Exploring the Emerald Isle

Me and the rolling green hills of Ireland 2005 (scanned from film picture)

In May/June 2005, after my sophomore year of college, I took a 3-week trip to Ireland with a group of mostly other anthropology/archeology students. We explored many archeological sites for 2 weeks and then had a week-long archeological field school on Achill island off the west coast of Ireland.

We began our adventure in the historic capital of Dublin. On our 3-day stay we explored many of the well known sites, such as, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the book of Kells at Trinity college, the Temple District with its cobblestone streets, the Halfpenny bridge over the river Liffy, the Guiness factory, and the National Museum of Ireland and Dublinia and the Viking World. All worth checking out!

Halfpenny Bridge over the River Liffy

After leaving Dublin, we headed north for our 2-night stay in Castle Bellingham, a 17th century keep made into a place for private and corporate events. While there we checked out several archeological sites, including the burial tombs of Knowth, Dowth and Newgrange, Trim castle, and the famed Hill of Tara, where the Irish kings of old once held court, and where, some say, the real Stone of Destiny lies.

Castle Bellingham

We then moved on to Donegal in the northwest. We climbed up the rolling green hills of Loughcrew, spying sheep and stone circles, and even some rock art on the sides of some passage graves.

Stone circle/ fairy ring

We also visited the castle, the poet Yeat's grave, and the folklife center in Glencolumcille, which is a Gaeltacht, where people try to keep the Gaelic language alive.

Folklife Center at Glencolumcille

 We were planning on going to the Cliffs of Moher, but the weather did not cooperate, so we ended up checking out the Beleek pottery factory, and going across the border to Northern Ireland and seeing part of the Marble Arch caves instead.

We then continued west to Sligo, a port city surrounded by mountains in the East and the Atlantic to the West.
On a beautiful, sunny, cool day, we hiked up Knocknarea to see the views and Maeve's cairn at the top.
We also explored the Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery filled with burial mounds, dolmens and fairy rings (stone circles), went underground to the Otherworld via Oweynagat cave; and went through Strokestown Park, the home of the National Irish Famine Museum.

 As a part of this trip, since it was through the college, we had to choose a topic and write a paper. I chose to write about the Irish potato famine of the 1840s, when many families had to make the difficult decision to stay and potentially starve, or to brave the Atlantic voyage to the New World for a chance at a better life.

On our way through County Clare, we visited the barren landscape of the Burren. In Gaelic "boireann" means a rocky place. It was filled with megalithic sites that looked out over the Atlantic.

Burren

We then moved on to Galway, another port city on the west coast. We saw several religious sites, including Clonmacnoise, Boyle Abbey, and a couple Holy Wells, which have been used throughout time by pagan and Christian alike to perform rituals (the stations, patterns) and to be blessed by the waters.

Chapel ruin at Clonmacnoise

After 2 fun-filled weeks of exploration, it was time for us to do some work. Although working at an archeological dig often doesn't feel like work! We dug at a Medieval village at the foot of Mount Slievemore.

Medieval Village on Achill Island

 Achill island is quintessential Ireland, and it almost seems like you've stepped back into a much simpler time. Sheep dot the misty hills, all marked with different colors so the shepherds know which ones belong to them. Everywhere we looked there were signs of what used to be, and we found several ruins up and down the mountain while surveying.
The medieval village was made up of several ruins of stone houses, and we even found a more modern addition of a sheep's skull behind one of them!

On our last morning on Achill island, we got to experience a peat fire, the peat coming from a nearby bog. One of the comforting smells of the Irish countryside that isn't as common these days.
We headed back to the mainland and spent our final night in the city of Shannon before heading back across the Pond. It was a trip full of adventure and learning, as we discovered the magic of the Emerald Isle!

If you would like more information about travelling to Ireland, check out the official tourism website here!