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Thursday, May 20, 2010

Captain's Log: Day 12 - Cliffs of Moher

Today was probably my second favorite day of the trip so far. We visited the legendary Cliffs of Moher.

The cliffs were simply astounding. We were standing over 600 feet above the ocean in a near vertical drop. One misstep and it is all over. There were plenty of precautionary handrails and fences but of course nobody listens to those signs and fences because they have to get close to the edge.

I, of course, was also one of those people. And I fell.

No but it was really amazing and simply breathtaking. There was even a small tower on the edge of the cliff that Kristen and I climbed to the top of to get the ultimate view of the cliffs.

After the cliffs, we made the 1.5 hour trip back to Limerick and our hotel. The area surrounding our hotel is quite shady so there will not be any late night exploring tonight.

The dinner we had was really fun. We went to a castle for a medieval dinner and entertainment. There are medieval restaurants in the United States but they do not exist in 500 year old castles and that is what made this dinner so special. It was a great way to send off our trip and our amazing experience.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Captain's Log: Day 11 - Day in Killarney

Today we had a free day in the lovely little town of Killarney.

The day started with the traditional Irish breakfast. I think that is the one thing I will miss from this trip -- full breakfast every morning.

After breakfast, a group of us decided to be tourists and to hit all the local shops. I had already filled my quota for gifts and luggage space so I did not buy anything although several items caught my eye.
Frankie and I went exploring in the sporting goods shops and saw some amazing English Premier league jerseys, Rugby national team jerseys, and even local GAA jerseys. The Munster Authentic Rugby jersey was calling my name but I did the responsible thing and did not purchase it.

We then stopped at a local sandwich shop and got some amazing freshly grilled paninis and took them to Killarney National Park for a picnic in the park. The picnic in the park turned into a photoshoot across the beautiful scenery of Killarney.
After the park, we went back to the room and relaxed for an hour or two before we went out to find ourselves some dinner. We ended up eating one of our best meals of the trip at this small but very nice restaurant. I got myself some lasagna that was to die for.

Ice cream followed dinner and then we just went back to the hotel to blog, talk, and relax. It was a very peaceful day.

Captain's Log: Day 10 - Ring of Kerry

Today we had to pack up early and leave the beautiful and wonderful Bella Vista Hotel and made our way to Killarney. Unfortunately, today was our first day with bad weather -- the Irish mist was blowing and raining most of the day.

We decided to go a round-about route to get to Killarney by stopping at a replica 18th century village and by driving through the Ring of Kerry.

The village was very interesting because it allowed us to take a glimpse into what life was like for the Irish during the years of the famine.

After the village, we entered the Ring of Kerry and got to witness a real life working sheepdog demonstration. The dogs were amazing and could hear their master and his commands up to half a mile away. They were very accurate and efficient. It was a marvel to see.

We then drove through the rest of the Ring of Kerry at breakneck speed and saw some amazing, but wet, vistas.

Once we made it back to Killarney, we went to dinner at a traditional Irish pub. The food was amazing, the drink great, and the live entertainment from the Irish Weavers was simply spectacular.

The music had everyone in the pub clapping and cheering along with the songs but the best moment of the night was when one of the guys decided to play the Titanic theme song on the tin pipe. All of the sappy girls with our group decided to sing the song for the entire pub and it was amazing.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Captain's Log: Day 9 - Red FM and Ol' Blarney

This morning we visited the most popular radio station in Ireland, Red FM. The station targets the 15-35 market with their musical and program choices.

I was very surprised how similar Red FM was to an American radio station in nearly every way. Red FM plays similar music, has similar contests and promotions, and even similar equipment.


We heard from their Irish language programmer Eilish Berry about how she prepares and produces the required amount of Irish language programming for the station. She was very interesting but was occasionally hard to follow because English is almost a second language to her because she did all of her school subjects in Gaelic.

Eilish told us that the Irish language was incredibly complex and difficult to learn and that almost nobody in Ireland can understand it or speak it. She does all the programming for the station and her job is very important because she is one of the few in the country who can do it.

Colm O'Sullivan, the Program Director and Assistant CEO of the station, also offered input on his radio station and radio as a whole in Ireland.

The main difference is the restrictions placed on the radio stations in Ireland. They are not allowed to advertise alcohol in any capacity. The radio station is also not allowed to hold promotions at pubs, bars, or nightclubs that serve alcohol. I have found the Irish are very conservative towards their media despite the fact that their social life is centered around the pub and a pint of Guinness. It is much easier to swear on live radio than to advertise a local pub.

