged after this point. After proclaiming the challenge, one actor then broke out into a famous interactive Irish song “Waxie’s Dargle.”

True Irish actor playing an Irish song in Dublin

The pub crawl then proceeds to tell more tales and famous songs of Irish history, most of which I was hearing for the first time. The most notable lectures tome where those by Oscar Wilde while we strolled through Trinity College. What we heard of his work through adversity was pervasive in a positive manor. His influence to me can be seen as having a voice and standing out even when others may not want to hear it. Wilde definitely had an impact of future writers.

The tour continued to go through M.J. O’Neill, then to The Old Stand, and finally concluding to Davy Byrnes. It was outside of this last pub where everyone regurgitated their brief trivial knowledge. Our class at IUSB worked semi-collectively to take one of the two prizes showing our commitment to excellence. Overall in regards to the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl, I would definitely recommend everyone to indulge on this tour to not only see the city from an insider’s view, but to gain some knowledge on the people who helped shape literature in Ireland and made an impact on the city for the better. The tour has also received brilliant reviews! 

Pictured is myself, actor (I believe Finn was his name), my classmate David, and the other two awesome actors!

Special thanks to the three gentlemen actors that led our tour (whose names now escape me)…

Final Thoughts

What Does it Mean to be Irish?

When I think about it, before this trip, I don’t really remember ever meeting anyone from Ireland, or even thought about their identity. I had no idea that Irish history was so rich and dramatic, full of life changing events that carry on through history to today. While we learned about the history of Ireland and the Irish people before we came to the country, actually being there and hearing real Irish people talk about it made everything much more clear and easy to understand. 

Since the beginning of Ireland’s history, Protestantism was the majority religion in Ireland, and Catholics were widely discriminated against. Starting with the Penal Laws, which restricted Catholics from having land, owning horses, having education, and eventually resulted in their loss of the right to vote, throughout history, and continuing today, most recently with the Troubles in Northern Ireland, religion plays a huge role in Irish identity. 

We can see from all of the events that have happened throughout Irish history involving religious tension, that religion is a huge part of the Irish identity. What does it mean to be Irish? To me, it means to be proud. It means understanding loss, and being strong when faced with adverse conditions. And I truly feel that this applies to all Irish people, not just Catholics, because not just the Catholics were involved. Every person living in Ireland has some sort of Catholic or Protestant background, and every person living in Ireland during the times of these events was affected. 

So to be Irish, from what I have been able to tell, means being proud of where you came from. It means accepting your history, along with the history of other people. While there are definitely some people who still discriminate, either against Catholics or Protestants, they still all share a history. Everyone has been affected, and that brings a sense of identity to the Irish people that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. 

Now that we have returned from our trip, I was able to really think about the experience as a whole. Before going to Ireland, I didn’t really have a reason to go, other than I thought it would be a fun trip, and I wanted to travel. I had no idea that Ireland’s rich history would affect me so much personally. 

“That’s what being Irish is a lot of the time, passing for something else – the Paddy, the European, the peasant, the rocker, the leprechaun. It’s sometimes funny; it’s sometimes dangerous and damaging” (Doyle, Home to Harlem). This isn’t done by the Irish people themselves, its done by all the other people who truly have no idea what it means to be Irish. It is so easy to believe a stereotype when you don’t know the history behind them. And while some Irish people will laugh and joke around about being drunks, or conform to stereotypes in order to make money off souvenirs, that’s not what it truly means to be Irish. 

Studying Abroad

My study abroad experience is something that I will remember for the rest of my life. In Ireland, I feel like I was able to get in touch with myself more, as well as understand more about the world outside of the United States. 

Sometimes, we forget that we aren’t the only country in the world, and we are often not taught of any other history than our own. That was the biggest benefit of the trip, to me; being able to learn about a history other than the one I grew up learning about, and learning it from people who have been personally affected by it. 

Being able to actually sit in the Parliament building, where leaders gather to make legislative decisions, that’s not something you get to experience in America. Some people in America may never even see the White House in real life. 

