Submitted by Danny Maney on the 2023 summer session program in Ireland…
The second week in Ireland has been very eventful and jam packed with new experiences. We have settled into more of a routine and the streets of Dublin have become more familiar to me. One thing that has stood out to me this week is just how old everything here is. For example, we visited the Book of Kells, the oldest Bible in Ireland as well as the Trinity College library. In contrast to America, where the oldest things are 400 years old at most, there are a lot of things in Ireland that are significantly older than that. And the fact that they just sit on a college campus akin to UD is so cool. While the Book of Kells was relatively small, it was still very pigmented and impressive. It made me think about how these people crafted such a thing when they did not have access to modern technology and how painstaking it must have been.
One of the other excursions that we went on this week was to Malahide Castle, which is in the northern part of Dublin. This is by far my favorite experience thus far, I felt it was something out of the Netflix show Bridgerton. The tour guide explained to us how the castle used to be used for balls and that the ladies would have to avoid the fireplace as it would melt their beeswax makeup and it would cause them to need a touch up. This is where the phrase “mind your own beeswax” comes from. I didn’t realize that there were even castles in Ireland, but due to its complicated history with England it makes sense. There were also beautiful gardens on the grounds that we walked around.
The reason why I titled this post as beyond the pale is because this week we took a trip to Waterford in the south east of Ireland. This term comes from the original English occupation of Ireland in the middle ages where the area surrounding Dublin was the only place that was under English control and it was referred to as “the pale”. Everywhere else was known as the “wilds” as it was controlled by the native Irish people. The reason I wanted to talk about this trip was because of what I noticed on the train there. We passed many pastures full of beef and dairy cattle, as well as sheep and horses. The proximity of these pastures together as well as the mixing of species are practices that I have not seen in America. On UD’s Webb farm each of the herds has their own pasture and they rotate accordingly. I think that the reason they do this is because of the lack of space. America has endless pasture land whereas in Ireland it is probably limited, so it makes economic sense to keep animals closer together. I would really like to learn more about Irish livestock keeping practices while I’m here as this is the area I am interested in studying in veterinary school so I will be sure to add more in subsequent posts if I learn anything more.
Wrapping up, there is still a lot of adjusting I need to do to become accustomed to living in Ireland. There are a lot of social cues and norms that I struggle picking up and this sometimes leads to awkward situations of not understanding people. For example, ordering stuff at restaurants is particularly difficult. One morning I went to starbucks with my friends and I said my usual order and I got something slightly different. I also struggle with a lot of general anxiety and homesickness while I am here. I realized that I have never been so far away from my family and friends in my whole life and it is quite jarring. As the trip goes on, this is just something else I need to become adjusted to. (Submitted on June 24, 2023)