After Red FM, we hopped on the bus and headed off to the world famous Blarney Castle. The castle was very impressive and was over 13 stories tall. However, I was disappointed with how commercialized the castle has become. I understand that you need to make money to keep the castle in working condition but having a gift shop in the basement of the 1000 year old castle feels like a sell out to me.

Besides that, the castle was amazing. There was a series of caves in the foundations of the castle that were quite fun to explore. The line to kiss the Blarney stone was a long one that winded up and the castle staircase. The staircase was almost vertical and it was a nerve wracking climb to the top. Kissing the stone itself was not as scary to me because I knew that thousands of people before me have done it so there was no fear of falling.

After Blarney, we made our way back to Cobh and went off to explore the town. We ate some good old fashioned greasy American burgers and walked up the steepest hill in the town for no reason. Good day.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Captain's Log: Day 8 - Cobh

Captain’s Log: Day 8 – Cobh

Today we left Dublin early in the morning and our new tour guide, Joe, had our group drive into the Wicklow Hills outside Dublin. The hills are more mountains than hills since they are approximately 2,000-3,000 feet in height.

We were all packed into a large bus for the short journey into the hills. The bus driver, named Tige, was an amazing driver – he maneuvered that bus around hair-pin turns at 50 mph on a small two-lane highway high up in the mountains. I have come to realize on this trip that American’s drive quite slow and safely compared to these maniac Europeans…

Back to the trip. The hills were simply breathtaking. The scenery was more what one would expect when visiting Ireland. Our group was robbed of seeing the scenery by being essentially dropped into the heart of a very large city. I was really glad we got to experience the beauty of Ireland as well as the modern culture located at its capital.

After scaring sheep at 50 mph, we arrived at St. Kevin’s Monastery nestled in the Wicklow Hills. The monastery was built over 1000 years ago and the old gravestones and buildings are still standing to this day. What is even more amazing is that no mortar, cement, or other binding agent was used to build the structures.

My favorite building was the round tower that stood over 150 feet over the monastery. Joe’s information about the uses of the tower, why the doorway was so high up, and the architecture that has allowed it to survive so long was extremely valuable and made the trip so much more enriching for the group and myself.

We ate lunch at an attached café. My food was delicious (breakfast panini) but Brittany and Abby hated theirs (roast beef with hidden mustard/horseradish sauce).

After lunch it was back onto the bus and through the rest of the Wicklow Hills and then the 3 hour drive to Cobh (pronounced Cove). I slept much of the way once we exited the beautiful scenery because a highway in Ireland is like a highway in the U.S. except the bus is on the other side of the road.

Once we arrived in Cobh, we departed the bus and made our way to our new rooms. The 5 male students had a suite with 5 beds in it. I feel as if this hotel was much higher quality than our Dublin apartments which were basically glorified hostels.

After settling in, we then were greeted by Michael Martin, a Titanic historian, who took us on a walking tour of the Titanic’s last port of call before it departed for North America. Michael really knew his information and some of the information he imparted on us is very contradictory to many of the information we had been led to believe was fact back in the United States. For instance, the photo taken of the last people to board the Titanic was actually a photo taken 12 days later at the same place.

We finally got some dinner after the Titanic tour in the Chinese restaurant attached to the hotel. I got a sparerib appetizer and a chicken lo mien main course. This was pushing my boundaries because my usual choices for Chinese food are between Chicken or Beef and Broccoli. It was delicious though.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Captain's Log: Day 7 - Free Day

Today was our first free day of the entire trip and I made full use of the free time.

Some people had a late night last night so Brittany and I decided to take explore Dublin by ourselves.

After eating breakfast, we made the 10-15 minute walk to Saint Patrick's Cathedral. The Church was amazing and very very old (established in 1191 AD). I was quite surprised by how commercialized the church was. There was a small entrance fee into the church but the money is used for the maintenance and upkeep of the church and its extensive grounds.

The inside of the church is gigantic and very dimly lit. The ceiling was so high and it looked exactly like a church scene straight out of a movie. There were two stones in the corner of the church that were over a thousand years old. One stone was used as the cover to St. Patrick's Well, where he used to baptize the newly converted native Irish people.

