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)…

Submit to Ireland

After visiting Ireland and meeting “real Irishmen” it was evident that the Irish people hold their history dear to them. As a group, we went on many tours and we were met with the same charismatic, knowledgeable, and proud Irish person everywhere we went.

I think the Irish identity is something that has only gotten stronger with time. The Irish are proud and resilient. Throughout history, the Irish have fought countless battles to secure the rights of their people, and although they were often unsuccessful, the Irish never gave up, they never wavered, and they always came back stronger than before.

While in Dublin, the mark left by the leaders of Easter Rising was shown almost everywhere. When we met at the Spire, we stopped at the General Post Office which was the site the rebels declared Ireland an independent republic. We were able to see the bullet holes on the pillars, and also the proclamation.

Mural of Bloody Sunday

Another event in history that left its mark was Bloody Sunday. In Northern Ireland, "The Troubles" were a turning point in their history and are remembered across the city of Derry. As we were walking through the Bogside, we were able to see the various murals on the sides of buildings depicting scenes from Bloody Sunday. There were also various flags, plaques, and memorials to commemorate the lives lost and battles fought.

 In Derry, I could still feel a divide between the people. There was an awkwardness to the community as if everyone was walking on eggshells, but at the same time displaying their views aggressively enough to warrant a similar behavior on the other side.

A reoccurring theme in our class readings is that the Irish people are extremely hospitable, and I definitely saw that in both Dublin and Derry. Even our servers at restaurants were extremely kind even though they didn’t have to fake it just to get tips, and the people at the stores we shopped in were welcoming and helpful.

I was expecting people to not be so fond of Americans, but the whole time I was there, I never encountered someone that treated me poorly. Robert Bell speaks of the Irish hospitality in Document B when he says, “Such a visit, so far from being deemed an intrusion, gave pleasure to every individual of the family, who were not only impelled by their natural feelings, but conceived themselves bound by a kind of sacred duty, to perform those acts of hospitality.”

Another personal example of mine is when we hiked to the top of Killiney Hill and I managed to come into contact with stinging nettle. I was honestly freaking out and so scared I was about to have a major reaction to it, but then a local man offered his help.

He stopped what he was doing and began to search through the brush for another type of plant to help the pain. Instead of just pointing it out, he got me the plant and helped me try to stop the burning. That just shows how kinds and selfless the Irish are and how willing they are to lend a hand.

The thing that stuck me the most was the history. Our country is relatively young, so to be able to see buildings, churches, schools, and castles that date back 1000 years, it was amazing. We cant get that here.
When a few of u went into the church Christ cathedral, my jaw dropped as I stepped in. I’m not a very religious person, but the sheer beauty of the building and its contents was almost bringing me to tears. I’ve honesty never seen anything like it.

Overall, I'm obsessed with my experience on this trip and I have so much respect and love for Ireland and its people. If I had a word of advice for future students going on this trip it would be: Submit to Ireland, experience all it has to offer even if it scares you. This trip has given me a gift that I will forever cherish. I was confined to my American bubble, but now I feel more aware of the world we live in, not to mention I've made such wonderful friends.

 Now that I’ve been to another country, I’m addicted, all I want to do is travel more, experience more, and see more. where shall we go next?

Expectations of Ireland

It became apparent to me after the first class that, outside association with Guinness and Notre Dame, I did not have a clear expectation or impression of Irish culture. To be honest I had always taken these sources of Irish culture to be noting more than a part of their branding, so I had not related impressions of them back to the culture itself. For example, most of Notre Dame's impact on my life has revolved around their football games (American football). American football is not something I think of as being Irish, so once again the Irish ties seemed to be more of rallying cry for school spirit instead of a direct connection to Ireland itself.

Though we are only at the end of our third week in the class my expectations have already changed. From the stories and documents we have read from Ireland their culture seems to place considerable value in storytelling (this is something I was grateful to hear). At this moment I am most excited to see how prominent storytelling still is as part of their culture, specifically in the areas of film making and books. On the topic of storytelling I am curious to hear from others if they prefer films or books? Personally I feel that each form has its own benefits depending on the story, but overall I do prefer film.

Legend of Knockmany