An excited group of 16 Romans explored Ireland’s most famous authors and poets as they navigated the city and countryside during Project Week.
Although the Literature of Place: Ireland & Northern Ireland Project Week group left a few days later than most other project groups, we were able to spend six days analyzing multiple different works and the locales that inspired them.
Our almost eight-hour journey to Ireland began at O’Hare International Airport on Monday evening. As each student in the group arrived, they were given a reader with 10 poems from a variety of well known Irish authors such as James Joyce, W.B. Yeats, and Seamus Heaney.
After arriving in Dublin the following morning, we met our guide and driver, who would accompany us for the duration of our trip. We then began traveling to Sligo, a town in the northwest of Ireland. On the drive to our hotel, we visited the Maria Edgeworth Centre, where we learned about the novelist’s pioneering works on Irish culture and feminism. On this drive, we also visited Strokestown Park House, where we completed a guided tour of the Great Famine Museum, Historic Gardens, and Strokestown Park House.
On Wednesday, our second day, we focused on the famous Irish poet W.B. Yeats. We began our day by visiting the stunning Glencar Waterfall, which inspired his poem “The Stolen Child.” Afterwards, we went to Drumcliffe Church and Cemetery, where Yeats and his wife are buried. We then drove to the Yeats Society Sligo and met some of their members who also joined us for a post-dinner lecture to discuss more of Yeats’ work.
Day three was spent driving to Belfast with occasional stops along the way to stretch, take some pictures, and admire the country’s coastal ruins. Additionally, we stopped at Giant’s Causeway for a fun adventure where we were met by a beautiful rainbow that was quickly followed by a heavy rainstorm. Our day finished with another post-dinner discussion of the revolutionary poem “Whatever You Say Say Nothing” by Seamus Heaney.
On Friday, we participated in a walking and driving tour. We heard firsthand perspectives from two guides that represented both the Protestant and Catholic communities in Belfast. Later that day, we drove to Dublin for a literary walking tour where we learned about novelist James Joyce.
On our final day of the trip, we explored and learned more about Dublin. We walked through St. Stephen’s Green to our first tour of the day at the Museum of Literature Ireland. Then we toured Trinity College University of Dublin and completed the Book of Kells Experience. Once the audio guide was finished, our group split up to eat lunch and explore Dublin, which was especially busy because of the many people celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.
After lunch, we met back up at the Seamus Heaney Exhibit for our final exploration and poem analysis as a group. Our final day concluded with more wandering and soaking in the St. Patrick’s Day cheer before heading back to the hotel to pack for our early flight to Chicago the next morning.
