Warnings shot through my brain when the 3 trips to the Hueston Train station resulted in our group booking did not allow us to print out the tickets…no one, program assistant, me, nor the Duty Officer in charge. So….we boarded the train with our booking page only and the duty officer’s card with all of their: “No worries, it is fine.” It was fine. We settled in on the train and I held office hours with students swapping out the seat across from me to talk about their stories. We arrived in Galway and made our way to Snoozles, the hostel every one is raving about. They were nice. They were disorganized, but they made every thing work with an extra cost to me. They had 16 beds, there are 18 of us. They said we were to have been their Thursday and Friday, but my emails specified Friday and Saturday and 18. In spite of that they had arranged for me and my program assistant to stay at a B&B around the corner. Half of the students had to change. At the B&B there were 9 of us sharing one shower and 2 toilets. It was never enough. But the story is not a negative one. The owner of the B&B, Betty, is a 68-year-old active singer in the choir of the local Catholic church. A choir that performs for balls and weddings. She was to sing Saturday night and was dressed much as we dress when we sing for the Athens Symphony Chorus concerts in black formal with sequins and coiffured hair. To make things work, I had to choose two students to sleep on the floor. At breakfast I asked her about Croagh Patrick, the Catholic pilgrimage up a sacred mountain. She had done this 6 times, the first when she was 18. Two of my students were going to do the pilgrimage on Sunday and meet us back in Dublin in the evening. They were the two I chose. Ellie and Kelsey had no problems with the sleeping arrangements and were able to interview her during breakfast the next morning, a definite win-win.
As a group, we took a tour. This included Kinvara, Dunguaire Castle, Aillwee Cave, Lisdoonvarna, Corkscrew Hill, Cliffs of Moher, Doolin, Wild Atlantic Way, Coastal Road, and Blackhead Lighthouse. The day bonded the students in ways the two weeks in the classroom had not. They sang, they told jokes, they shared information, they passed around their phones with photos. Tired with a late (15:00) meal at a pub, we returned to Galway around 18:00 and headed down the street to the pubs and the music. I retreated to Tig Coili pub, a cozy pub with cheerful staff and drop in musicians who knew how to play Irish songs. This was primarily an adult pub and one where there were few tourists. I had been here years ago, it remains my favorite in Galway. I met Gary and Kathryn who talked with me for 2 hours, and I listened to some really good music. I found my way back to the B&B before dark (21:30) and crawled into bed.
There was much drama in the house but I did not learn about it until the next morning. A man up the block from Betty’s was celebrating his 80th birthday with family flown in from all over the world, thus four of the people at Betty’s. One of those four, a young man in his early 30’s had one too many pints and folks heard snoring, found him on the tiny little porch laid out across the front of the door where one had to step over him to get about. He was wearing a t-shirt and Betty could not get him awake. It was really cold with a heavy wind and rain. Though the porch was enclosed glass, it was not heated. So she got two heavy wool blankets and covered him up and he slept until morning. Some party, I had not been invited.
Leara Rhodes 