Postscript

We spent our last evening of the trip in a hostel in downtown Dublin near the Busarus. We were met at the hostel by various host parents who returned items of clothing that we had left behind, giving some of us another chance to say goodbye. We had a delicious dinner around the corner at The Bon Crubeen (pig’s trotter). After a brief last look at O’Connell Street and the downtown area, we turned in early. We had a chance at dinner to say thanks to Barry O’Leary, who had come to Boston in October and also helped with the Dublin planning, and Louise Deane, the school administrator who planned the entire trip as well as serving as a host parent. They took great care of us.
After a brief sleep in cramped quarters, we were up at 4 AM to catch our shuttle to the airport. We were met there at 6 AM by Bala Kumar, an Indian Jesuit who had spent time with our group during the trip. He came all the way from the other side of the city to see us off.
We did some last minute shopping at duty free before we boarded for a long (7 hours) but uneventful flight.
Our adventures began with our delayed descent into Newark Airport. Our 1:40 flight was delayed numerous times, prompting numerous unprintable comments about Continental Airlines, the customer service, and Newark. 1:40 quickly became 2:30, then 3:30….3:50…4:20…4:30…and finally, 6:00 PM.


Our original plane never made it from Toronto, and we were promised another from Buffalo before Mr. McAllister braved the angry crowds at the Continental Service Center to get us on the 6:00 flight. The good news is that the bags made the transfer and made it to Logan. All in all, we had a smooth trip filled with great memories of people and places we won’t soon forget. Thanks to all the families who supported us every step of the way.

And on the Last Day…

Despite a minimal amount of sleep, our last day in Ireland was something which was worth staying awake. Upon our arrival in Galway, we were split into three rooms in a local hostel. Although many had fears of what a hostel would be like, it turned out to be rather nice. After becoming situated in our rooms, we walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner, McSwiggan’s Pub. It turns out that the restaurants here are much less confusing than the ones back home; there were only four things on the menu from which to choose. Anyways, after dinner we headed out to the streets of Galway City to ponder the many stores and sights to see. It was 9:00, so everything was closed, but nonetheless it was a good old time.
At around 10, we returned to our hostel to find Mr. McAllister, Mr. McGonagle, and Mr. Tom Doyle waiting for us in the lobby. They introduced us to a game we had never heard of before called Table Quiz. It was basically Jeopardy in small groups, the winners receiving a prize. After, we went back to our rooms, but since there were 6 of us in each, the general behavior of teenagers kept us up late. It was nearly impossible to get any sleep, and most stayed up until the early hours of the morning.
This morning most rolled out of bed wishing they had gotten more sleep. After a shower and a quick breakfast, we were back on the bus. Our first stop was the tower of William Butler Yeats, a famous Irish poet. The tower was down a hidden road in a hidden area, but most houses around Galway are like that.
After an interesting history lesson, contemplations of jumping over the river, and Mr. Doyle getting stung by a wasp in the earlobe, all of us hopped on the Paddywagon again. We stopped for a time at an abbey and graveyard,
but as with all Irish graveyards, it was an adventurous site. Some went to explore, and others thought it would be fun to wander into a nearby cow pasture, even though the cows wanted nothing to do with them. Soon enough we were gone, and after stopping at a little castle thing, having lunch, and passing around a rugby ball we went to the Cliffs of Moher.
Out of all the sites we have seen so far, it is safe to stay the Cliffs are the most astonishing. Standing on an 800 foot cliff staring out to an endless ocean is truly amazing. The walking path along the edge was safe, but the best views were beyond the wall where there was no protection. Looking down from there made your stomach drop. The fear of falling was in everyone’s head. Yet fear was trivial compared to the sensation received from looking out into the seemingly endless ocean from such a high place, a sensation much better than we would have received from looking at the seemingly endless ocean from a low place.
Even though flies were becoming our second wardrobe, the cliffs were an amazing part of the trip.
After leaving the Cliffs of Moher, we stopped at Bunratty castle, and there some of us were able to pick up a few knick-knacks for relatives.
Once that was finished, we got on the bus for the last time, and basically that was the conclusion of our wonderful trip to Ireland. We’re staying our last night in Dublin before our 5am departure tomorrow. There is much to be said about the experiences we all shared, but the experiences added a lot of awesome additions and eradicated all previous assumptions many of us had before the exchange. Thoughts of leprechauns running around and magical bathrooms were replaced with a great respect for all of Ireland, where a good time can be found even under a rock. Since there are so many rocks in Ireland, there must be a lot of good times to be experienced here. We were glad to figure that out. So as we leave here, we’ll all have a greater respect for Ireland, and we’ll be looking forward to coming back soon.

