Ireland Study Abroad June 2025

 June 6, 2025 Donegal is both a town and a county on the northwest coast of Ireland, the area in which we are spending the bulk of our study abroad trip. We are based in the surf town of Bundoran where locals come for a weekend away but which is quiet during the week. It is just across the border from Northern Ireland, which we will visit in a few days.  We did travel briefly to the famous Belleek Pottery in a border town where the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are separated by a bridge crossing the Erne river. This place used to be central to the conflict, but Ireland has changed dramatically in the last 50 years, and it is quiet and peaceful now. Belleek's lovely and delicate, handcrafted Irish porcelain is known the world over for its high quality, made using an exacting and laborious 16-step process. Otherworlds ; this was the topic of our first class today on the connections between mythology, culture, and the environment, a subject we in Hawai'i are intimatel...

  June 4, 2025 Dublin city is pleasant with ancient churches and homes nestled between modern buildings and front doors painted in bright colors. From our hotel room, we looked down upon, coincidentally, the Dole building. They distribute fresh fruit across Ireland, and I later saw a Dole truck with the slogan "Irish at heart, global by nature" painted on the side. I came to learn that many businesses choose to have a base in Ireland because the taxes on corporations are relatively low.  Taxes are not low on Irish citizens - 50 percent (or 50 pc, as you'd see it in the newspaper here) - but the results of that high tax are evident; a highly educated and well cared for population,  a living wage that has resulted in population growth and economic development, and a small wealth gap relative to the U.S. Ireland also boasts a highly tolerant society. Overall, curiosity and friendliness are offered generously and punctuated with playful humor.    Niamh Hamill, pictu...