Day 8

WOW! It is hard to believe that today was our last full day in Ireland! We were lucky today and were able to sleep in as Owen, our bus driver, didn’t pick us up until 10 a.m. We were all thankful for the extra rest. Once Owen arrived, we headed into the beautiful city of Galway. He gave a brief tour showing us the beautiful universities, rivers, and historic buildings. Our first stop was St. Nicholas’ Collegiate Church. Built in 1320, it is the largest medieval parish church in Ireland that is still in use today. While we were there looking at the beauty of the church, the organist came and played some stunning music while we took it all in. After we finished our tour, we went for an afternoon of shopping in Galway. Many of our pilgrims still had gifts to get for people back home, but at the end of our spree, everyone found the prefect gifts for their loved ones. Heidi and Bella even got to meet the mayor and police commissioner of Galway! 

Heidi and Bella with the police commissioner and mayor of Galway.  

Getting ready to shop!

Later that afternoon, Owen picked us up for our scenic cruise of the River Corrib in Galway. Once aboard we were able to see many sites not visible from the road such as the remains of an ancient castle and one of the beautiful universities in Galway. As our 90 minute cruise was coming to an end, we learned that one of the crew members is an Irish Coffee-making champion! She showed all on the boat how to make her award winning coffee. After the demonstration, I was the lucky person who got to enjoy it, but only after I did some Irish dancing with her! Some of the pilgrims also got some dance lessons and learned a traditional Irish dance. Don’t worry, I’ve told them that we have to do it for y’all once we get home!

Pilgrims enjoying some fresh air on the cruise. 

Award winning Irish Coffee-maker.

After our wonderful day in Galway, we boarded the bus for a three hour drive to Dublin. There was lots of laughter and giggles on the bus, and of course, a few who were snoozing. Once we arrived to our hotel, we ate our last dinner together. It was there when we started to really realize our time together was coming to an end. 

Our last dinner together,

During our reflection tonight, I asked each pilgrim to think about a spiritual highlight of the trip. Here is some of what they shared:

Bella C.- Evensong at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin was a highlight for her. Bella enjoyed praying and listening to the men’s choir during the service; it was very beautiful and moving.

Heidi C.- Climbing Crough Patrick was her highlight. It taught her that no matter the obstacles and rough times, God will help you overcome them all.

Ben A.- Ben enjoyed visiting Inis Mor, one of the Aran Islands. He particularly liked sitting over the cliffs and seeing the water crash against them. It reminded him how small he was in this world and brought him closer to God.

Claire A.- Crough Patrick was a highlight for Claire. She wanted to give up and turn around at the halfway point, but she felt God push her to continue. Making it to the top was worth all of the struggle.

Elisabeth A- Elisabeth also enjoyed the visit to Inis Mor. She felt very close to God looking at the ocean from on top of the cliffs.

Alex H.- Alex’s spiritual highlight happened on his birthday. After a long day (and week) of tours and history lessons, he was happy that we were able to pray Compline together (his first time praying it) at the end of the day and enjoy good fellowship with one another.

Nikki+- Nikki enjoyed learning from the pilgrims and seeing a different side of them. She’s learned more about them in these past 9 days then in the last few years she’s known them.

J.C.- My highlight was being with the pilgrims. It has been amazing to see their growth spiritually and to see who they are as a person. I feel very blessed and humbled that I was able to spend this time with them.

These past 9 days have truly flown by and I think we’ve all grown both as individuals and spiritually. While it is bittersweet to leave Ireland, I think we are all excited to get home to see family and friends. Our flight leaves tomorrow morning around 10 a.m. Keep us in your prayers as we travel home back to you. We are all excited to share what we’ve learned on this trip with you and can’t wait to see you all!

Thank you for all of your prayers and support!

God’s blessings,

J. C. Albritton 

Day 7

Today’s adventure required protein…we were climbing Croagh Patrick, St. Patrick’s sacred mountain which has been a site for pilgrims for over the last 5,000 years. During pagan times, people gathered there to celebrate the harvest, and after the time of St. Patrick, the faithful climbed the mountain as pilgrims and penitents, following in the footsteps of the saint who is said to have spent 40 days fasting on the summit. Back to the protein…our cottages have kitchenettes, so it was fairly easy to whip up some scrambled eggs with cheese (1 egg shy of a dozen), along with some Irish bacon and sausage, and the students made their own toast and cereal as part of the meal.