Dublin to Galway

This second Monday in Ireland began with some heartfelt goodbyes to our host families, who we are very thankful for. This was the last we would see of them on our trip since today we departed Dublin for Galway. Once upon the Paddy Wagon bus, we began to travel west across the island. Our first stop along the way was in the small village of Cong where the movie The Quiet Man was shot.
Here we ate lunch at The Crowe’s Nest pub and viewed the gothic style monastery. Then after traveling for a bit longer, we stopped at the village of Leenane where the film The Field was filmed. Once we began to travel again, we stopped by the Killary Fjord
on our way to the most memorable site of the day, Kylemore Abbey.
In this scenic part of the country, we observed the stunning views and beautiful architecture of this former private school. After a half an hour of meditation in the shadow of this abbey, we once again boarded the Paddy Wagon and set off on a hour and a half journey to Galway City. Upon arrival in the city, we checked into the Sleep Zone hostel and went out for dinner. After eating we had some time to walk around the city and view its sites. Before going to bed we played a heated game of Irish team trivia. Although it was hard to leave our host families today was fun and informative.

Guinness, Swift, Narcissus, & Rugby

After a great tour of the Guinness Factory, we walked through the back streets of Dublin to reach Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. We were all amazed by the stain glass windows, the sky high ceilings and, the size of the altar. The tiles on the floors were nothing like what we have seen before, they were in a mixed order because the builders of the cathedral believed that only God is perfect, and that’s why the floors are not ‘perfect’. A few steps away from the Cathedral is Marsh’s Library. The library was formed by Archbishop Marsh and inside the library books date back to the fourteenth century. Students were in awe of the detailed drawings in some of the medical books.
After a tour and video of Marsh’s Library, we all headed back to Belvedere by train. Saturday night was an exciting night for us because we went to the Leinster vs Ulster rugby match. Leinster played a great game and came out with a win. Belvedere students were pleased that their team had won, and the Ulster fans did not seem too happy while leaving the stadium. It was an exciting match to attend along with rowdy fan sections from both the Leinster and Ulster sides. In all, the rugby match was a great way to spend our last weekend with our host brothers.

When we arrived at Belvedere in the morning, we were set up to play a little football (soccer) on their very own turf soccer field placed on their roof. After two games, team one came out victorious with single goals from Jay Salerno and Domenic Visco. We were later set up to go to classes. Classes are similar to ours at BC High, but on the other hand are smaller by at least 6 kids. The American- Irish basketball game was good. It was a game to be watched with an explosive start from our side turned into a neck and neck battle going into the 2nd half. In the end we came to a morally crushing defeat. 22 Belvo-17 BC High.
Though there was discrepancy on the score, it was a loss. After sweating, we decided to take a tour of the Guinness factory. The tour was great - it was self guided and started at the ground level of the factory and spiraled to the top of the factory which was a bar that had a 360 degree view of Dublin city. As for our last weekend with the host brothers, it varied. Of course, most of us went to the rugby match. On Sunday, if we didn’t get enough rugby, there was a touch rugby fundraiser for one of the Belvedere students, who is in the hospital in America. It was a great team supporting the host brothers’ attempt to charge to victory but getting crushed in the final seconds of the game.
-Domenic Visco

Liturgy, music and Glendalough

Yesterday was a full day. We started with an early morning Belvedere Eucharistic service, specially planned for B.C. High. While it was quick, we saw the chapel and were able to see a difference between here and BC High. The only priest available to do Mass was away, so we did the Communion Service instead. After liturgy and homeroom, we went to music class and learned to play a few songs on the tin whistle. After about forty minutes it was clear we weren’t in the presence of any prodigies.
We grabbed a quick snack in the canteen and quickly boarded the bus to Wicklow. We met our charismatic tour guide Mary, who was great and gave us an informative yet heartfelt tour. The drive to Wicklow was fairly long, but it was well worth the drive.

The only place I have ever been that parallels the natural beauty of Wicklow is Acadia National Park up in Maine. When I was getting ready to go to Ireland, I was told there were no mountains here. Whoever that was a lie. Wicklow was of all different heights and was fairly plain, but beautiful none the less. Mary told us that all the brown we saw was normally purple and green, but the snow had killed off most of the foliage this year. No matter what color Wicklow was in, it still had the same effect on me. I couldn’t put my camera away! After being entranced by the hilly landscape and valleys, we came to the top of a giant hill to look down on the Guinness family’s original house and the huge dark lake they lived by. With the white sand at one end and the deep, black-looking water, it’s said to look like a glass of Guinness. We took in the sight and got back on the bus.

While the landscape of Wicklow was amazing by itself, the best thing from yesterday was seeing Glendalough. Glendalough is an ancient monastic community in the heights of Wicklow and once the home of St. Kevin. It had a sense of peace and reverence about it. As we entered, there was a cross carved into the marble wall. Mary explained that visitors back when the monastery was open would touch it and say, “I claim sanctuary.” Mary did this on our behalf and wished that peace would follow us. The ruins were certainty a sight. We saw a round tower, old buildings, and many graves, as it is now a grave yard. There was also a Celtic cross in the monastery, which was beautiful. We went for a walk on our own after, saw some sheep and went back home after a quick drive around Dublin’s University College. Overall it was one of the best days so far and I am looking forward to the days to come.