The altar was very impressive as well. There were old helmets of knights lined up on the sides of the altar as well as flags from all of the provinces around the country of Ireland. The floor was also beautiful because it was a very old and very amazing hand laid tile floor.

After the inside, we went outside into the square and sat down on the lawn. There were children playing everywhere and many people, locals and tourists alike, were there visiting the beautiful site.

Our next destination was Grafton Street and St. Stephen's Green. We went shopping for our families and friends in the many shops located along the popular walking street. There were also many street performers out tonight. There was someone making a sand sculpture, someone making large bubbles for the children to play with and live bands giving free concerts.

Once all of our souvenir shopping was done, we headed back to our rooms and had a quiet dinner in anticipation of our early morning and long day of travel tomorrow.

Captain's Log: Day 6 - Long Day

This morning I woke up for the first time at 5:15 am - a new record for me I believe. We had to meet downstairs for our walk across town to the train station at 6:30am.

The train was a very comfortable train but it was listed as a high speed train. I have been on several trains in the U.S. and this train was not much faster than any of them. The views from the train, especially the first half of the trip, were very beautiful and amazing. Either way it took us two hours of training through the Irish countryside to reach Northern Ireland and Belfast, the capital city.

Once we arrived in Belfast, we loaded into another tour bus and we were shown all around the city of Dublin by an excellent local tour guide. Our first stop was the amazing Stormont Parliamentary Building which was located at the top of a hill allowing all of those people in the surrounding areas a great view of the building. It has a 1/4 mile driveway that is perfectly straight right up to the front door. It was quite amazing but security inside was extremely strict and we could only see the lobby of the building due to that security.

We then visited Belfast Castle, an old castle located in the hills of Belfast. It was amazing to see an old time European castle. The grounds and views were also spectacular which included a view of the Titanic shipyards.

After that we drove through the troubled areas of town and saw dozens of murals on the sides of buildings commemorating the lives lost during the troubled times of the 20th century. My favorite mural read: "Prepared for Peace, Ready for War". This phrase is an example of the tensions that still exist between the Catholic and Protestant sides of the city despite their current ceasefire and peace agreements.

It was amazing to see the difference between Belfast and Dublin. Belfast has barbed wire everywhere left over from the troubled years. The police stations in Belfast are heavily fortified with bulletproof glass, steel plating, razor wire and armed guards. The schools also are heavily defended making it seem as if the troubles are still very much a factor in these people's lives.

Next, we had lunch at the Titanic Shipyards. The dry dock where the Titanic was built still exists and it was a marvel to see such a large hole in the ground. It really gave scale to how large the ship really was.

We then met with Gerry Patterson, the Director of Digital Development at the Belfast Telegraph. He was very interesting to talk to because he shed some light on the almost combative nature of the print reporters versus the web journalists at his company. He also described the amazing website the newspaper has and the success it has received among locals and expatriates alike.

This website success is the complete opposite of the newspapers in the Republic. Due to the widespread internet access, people in Northern Ireland are very active on the Internet. However, they still use it less than people in the U.S. and England.

One interesting fact from Patterson is that 100% of Northern Ireland has broadband internet access - compared to the ~30% number of the Republic of Ireland.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Captain's Log: Day 5 - Short Day

Today was a very short day in which everyone got a chance to sleep in a little bit. The extra sleep was very welcome after several early mornings in a row.

At 2pm we got on our bus and made the familiar trip over to DCU to meet with Prof. Roddy Flynn where he gave us a lecture on the Internet's impact on Ireland. He told us of the very little effect the Internet was having on Irish media and life in general in Ireland. While researching for my paper, I came across a number that said 30% of Ireland has broadband Internet access and he had a very similar number in his presentation. That number is unfathomable to me because the United States has something like 90% broadband access.

It is very surprising that a very modern country has no interest in the Internet and the advantages it can give to a country willing to utilize it.

After the lecture, we went to a photo agency called Photocall that was run by a man named Eamon. Eamon was extremely knowledgeable about the history of the photo business in Ireland and the changes it has experienced as technology and Ireland has changed. The photographers at Photocall supply 30+ publications with photos on a daily basis and they also do PR work for advertising agencies and companies.

Their business has changed over time and with the large amount of photographers and the difficulty to be at the site of news first makes it difficult to sustain their business on editorial photos alone as they had done in the past. They have had to take on PR work to sustain their business and Eamon believes that very soon the PR work will overtake the editorial side of the business in revenue and he is unsure whether he likes that or not.