After a near 2 hour ride to the mountain (yep…you guessed it—during which many of us slept), we met our guide Michael, who makes the climb an average of three times per week. (As a boy, he used to climb it 5 days per week…whether 5 then or 3 now, it’s impressive because up and back on the Croagh Patrick is no easy task).

I suffered briefly from the delusion that I could make it at least half-way with the students at the pace set by the guide (there and back in roughly 3.5- 4 hours…when others of us discover we need the advertised 6), and I was quickly disabused of that notion. I did do some climbing (to my dismay, I discovered this term was VERY literal), and made it a third of the way up and back down, with nothing more injurious than a few midge bites (the Irish version of mosquitos) and a fall which bruised only my dignity. (I was in sizable company with the falling thing.)  And I actually had a ball, walking at my own pace, saying the prayers, meeting other pilgrims—but the best story is the students’ story…which I’m telling because we’ve run out of nights to assign students to composing the blog, and none were up for a twofer during our trip.  

They all set off with Michael after we took our picture with St. Patrick’s statue at the base. Having rented the necessary walking sticks, and all having received a pocket collection of prayers to pray along the journey, I saw them quickly disappear into the distance. At some point the group developed two sections, one following a little behind the other as the climb grew more difficult. Our students, at times, stopped briefly for prayers, pictures, drinking in the scenery (which included sheep close enough to touch—though some of our little band had to stop J.C. from touching them), and speaking with other pilgrims.

 And the climb was HARD…some parts of the path were simply large outcroppings of rock, not over or under or near the path—the rocky outcrops WERE the path.

 The walking sticks, for some, saved the day. Even with the help of the sticks, the walk/scramble up was exhausting and some of the students truly thought they could only make it up to the Ridge, a flat half-way point that from the lower third of the path appears as if it might be the top. J.C., Claire, Elisabeth, were encouraged not only by other pilgrims to keep on going, but also by our very own Heidi, who cheered her brother and sister pilgrims on in taking the next step. Others felt pretty good at the halfway point, but began to tire in the higher elevations. Bella used a strategy which I too found useful, after a while, not looking at how far one had to go, but concentrating more on where she was. All the students encountered obstacles of weather (it rained) and fatigue, but they pushed through…all determined to reach the church that stood on the summit. After pushing forward for so long, then came the blessed news that the top of the climb was only a few minutes ahead! This was especially a victory since the last section of the 'walk' is incredibly steep, as well as slippery with all loose rock. Alex, Ben, and Bella were the first to reach the top, with Elisabeth, Claire, Heidi, and J.C. following soon after. They all did it, covering a route 4.3 miles long which ended at an elevation of 2,507 feet! Yay and Amen!!! At the top, our students prayed, rejoiced, and some left stones from the sacred site visited on yesterday's pilgrimage path. Others also left stones given to us by fellow parishioner Susan Harvey, who brought them home from sacred sites in England, and wanted them left at sacred places in Ireland. Thank you Alex for getting mine all the way to the top!

 Some students received the gift of seeing the inside of the little chapel erected in 1905, which stands at the top, a structure which has seen mass for as many as 1 million pilgrims per year the last Friday and Sunday in July. From there, our students had a magnificent view of Clew bay and the nearby islands.

On the way down, the fatigue really hit, with arrivals at the little gift shop that marks the start of the climb, fairly staggered. (Ben came in at first, saying coming down was waaay easier than going up). But everyone made it in, tired but triumphant! Whoo hoo!! 

After thanking our tour guide Michael (he was especially touched that some of our students gave him little pilgrimage gifts in gratitude…he told me that in all his guided tours, no one had ever done that for him), we boarded the bus with our pilgrimage guide/driver, Owen and headed back to the hostel for dinner, reflection, and prayers. Excited by the day’s events, there was some brief conversation at the beginning of the ride ‘home,’ but yep…again, you guessed it…we were soon asleep again, this time dreaming sweet dreams of our time on Croagh Patrick!  