–Pat Connolly

To "Hell" and back

Chris Sullivan and James Eisenberg

Today was a great day. There was a lot of walking around though, which tired out some of the guys. Early in the morning we went to a science class taught by Dr. Carey. He first gave us a presentation about the history of great Irish scientists. The presentation included the Irish Nobel Peace Prize winners, and he interjected some of his own funny comments. He then brought us up to one of the labs to perform some experiments, and at the end he gave us lolly pops. After a short break, we all went to different classes to experience the way they ran their school and how they taught in the class room. I enjoyed it and most of the other guys did too. After that we had another break and then traveled to Temple Bar for lunch.
For lunch in Temple Bar, we trekked to The Boxty House, which was a traditional Irish restaurant. The atmosphere was excellent, and it became apparent we were more than welcome.

The head chef and owner of the restaurant met us and introduced himself and welcomed Mr. McAllister back again because the group enjoyed lunch there last year. After a delicious lunch and a demonstration of how to make boxty,
we visited a magnificent mural of the Irish epic, the Tain, on the wall of a parking lot, and set off for the houses of parliament, the national museum and the national library. At the library we traced our roots back to the old sod, and checked out some old preserved newspapers. Shortly after the library, we entered the high-security House of Parliament (Leinster House Along with a brief tour of the estate, we witnessed a live debate revolving around the issues of bee keeping, the profound beef industry of Ireland, and the Garda. When we returned to Belvedere, we ate pizza from “Hell.” Later tonight we plan to visit the Project Theatre and watch the highly regarded play “The Parting Glass.”

Cooking Class, Glasnevin, Debate and Thanks

Patrick Loughran, Marc Monestime, and Taylor Ryan



To start off Tuesday April 12, 2011 we sat in on Mr. Doyle’s homeroom class, which was about ten minutes long. During homeroom there was a fundraiser going on for a student named Marc Owens who is suffering from cancer and is getting treatment in Texas. They were selling blue bracelets with the initials “UDM”. This stands for “You Da Man” which is a phrase he was known for. The entire school community here has rallied to support him and his family. The BC High students all bought wristbands to help.

Following homeroom, we went to a cooking class in which we made scones with Mrs. McNamara. We were also taught how to make Brown Soda Bread. After cooking the scones, all of us pitched in to help Mrs. McNamara clean the dishes. At the conclusion of the cooking, we sat down and had our scones with a cup of tea together. We would like to give a special thanks to Mrs. McNamara, who set everything up, demonstrated the cooking, and helped us cook our scones.

Later on that day, we went to Glasnevin Cemetery. This cemetery holds 1.3 million graves, including those of Daniel O’Connell, Michael Collins, Charles Stewart Parnell, Brendan Behan and many other famous Irish men and women. In O’Connell’s tomb, his family lay next to him in separate coffins. Right outside the crypt, next to his tomb are the graves of famous and rich citizens. If one had money, he or she could purchase a grave site next to other famous people. It was a great experience seeing such history in one cemetery. (Patrick Loughran and Marc Monestime)




Today at 4 PM was the long awaited debate. When we first arrived a few days ago, we had to pick our topic quickly: "this house should abandon nuclear power." We decided to be in favor of this movement. Our logic behind this was that since Ireland does not have any nuclear power, we would take the side our opposition would be most comfortable with. Today when we arrived at school, our four debaters (Jay Salerno, Pat Connolly, Trevor Schramm, and myself) split from the group when they went to cookery to prepare for the debate. We spent about an hour outlining our case and then ate the delicious scones that our fellow students made for us. After, we solidified our argument and took a lunch break. Fast forward to 4pm. A good number of students from Belvo showed up to watch the debate. We went about the debate as best we could and tried our best. Going into it I was a bit nervous, but I soon realized it was much more casual than I had expected.
Once we all spoke, the adjudicators stepped out of the room to decide a winner. This was when the audience was allowed to ask questions, some of which were very funny. We then were given the classic "Everyone's a winner speech" by the judge followed by the verdict. BCH emerged victorious! It was a great debate and everyone, involved or not, definitely had a great time. The debate overall was an absolute success. (Taylor Ryan)

After the debate, there was yet one more event in our busy day. We held the formal “farewell” event in the beautiful rooms of the oldest building on campus. The mothers did a beautiful job putting on the event, and there were a number of speeches by both groups recognizing the success we’ve enjoyed and our gratitude to our partners in this endeavor. Gifts were exchanged, with all the BC High students receiving Belvedere hoodies.