Reflections on Mercyhurst in Ireland

So I’m sitting here in Erie, in my office at Mercyhurst College, and I’m reflecting on my time in Dungarvan. I spent close to 5 weeks with a group of incredibly curious and dedicated students, amazing colleagues, and a wealth of new friends in Ireland. As I sit here now, I am asking myself what could have been better, or what might have made the experience richer. It may sound hard to believe, but I’m hard pressed to think of any ways to improve on the experience we had. Things can always be tweaked, and I’m sure things will change as this program continues to move forward, but this first year, I think, couldn’t have been better. All the people involved on both sides of the pond were amazing. Students and faculty came away from Dungarvan changed. We grew, matured, and learned. Before we departed Dungarvan we hosted a final reception to offer our thanks to the people of Dungarvan. We presented plaques and certificates, sang songs, and gave speeches. It could in no way fully express our gratitude or compensate for the memories we will take with us. Mercyhusrt in Ireland. It’s a transformational experience.

Bouncy Castles and High Kings

It must be in our bones, or maybe our “deep heart’s core” to steal a line from Yeats. Mercyhurst students reach out to the community wherever they are. Really, it seems to be a part of who they are. They serve, even without being asked to do so.
Since arriving in Dungarvan students have visited a local nursing home, cleaned up a graveyard (with Keiko Miller), visited the local Sisters of Mercy, helped staff events at the Waterford Festival of Food, and they recently worked parking cars for a community concert starring The High Kings while simultaneously keeping the town’s little ones in order on “Bouncy Castles.” They volunteer for service and feel good about doing it. I couldn’t be more delighted. They are representing us well.

St. Augustine's & Good Council

We recently were treated to tours of St. Augustine’s College and Good Council College in Dungarvan and New Ross respectively. These are two schools that have been sending students to Mercyhurst over the years, and they are proud of their relationship with us and of the accomplishments of their students who graduated from Mercyhurst. It was a day of good feeling and more Irish Hospitality. After a grand “Full Irish” breakfast at St. Augustine’s we toured the school, took some photographs and met some of the staff. Then we were off to Good Council in New Ross, where we ate a great lunch of fresh salmon or beef with potatoes, vegetables, soup, brown bread, and some outrageous desserts. Here we also met 2 impressive young lads who have applied to Mercyhurst and who are hopefully awaiting their acceptance. (Our students remembered their own time awaiting to hear from their college of choice.) Past Mercyhurst alums from Good Council were on hand as well as the staff. It was a great chance for us all to connect.

Ireland's Sublime West

Joseph Addison, Eighteenth - Century essayist, friend of Jonathan Swift, and co-founder of The Spectator with Richard Steele, travelled a good deal before he settled down in London. Indeed, he took a very grand tour of Europe (as was befitting young gentlemen of good breeding before they did any settling of any kind).


In 1699 he writes that "The Alps fill the mind with an agreeable kind of horror" (Remarks on Several Parts of Italy etc). We find this idea later in the Romantic Sublime of Philosophers and the great Romantic poets, but when one can quote a rational Eighteenth-Century literary figure, I maintain it is best to do so. Anyway, we had a sublime weekend just recently as we all peered over the cliffs at Dun Aengus on Inis Mor, the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, and the cliffs along the Atlantic Coast of the Burren. Some of us were better at peering than others. It was a magical weekend, with good music, fantastic scenery, awesome ruins, and prehistoric sites. This was the last group trip of the study abroad experience in Dungarvan. While students continue to make their own plans for travel to London, Scotland, Croatia, Dublin, and Galway over the next few weekends, we, like Mr. Addison in his later years, are beginning to settle somewhat. There’s finals coming up and papers to do and all the things that keep us grounded to deal with. And yet, there is still much time to explore.

Mercyhurst Students and Faculty Dance with the Locals

3 local Sisters of Mercy, a room full of Irish dance enthusiasts, and some good-natured Mercyhurst students and professors makes for a very good evening. Mix this with generous supplies of tea and pastry, and you have the recipe for a pretty terrific night. This past Tuesday evening was just such a treat for all concerned as will be attested to by the videos.

Turn those ladies gents! Step lively ladies!