Mo. Nikki+

Day 6

I awoke today with a sense of foreboding from knowing I’d have to leave the comfortable bed I was in, however that was quickly replaced with excitement as I remembered the journey we planned to take today. I was elated to hear that I would have the opportunity to ride a double-decker bus and look even more like a tourist (I already had a Dublin, Ireland hoodie, obviously). After exiting the ride to the ferry, we walked onto the boat. After we were settled on it, I realized that we could stand outside on the back of the boat. My excitement reached its very peak standing outside being sprayed with salt water, and I spent the whole 45 minute journey allowing the wind to mess up my hair. Being on the boat was exhilarating, as was watching the islands disappear behind us as we made our way towards the islands of Aran.  

Once settled on the island, we luckily happened to stumble upon our guide, for whom we’d have otherwise likely spent precious time looking. We rented our bikes and made headway for where we’d be touring that afternoon. I continuously attempted riding with no hands, and was not discouraged by the many times I almost embarrassed myself while trying to appear suave. Surely, I thought, Tony Hawk had fallen a few times in his learning stages as well. We first made our way up to the cliffs, where we learned about the stone walls and forts that were built. People had first inhabited the island around the 5^th and 6^th century, and built those stone walls to protect against invaders. With the sea at their backs, they were well protected. Looking out onto the ocean, I was absolutely mesmerized at the waves clashing against the rock on the edges of the island. I was able to envision the people in the society and was struck with wonder knowing that I stood where the first of civilization was. The next place I had the pleasure of laying my eyes upon was a very old monastery on top of a hill. It was the second smallest monastery in Europe, bested only by one in Italy. It was quite small. After that, we traveled to a small clearing where a single salmon made of stone lay. We followed a tradition of prayer that was of ambiguous origin (though it was said to be Buddhist) that comprised of walking around the fish seven times, each time depositing a pebble in the small stone basket near the tail of the fish. This, in theory, was a special prayer that would help whomever the person prayed for in their time of trouble. It was a beautiful ritual, and was very powerful to me personally.

After we ate our ice cream and returned our bikes, I went to a sweater shop and bought a sweater made of Aran wool. I have to wait two whole seasons to wear it comfortably, but I can at least say I have it. The return journey home was quite fun, even more so than the ride there due to the fact that I was able to claim a spot on the top overlooking the back of the boat. I fell asleep on the double decker bus and almost missed my stop, however all was well as I walked back to the cabin I would be sleeping in. Thanks be to God for the sights I witnessed today; they were enlightening in their nature.

Benjamin Avery

Day 5

Today I had cornflakes and toast with butter and blackberry jelly. When I was finished, I went to wash my dishes and proceeded to get splashed with water by an Irish boy also staying at the Hostel. I forgave him when he said sorry because he had an accent! We took our bags out to the bus, loaded them and were on our way. Our bus driver, Owen, turned on a road and told us that we were on the way to Hollywood. We were very confused. We drove through gorgeous mountains for a good hour and somewhere along the way, Alex turned to me and said “Welcome to Gilder.” (He was referencing the fact that we were in the place where The Princess Bride was filmed.) I proceeded to take more pictures than I should have, oops! When we arrived in Hollywood, Owen pulled over and told us we needed to take a picture with the Hollywood sign. We quickly awoke from our deep slumber, as usual, and moseyed over to the sign. It was nothing like the one in LA by the way.

Hollywood sign 

                Owen woke us up again a little later when we reached Solas Bhride, Centre and Hermitages (Brigid’s light/flame). We were greeted by Sister Mary, a Brigidine Sister, who gave us a warm welcome and showed us around the centre. She took us into their prayer room and showed us THE light of St. Brigid which was intriguing. She told us about how her light was lit from the fifth century to 1993 and re-lit in 1993 and is still lit today. After a brief history lesson, moments of prayer and song, Sister Mary took us to the small labyrinth and we raced to complete it. Also there were three hermitages, faith, hope, and love. A hermitage is a small space where people can go to spend some time alone with God without distractions. Claire and I tried all of the doors and JC got nervous because he thought someone was in the home. The centre won the 2015 green award for being the most environmentally friendly building in Ireland. The building is also in the shape of St. Brigid’s Cross. Next we went to St. Brigid’s well. There were multiple prayer rocks and her statue was there, too. On the surrounding trees, there were things people had left such has jewelry and ribbons. There were also some candles lit above the donation box. Then Owen took us to an exclusive well, the healing well. We filled up our bottles and stared to drink the water when Owen yelled at us not to drink it. Then he talked about how clean the water was because it was from a spring—we were all confused and drank it anyway.