After that, the photo students went to meet with a free lance photographer that does both documentary and commercial work. I did not go to the meeting but the photo students said it was very interesting and the guy was an amazing person to talk to.

That evening we had dinner in Abbey, Chelsea, Frankie, and Kristen's room and it was disgusting. We were so exhausted we didn't want to go out to eat anywhere so for some reason we thought it was a good idea to order Chinese food. Nobody ate more than 3-4 bites of our food and we ended up throwing it all away because it was inedible.

I am now going to be very early because I have an early train to Belfast in the morning.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Captain's Log: Day 4 - Return to America

No our trip was not cut short but we did feel American soil between our toes today.

I will come to that later but first we will start with our breakfast with Irish Times Reporter Rosita Boland. Rosita met with our group in a tiny coffee shop this morning and we were all bought coffee, tea, or juice by our tour guide, Rachel.

Rosita sat down and offered here brain up for us to pick and she gave a ton of great advice to those of us who are up and coming journalists. One thing that is very interesting is that she is such a great writer but originally she went to school for, and worked as, an actress. I think that her work as an actress allowed her to study human emotion. That, along with her natural writing skills, makes here a very effective and interesting feature writer.

After breakfast, we hopped onto our tour bus and made a mad dash across town through terrible traffic to the U.S. Embassy. We had a strict and thorough search of us and our belongings as we entered to compound. Once inside, I realized that we were once again on American soil... and it felt no different that the ground outside the walls. ;)

We met with Karyn Posner-Mullen and John Murphy, Director of Public Affairs, and John Murphy, the Embassy's Press Assistant. Oh and the Ambassador to Ireland, owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and native of Pittsburgh Dan Rooney.

We did not get to talk to Dan Rooney for too long due to a phone call with the Irish President tying up a lot of his time that had been allotted to us. The little time we did get was very interesting. He handed our Irish-American pins to all of us and a few people even got Steeler pins as well. After, we sat and talked with the very interesting and young John Murphy (23 years old) about his job and his past work with radio.

After the embassy, we took another bus across town to Dublin City University for a lecture. We ate dinner on campus and took a tour of the University Sports Complex -- a sporting facility where professional teams train that would rival anything located at Penn State or Ohio State or another very large, very athletic school. It was frankly amazing. The school even had a competitive trampoline team!

We then had an interesting lecture with Prof Helena Sheehan about the history of the Irish TV Drama. It was an interesting way to look at Irish society and was quite interesting despite the fact that a few people were nodding off... you know who you are... ;)

After that busy morning, I came back and took a 3 hour nap -- interrupted by Kristen and Brittany :'( -- and then we had a fun night on the town. We meet a cool entrepreneur named Caesper from Latvia, a creepy guy at a pub named Jay, and Kristen even recognized some random guy on the street from our taping of the Frontline. Definitely an interesting night.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Captain's Log: Day 3 - PR Puffery

Today we had another long and wacky day.

Once again we woke up before my body wanted to (8am) and went for a walk for roughly a mile to the Buswells Hotel for a PR meeting with Gerry Davis, Chief Executive of the Public Relations Institute of Ireland. He was a very engaging speaker and he really knew his stuff despite never having studied PR in his entire life.

He described how PR is not a big business in Ireland and it is nearly nonexistent outside the main city of Dublin. There is one PR firm in the second largest city of Cork but it is very small. He says that due to the small population of Ireland that there is just not much of a demand for PR people and with the recession people are cutting back on PR and advertising.

Speaking of advertising, we then walked about 4 blocks to this really tiny looking old building where the headquarters for Ogilvy & Mather, the largest advertising agency in Ireland, was located. Once we entered the building, we could tell that the building was quite large and very much catered to the tastes of the creative minds of the ad business.

We met with Jo Wood, who was an account planner for the ad agency. She showed us a reel of all of their advertising campaigns they did last year and their clients include such companies as: Ford, Heinz Ketchup, Lucozade (an Irish Energy Drink that is quite popular), Make-A-Wish and several different PSA announcements among many others. Their work is excellent and rivals anything you would see in the U.S. Jo was a very interesting speaker and she definitely knew her business and her wealth of knowledge was an asset to those people who study Ad and PR.