Irish Hospitality

In James Stephens’ The Crock of Gold, a character known as the Philosopher meets a family of seven on the road. As luck would have it, the Philosopher is about to sit down to eat. He has travelled a long way, is extremely hungry, and only has a meagre piece of cake. Even so, the Philosopher approaches the family and asks if they will join him. The man who heads the family replies “Why not . . . for the person who would refuse a kind invitation is a dog.” So, even though he has little, the Philosopher commences to divide his small morsel into eight pieces, apologizing about its size. The man, most courteously, eats his piece in 3 small bites instead of gulping it down in one go. He then confesses he has a problem, which is this: after he has eaten of the Philosopher’s offering, he doesn’t know what to do with his own lunch. He says to the Philosopher that he is afraid his lunch will be ruined if not eaten, and suggests it might “not be wasted if you were kind enough to help me eat it.” The man’s parcel of food is large, and so in the end all have a generous and filling meal. After eating, of course, they share stories. This, to me, is Irish hospitality.

We have all heard the Irish saying cead mile failte or 100,000 welcomes. I insist that this is no empty cliché. Like the story above, the warm hospitality of the Irish is extended whether they have little or much. But most interesting to me is how the receiver of the generosity is made to feel important, or as if they are worthy of the gifts given. The Philosopher is made to feel he is doing the man a favour by eating his meal. There is no self serving charity at work on the part of the man or any chance to pity the Philosopher in his need. The motivation for these acts of kindness stems only from a love and respect of humanity and feeling of mutual good will. It is the most generous gift one could receive.


At the Tramore horse races on Saturday, we were given the opportunity to be a part of Irish life that few tourists get to experience. We were included in a circle of Irish race enthusiasts, we were given the chance to meet some legends of Irish horseracing, we were conveyed tips on particular horses, and we were even brought into the winner’s circle to present the awards. I feel we have done very little to deserve this kind of treatment, but our hosts made it seem like the most natural of proceedings.

Last Friday, Jim Snyder and I were given the privilege to attend a weekly meeting between members of the Dungarvan Council and our Mercyhurst students. These weekly meetings are held so that students can tell the council what they need and how they are “getting on” in Dungarvan. The men that attended this meeting gave of their time and energy to make sure the students are having a good experience. While Jim and I have only been here for a week , we have seen so many actions ourselves and heard so many stories from students that attest to how welcomed we have been made to feel. When students asked where they could rent bikes, they were given 4 new bikes to use, free of charge. When they wondered if they could rent a guitar, two guitars were provided to them. They have been taken out for meals, for golf outings, to local schools, and given complimentary tickets to plays, concerts, horse races, and other events. These people of Dungarvan that we have met are truly altruistic. They give help without thinking of any benefit but to the person being helped. They are providing me and those of us visiting their fair city with a lesson on being human and humane. The people of Dungarvan have given us more than we could have ever expected.

Settling In

The weather here has been wonderful, by Irish standards certainly, but also by any standards. It hasn't rained since we arrived; most every day is about 60 degrees for a high and 50 for a low. I have been doing a lot of walking, to class, to the market, and to explore the area. There are some old ruined castles, monasteries, and other interesting things a short walk away. There also is a nearby short beach. The walking makes me feel good. The air is crisp and moist and it wonderfully fills the lungs on a morning walk.

Jim Snyder and I sat in on an Irish speaking class last Wednesday with the students. The students are counting, adding, figuring out Gallic Football scores, singing a song like one two buckle my shoe - except it's about pigs and hens, and learning local phrases and greetings. Of course, the students are picking it up with no problem, while the professors are struggling. When I was attempting to display my learning to the class, I basically called Jim Snyder a woman. The students roared. They knew my mistake.

Today the students and professors who are interested will be guests at a nearby horserace. I believe most of us will be going as the guests of the town mayor, city manager, local high school principal, and other dignitaries. They, of course, don't call themselves dignitaries, they, in true Irish manner call themselves public servants, but they are a dignified bunch to the students and I. Their warm hospitality has been amazing.

Ash Cloud to Hit Everything but Ireland

UK airspace closed until at least 6pm

According to the local news: "From midday today until at least 6pm, there will be no flights permitted in UK controlled airspace other than emergency situations." Heathrow suspended all flights at noon because of the volcanic ash cloud. Dublin Airport has followed suit I'm told. It may be weeks before things get back to normal for international flights. "Looks like we may be stuck here for awhile," I said to my morning class. "Awesome," was their reply.