Statue of St. Brigid at the Centre 

Statue of St. Brigid at the well

For lunch, we ate at the Irish version of McDonalds, Supermac. I had a veggie burger and it. was. delicious. After lunch, Owen informed us that we had a two-hour bus ride ahead of us. So of course, we were all out immediately.  Next we stopped at an Irish grocery store because we are staying in cottages the next three nights and we have to provide our own breakfast and lunch. It was an experience. I felt I was being judged by the natives. We then arrived at our cottages and settled in before going to dinner. Dinner was salmon, broccoli, vegetables, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes and chips (French fries). We played a little table tennis, played on the playground and walked to the “beach” (there isn’t much sand, just rocks). We are looking forward to our bike ride tomorrow!

-Bella

P.S. – HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!! I LOVE YOU!!!

Day 4

This morning, we packed up all our stuff and headed off to Glendalough, which means the valley of two lakes. Our bus driver said it was a very scenic drive, but most of us slept through it. When we arrived in Glendalough, we met up with our guide, Fr. Michael Rodgers. He has been a priest for 50 years and is very knowledgeable about the roots of Christianity. He took us on the Pilgrim’s Walk and he taught us a lot about spirituality and being kind. We walked in silence so we could listen to God and our own thoughts, we stopped along the way and our guide shared his wisdom with us. He talked a lot about how you don’t need material objects in life and he said that if you have too much, somebody has too little. I really liked everything that he said about bettering yourself and connecting with God on a personal level.

We also went up to St. Kevin’s cell, and we prayed inside it together. Then we headed back down the mountain, and met back up with our bus driver. Mother Nikki got separated from the group, but she found her way back. Owen, our bus driver, brought us back some delicious food, including sandwiches, chips, and red lemonade, an Irish specialty. Since it was Alex’s birthday, Owen brought him an ice cream cone as a birthday treat.

After that, we looked in the museum and watched a video about the monasteries in Ireland. Then we took a guided tour around the Monastic City. We learned a lot of facts about the life of St. Kevin and medieval monasticism. Next, we drove to the Glendalough International Hostel and we settled in. Some of us decided to read, take naps, or talk to people. 

A few hours later, Owen came to pick us up and we went to the Glendalough Hotel for dinner. It was a great meal and afterward we tried some delectable Irish pie.  We gave Alex two donuts with candles for his second birthday surprise and we all sang Happy Birthday, including the waitresses. We then walked in the rain back to our hostel for our reflection time. Overall, it was a good day. We learned a lot and today was definitely the most pilgrimage-like day so far. I can feel our group growing closer to each other and to God every day.

Elisabeth Ashton

Day Three

 Day Three: 9^th of June

This morning for breakfast I had  rice crispy cereal and a chocolate spread sandwich! YUM! We were then picked up by our bus driver Owen, where our first stop was to pick up sandwiches for lunch. To get into Dublin, buses and trucks have to go through a 3.5 km tunnel to get into the city. Our bus driver showed us around major spots of Dublin highlighting the 1916 revolution of the Republic of Ireland. He then dropped us off at Trinity College. We saw the Book of Kells, one of the first writings about Ireland. We also saw a magnificent and large library with over 200,000 books! We then ate lunch on the university lawn and headed off as a group for an afternoon of shopping. After pulling ourselves away from the many shops we could find in America, we headed to multiple locations of Carroll’s, an Irish souvenir shop. We all got sweatshirts, candy, gifts for loved ones, and even a penny whistle! We all had an awesome time being in fellowship with one another, even when an unnamed group member almost knocked down a whole display case of glasses with her book bag, but luckily another pilgrim was looking out for them by pushing them out of the way. We also saw Irish hospitality rival southern hospitality when two complete strangers offered us help just because it looked like we needed it. Even when one native Irishwoman gave us directions we still got lost, but we worked together to find our way back to our bus. Then after seeing a few more Dublin highlights, we drove to the National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland, St. Patrick’s Cathedral.  We were able to explore around the cathedral that is over 800 years old. We also attended an Evensong service that was mostly sung. The service was beautiful and unique because we got to worship in a different way. We then ate a traditional Irish meal of fish and chips from a very famous restaurant. Many celebrities have also enjoyed this restaurant, including Snoop Dogg, Al Rickman aka Snape, Sandra Bullock and many more. We then got back on the bus to head to our hostel, but on the way we made an important stop for ice cream. Overall today has been a great day; we’ve gotten to strengthen our bonds with fellow pilgrims and we are all looking forward to more.