After that, Frankie, Kristen, Brittany, Abbey, Erin, and I decided to explore the area of Dawson Street and Grafton Street. Frankie, Brittany and I were on a mission to do some work for our group web projects and we decided to hit up a very busy Rugby store that sold jerseys to the local supporters.

Somehow, Erin lost Brittany and then Frankie took off as well so Erin and I had to find our way back to the apartments by ourselves -- which we had no problem doing.

Once we all reconvened back at the apartments, we decided to return to Grafton Street to do some more group project work and Brittany took some really cool Panoramic shots.

I walked probably 5 miles in my terribly uncomfortable dress shoes and my feet feel like they have been rubbed raw -- oh joy.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Captain's Log: Day 2 - Exhaustion

Day two was an extremely busy day.

First in the morning we went to Dublin City University to hear Prof. Roddy Flynn give us a background on Irish Media history, politics, and future of the industry. He was a very engaging speaker and knew a ton of information that was extremely relevant to our study here in Ireland. He was also humorous and very friendly.

The most surprising thing I learned from his lecture was the large amount of censorship that is prevalent here in Ireland. The population of Ireland is very conservative so they do not mind a small amount of censorship in their country. For instance, Playboy Magazine was not allowed to be sold in Ireland until 1998.

Next, we went on a Dublin Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour. It is a circular route around Dublin that passes all of the main tourist attractions and allows a person to hop off a bus at a destination they would like to spend more time on. Once you are done, you can just catch the next bus that passes by in about 10 minutes or so.

Despite the frigid temperatures, the tour allows you to take a quick snapshot of the city in an hour or so and if there are any attractions that appeal to you they can be visited on the next circuit.

My favorite part of the bus trip was the foray down O'Connell Street and seeing the ancient statues and the Spire of Dublin, a 400 foot tall spike shooting into the sky of Dublin. I really enjoyed O'Connell Street because it is the site of many of the famous bombings of Dublin during the tumultuous 20th century. It is a beautiful and very affluent looking area -- a far cry from what a normal war torn area.

Later in the evening, we went to a live performance of the political debate show, The Frontline. They were discussing the recession in Ireland and ways it could be solved. The people at the show were very passionate and were very very knowledgeable in the politics of their country. It was also pretty great to see the production of an Irish television show and to compare it to the United States. The cameras were very similar but the whole atmosphere was very loose and relaxed and the entire crew, both on camera and off, seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Captain's Log: Day 1 - Arrival

So the group has arrived in Ireland and on a surprisingly small transatlantic flight all in one piece. The plane itself was not that small -- just the leg room and... basically the overall size of the seat. Therefore, I got maybe 2 hours sleep so if this turns out incoherent blame U.S. Airways.

Upon our arrival, the airport did not seem much different at all. We traveled by tour bus to our first destination: Grafton Street, a pedestrian road lined with shops of all types.

Stores varied from very old Irish pubs to Burger King and small eateries as well. There were many clothing stores as well. The food was delicious but the park at the end of the road was my favorite part of the road. The water features and greenery was very beautiful and extremely peaceful.

After eating our first meal in the Emerald Isle at a small cafe, we had a quick walk across the street to Trinity College located in the city center of Dublin. The small college houses the Book of Kells, an illustrated version of the four biblical gospels created around 800 A.D.

The Old Library in Trinity College is home to large reproductions of the artwork in the Book of Kells, several other old books, explanations on the techniques used to create the pieces of art. I very much enjoyed the explanation on the in depth techniques used to make these works of art. The effort and time needed to create the art is very impressive and shows an amazing dedication to their art.

The Long Room on the second floor of the Old Library was very impressive as well. The room was as long as a football field and was lined from floor to ceiling with amazingly old books beautifully preserved. The aroma of the old books and the ancient wood was very magical to a booklover like myself.

The last stop on the day part of our trip was to Dublin Castle. However, it was not a castle as you would expect to see in Europe. It was an 18th century mansion built on the foundations of the medieval castle that once stood in its place.

I really enjoyed the Castle trip because it allowed me to get a quick glimpse into the old world Europe before America even existed and it also gave a glimpse of the workings and history of the Irish Rebellion and eventually the Irish government.

When the tour guide took us down to the foundations of the building and the original castle walls were exposed I was elated to finally see a castle like I had always dreamed. The rock was centuries old and had endured scores of battles, winters, erosion, and other damaging effects and they still stood to this day. Simply amazing.