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Category Archives: Travels on the Island
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“Irish weather is supposed to be rainy year-round,” I told my family, trying to convey a certainty I didn’t feel. Truth be told, I had no concept of Ireland. I could only picture my destination as a haze of permanent … Continue reading
Gestalt
There’s a compositional idea in some 20th– and 21st-century music known as gestalt, referring to the perception of a larger structure created by many unique components. In composition, it basically means the juxtaposition or superimposition of different ideas without connective … Continue reading
You’re Very Welcome
You’re very welcome. Very welcome to University. Very welcome to the pub. Very welcome to church. Very welcome to Ireland. Ireland is often said to be the land of 100,000 welcomes. Almost wherever you go across the island, Céad Míle … Continue reading
A Close Fall in a Year of Lessons
When I was an EMT in college, I responded to a 911 call to find a man in his fifties, white as a sheet, panting in a stairwell of a parking garage. The paramedics’ ECG quickly and unambiguously confirmed that … Continue reading
People make the journey
One of my favorite parts of traveling is the clarity of thought that comes with sitting isolated alongside a window and watching the world rush by. Insulated from the clamor of everyday commitments and sheltered from the elements you’re free … Continue reading
Change
Ireland has been a place lately defined by dramatic change. The change brought by surging wealth developed during the Celtic Tiger years, when the country catapulted from one of the economic under-performers of Europe to the shining star that countries … Continue reading
An Irish Quote
“I can be perfectly happy by myself. With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy?” — Oscar Wilde, De Profundis A little over a year ago I bought a journal in The Coop in Harvard … Continue reading
Posted in class of 2016, Travels on the Island, University College Dublin
Tagged dublin, end of the year, glendalough, hikes, journal, Oscar Wilde, quotes, reflection, rugby, wisdom
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Meeting George Mitchell!
On February 10th, I had the opportunity to go see former Senator George Mitchell speak on a panel at Queen’s University Belfast with Monica McWilliams (former leader of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition) about their memories from the peace talks that culminated … Continue reading
Posted in Conflict Resolution, Northern Ireland, Travels on the Island
Tagged george mitchell
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Half-Irishmen, Stouts, and the Dilemma of Belonging
I occupy a strange identity space here in Ireland. I’ve never lived somewhere where the vast majority of people look very much like me, yet lead lives quite different than my own. I have red hair, a red-ish beard, and … Continue reading
That’s So American of you and Second Semester
First semester is over and the highlight of my upcoming semester is an internship at the Ottobock prosthetic building company at Cappagh National Hospital in Dublin. As my final project I will be building a muscle simulator to engage phantom … Continue reading
Sharing Ireland With My Family
My full name is Micaela Erin Flynn Connery. We have a sign “No Irish Need Apply” to remind us of when relatives first moved to Newport from Ireland many years ago and how they struggled. My grandparents, although born and raised … Continue reading
Posted in class of 2016, Travels on the Island, University College Dublin
Tagged christmas, family, ireland, scenery, tour, Travel
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Ranging around Newgrange
On Monday Emma, Megan, and I travelled to the ancient ruins of Newgrange and the Hill of Tara in County Meath, about a 45 minute drive north of Dublin. Newgrange is a massive circular mound on a hill, constructed of stone, with … Continue reading