Fun Facts:

1.  Ireland’s national symbol is the harp.
2.   There are three major parties of the Irish political system
3. Native Dublin’s have an unusual accent because they speak faster, according to our bus driver
4. In Phoenix Park where the President of Ireland lives, the only other person allowed to live there is the American Ambassador because of the close relationship between Ireland and the USA

Claire Anderson

Tunnel to Dublin

Waiting in line to see the Book of Kells

A library at Trinity College

Eating fish and chips at the Park

St. Patrick's Cathedral 

Ireland: Day Two

8^th of June 2016

              

               I had chocolate flavored cereal and bread with chocolate spread on it for breakfast, the most important meal of the day.  After that we got on the bus at 8:30 with an overcast sky and tons of fog. We were heading to Armagh and Northern Ireland where the Irish think they are ‘English’. However, we wouldn’t know because we were dead asleep. We visited the first cathedral in Armagh were felt like home because of the church’s beauty and surrounding history. Beautiful stained glass windows and detailed decorations and gargoyles left us all in awe! This church was built by St. Patrick in 445 which makes it 1571 years old. This church is the burial site Braun Branu, once a High King of Ireland.

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Church of Ireland 

Group photo outside of the church

                Next was the adjacent Roman Catholic cathedral also named after named St. Patrick. This church is said to be founded when St. Patrick carried a doe followed by its mother to a hill directly across from St. Patrick’s first church. Walking into this church was like walking into an art gallery. If you weren’t looking at a mosaic, you were looking at stain glass; if you weren’t looking at stained glass, you were looking at a hand painted ceiling. The first stone of this cathedral was laid in 890. Then finally after many delays such as the great famine and the restrictions on Catholicism, the church was fully opened in 1840. However, after the widely favored Archbishop Crawley died, the church was closed then reopened again in 1873.

One of the many beautiful stained glass windows

Group Photo of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Roman Catholic

              From there, we had a nice American lunch at Subway in the town of Downpatrick. At this time, our driver Owen let us know that our trip down to the town was very scenic. He had to let us know because we were all asleep…again. After lunch we visited the museum of St. Patrick were we met our guide and watched an introductory video of the saint and his impression on Ireland. We then hopped back on the van for our guided tour of Saul Church and Down Cathedral. At Saul church we learned about how St. Patrick gave the church to one of his first converts in order to further the Christian faith. This Episcopal Church may be small, but is considered to be ‘heavy’ with the Lord’s spirit and ‘thin’ which means there is very little space between heaven and earth. This is also the first church in Ireland. Once we finished walking the grounds we headed to Down Cathedral where we were greeted with a warm welcome. This cathedral is home to the ‘alleged’ burial grounds of St. Patrick, St. Columba and St. Brigit. The grave was covered by a protected stone which we all felt obligated to touch because it was the closet we’d ever get to these saints. Plus, we all wanted to give St. Patrick a high-five!

Saul Church 

The grave of Sts. Patrick, Birgit and Columba

                As we drove away, we actually managed not to fall asleep. Instead we stayed up the entire hour and a half talking about what each of us likes. It turns out that J.C. loves to chant and Isabella loves Ireland because it’s “so nature”.

Fun fact for y’all: The national color of Ireland is blue, not green!

Until next time!

Heidi Cole