Category Archives: Uncategorized

I had to take a medical leave from University College Cork for the fall semester, and so by the time I returned to Ireland in January, I was anxious to make up for lost time. One of my top priorities … Continue reading →

“You talk funny,” the four-year-old standing in front of me noted in his thick Cork accent, a spirited grin spreading across his face. His dad apologized as I threw my head back laughing. In late January, I eagerly accepted a … Continue reading →

For as long as I can remember, one of the best spaces to become present to the people and places around me has been during a car ride. Whether it was the usual summer family road trip, long drives on … Continue reading →

When we visited Corrymeela in Northern Ireland for our mid-year Mitchell retreat, I was unprepared for the deeply philosophical conversation that ensued – much like I felt prior to our initial retreat in Limerick. Padraig, a community leader, orchestrated the … Continue reading →

Whenever the weather allows in Galway (which can never be guaranteed), I like to walk the Salthill Promenade. On one of my first nights here, Azza introduced me to the walk and ever since then it’s often been a place … Continue reading →

Studying conflict can be intensely demoralizing. Every day seems like a new lesson in mankind’s potential to be cruel, and every solution seems painfully imperfect. We learn to pull our far reaching hopes in, to make our goals a bit … Continue reading →

First, you will want to get an early start to the day, plan for a 9 o’clock breakfast in Cathedral Quarter, where you can sit down to a great meal at one of Belfast’s new hip restaurants. You’ll want to … Continue reading →

When I got the email saying that my play was going to be produced in Dublin as part of the Smock Alley Scene + Heard festival, I cried tears of joy. The play that I had submitted was called Escapegoat. … Continue reading →

I’ve played trombone since I was about eleven years old. Picking up the instrument seemed natural to me. My father played trombone when he was younger and always had an old musty instrument in the basement that, when I was … Continue reading →

As I have found to be par for the course, coffee with classmates seven hours ago has somehow landed us packed shoulder to shoulder with dozens of other strangers in a Cork City pub. Irish Bob Dylan is perched at … Continue reading →

I never realized how hard it was to describe a snack food by relation to other snack foods until I had to try it not once but twice. December brought with it winter break, Christmas, and the opportunity to head … Continue reading →

“The name of this town is written in the imaginations of many,” the monsignor begins. He goes on to tell us about the history of Enniskillen: the residents who fought in World War I, the 1987 bombing, Queen Elizabeth’s visit … Continue reading →