Another benefit, and my favorite part of the trip, was being exposed to scenery that we could only dream of seeing in America, at least for me, coming from South Bend, Indiana. (By the way, someone literally referred to South Bend as the “armpit” of Indiana while we were in Ireland.) I’ve seen the ocean before, but never like the sights I saw in Ireland, especially at the top if Killiney Hill and the Cliffs of Moher, and even at the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. These are some of the best memories I’ve made from this trip.

Dear Future Candidates,

If I had to say something to pass on to future study abroad candidates, I would say, first of all, do it. When I first heard about the trip, I was interested in it, but didn’t really look into it. It wasn’t until the professors sent me an email after the initial deadline that there were still spots open, that I knew I had to take advantage of the opportunity.

 My next question, then, would be why not? Why not take the chance to experience a different culture and history? Sitting in a classroom can be boring, and let’s face it, how much of what you learn in a classroom are you going to remember after college? Or even 6 months from now? Studying abroad gives you an experience that you will remember for the rest of your life. 

If you never study abroad in college, you may never get the chance to travel after college. Once you get a “real” job, and start a family, you may never get the chance to have a trip like the one we just took. So, my advice, or “words of wisdom” to future candidates would be just that:

Do it! Why not?

Who are the Irish?

Ireland is not just leprechauns and green beer. After visiting both Derry and Dublin, I have come to find out about he Irish culture. Meeting and interacting with the infamous, hospitable Irish was really what I experienced in my time in the country.

Dublin is the capital of Ireland and I could tel why that is. It is full of vibrant and lively culture with people who love to interact with tourists. One way I experienced this was when we explored the city of Dublin and learned about the tough history from a charismatic Irishman, Dr. Frank Cullen. He explained to us how the Vikings first took over Ireland, specifically Dublin and was called the "black pool". In Gaelic, black pool is translated to "duvh lin", which is now known as "Dublin".

Temple Bar is also a location we strolled through during our history lesson, which is a major tourist attraction. It is filled with pubs, restaurants, shops, and more that give off the Irish culture. The pubs were streaming with traditional Irish music and if you were lucky, even Irish dancing.

Temple Bar

Visiting Dublin lit a lightbulb in my head because I truly understand the Irish identity. In Robert Bell's "Document B", he discusses the characteristics of the Irish by stating, "...every man's door was open to a neighbor or a stranger" (72) and "...and if he could play on any instrument of music, or tell tales of old times calculated to excite the admiration of his hearers, the inhabitants of every neighboring cottage vied with each other for the honor of entertaining him as a guest" (73). I would agree with Bell because I have experiences this first hand.

Meeting Irishmen who were happy to help with directions or happy to talk to us Americans, treating us like we were friends. Also, watching music players entertain others at pubs or on the streets just for the fun of it, was what I saw in Ireland.

In Derry, we visited the famous Giant's Causeway. We first learned about this in William Carleton's, "A Legend of Knockmany". It was beyond beautiful and unique to be able to tour this location. Also, having the opportunity to visit a place we once read about in class was fascinating as well.

Giant's Causeway

During the lectured we had we learned about, "The Troubles" Derry faced. The one that stood out to me most was Bloody Sunday. It was a major event that is still commemorated to this day. Citizens were killed, fighting against internment and the ban on marches. 14 were killed and 13 others were injured.

Meeting Irish people in Derry was easier than in Dublin, since Dublin has more tourists there. I was fortunate enough to become friends with one in particular and she proved that the readings and my impressions of the Irish were correct. She showed kindness, willingness to help, and hospitality. It was a nice change to be able to meet authentic Irish people rather than meeting other Americans.

This study abroad experience has altered my life because I was shown there are more patient people who are willing to help strangers that I'm not used to much in America. Meeting professors in both Dublin and Derry benefitted my experience because I learned more about the history and culture of the Irish.

Cliffs of Moher

If you ever get the chance to study abroad in Ireland, you will have no regrets.