Dublin to Donegal

 

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, pictured above, and John O'Connell are the fearless leaders of the Institute of Study Abroad Ireland (ISAI), which has designed a 10-day itinerary filled with cultural learning opportunities, sightseeing, fabulous food, and fun activities. Overnight, our small group of eight intrepid travelers grew to over 50 students and chaperones from three other colleges from around the U.S.

Our first field trip was to the EPIC Emigration Museum, a high-touch, interactive, technological experience that showed us many aspects of the lives of Irish emigrants to other countries. I'm always looking out for Hawai'i connections, and this quote stood out to me: "For thousands of years Ireland's geographical and cultural landscape has been shaped by waves of people arriving and departing." 

There are so many aspects of the Irish experience that mirror the Hawaiian, from the fight to keep the Hawaiian language alive to our island heritage, including surfing (more on this later). As we waited for the bus, we headed across the street from the museum to the National Famine Way where Niamh told us about the great famine of the mid-1800's that led to a lot of Irish people emigrating to North America. As is often the case, the famine wasn't about lack of food but about lack of food distribution. Nearly 1500 starving people walked 100 miles to Dublin to board ships where many died at sea.

June 5, 2025

We left Dublin for our destination in Donegal county and on the way stopped at Lough Crew Megaliths and Cairns, an ancient mythological and spiritual site. This place is 4000-5000 years old, which means it was here before Stonehenge, and it's older than the pyramids of Egypt. Located at the top of a hill, we walked up in the rain and were rewarded by a stunning view.

We arrived in the coastal city of Bundoran in Donegal country in the late afternoon, having briefly driven through Northern Ireland. We were shown to our spacious apartments before heading down to an orientation session and dinner. Niamh sold us all on signing up for surfing in a wetsuit (will I regret this?) in the coming days. Tomorrow finds us learning more about mythology, culture, and the environment.