On the Ground in Dungarvan

I am now in Dungarvan. Indeed, I’ve been here for two days and haven’t posted a thing. That kind of apathy will need to change. After a civilized flight across the pond (there’s a first time for everything) Dr. Snyder and I met in Dublin, and took the day to see the highlights of that fair city. The weather was perfect. A highlight for me was the incredible Yeats display downstairs in the library. There were photographs, manuscripts, books, letters, and about six short films (all free and open to the public). They even had a lock of the man’s hair and the last pair of glasses he wore. We were met in Dublin by the finest of men, Mr. Tom Keith, who graciously drove us to our destination, with stops at Kilkenny Castle, a pub for fish and chips, and a hilltop panoramic view of the Irish countryside as we approached Dungarvan. When we arrived in town, Dr. Federici gave us our keys and led us on a grand tour of the city, our teaching spaces, and our lodgings. Now, having just finished some nice brown bread with marmalade, I’m ready to go for my second day of teaching. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in the morning and James Stephens after lunch……yes.

Places and Connections

Between the Facebook sites, the blogs, and the emails I’ve been getting, I’m feeling pretty connected to the students and faculty in Dungarvan, (even though I’m still in Erie). For St. Patrick’s Day I made grilled corned beef sandwiches on a really nice rye bread and my lovely wife made cooked cabbage and carrots while we listened to The Pogues. We all ate Irish at least. Good enough, but nothing in comparison the events I’ve been seeing online in Dungarvan. To begin with, in Erie we had classes…….

On another note, I’ve been reading in preparation for Irish classes (and making adjustments to the syllabi) so that when I get there I’ll be ready to rock. The reading is awesome. (What clever fellow designed the reading list?) In particular, Seamus Heaney has been hard for me to put down. He is a poet of place that makes me want to go back to places I’ve been with poem in hand. This one really gets me:

In Gallarus Oratory

You can still feel the community pack
This place: it’s like going into a turfstack,
A core of old dark walled up with stone
A yard thick. When you’re in it alone,
You might have dropped, a reduced creature,
To the heart of the globe. No worshipper
Would leap up to his God off this floor.

Founded there like heroes in a barrow,
They sought themselves in the eye of their King
Under the black weight of their own breathing.
And how he smiled on them as out they came,
The sea a censer and the grass a flame.
　
---(c) Seamus Heaney. All rights reserved.

I’ll make a stab at going back to Dingle to look at Gallarus Oratory again, just to walk out of the “walled up stone / A yard thick” and feel the sublime rush of movement from dark to lightness. Maybe it was built for just this type of moment.

Old Dude Babbles On About Joyce

I am trying something new here, and it is a bit weird really. I do want to see how it works though, so I'm posting. Maybe in the future I'll be a bit more polished...... Anyway, if you want to see me ramble in my usual style about my love for Joyce, watch the attached clip.

Dear Dirty Dublin

In Joyce’s “A Little Cloud,” Ignatius Gallaher (who has left Ireland to make his name in London) calls the capital city “dear dirty Dublin” (47). Joyce may have felt similarly about the place. Dublin was often painful for him, but the nostalgia and fondness he has for his home is always present in his works.

There is much to do and see in Dublin for literary enthusiasts. It is a walking city full of sites of scholarly interest. Those in my class….take note. Your time in Dublin can help you a good deal in my class. There are places that will resonate easily with those of you who are O’Casey fans, like the General Post Office, Dublin’s Georgian Townhouses, and of course the city pubs. (I swear I’ve been in the pub from the Plough and the Stars.) The Book of Kells and Trinity College will be on any top 10 Dublin list, but there are other sites you should check out as well. Ulysses fans can find Davy Byrne’s, The Ormond Hotel, and a short train ride away, the Martello Tower made famous in the opening chapters of his seminal work. The locations of the Dubliners stories are all here as well. Be sure to note the place in front of Trinity College where Johnny the horse circles “King Billy’s statue” in "The Dead." (The statue is now gone, but the site is there.) Also check out the astounding “bog bodies” at the National Museum of Ireland-Archaeology & History on Kildare Street to get a visual for “The Grauballe Man” by Heaney: “As if he had been poured / in tar, he lies / on a pillow of turf / and seems to weep / the black river of himself” (1-5). Sounds disgusting, I know, but I assure you, you don’t want to miss them. The famous Abbey Theater is here too, where Synge, O’Casey, and Yeats first saw their plays performed. And speaking of Yeats, your time in Dublin will also enrich your reading of his “Easter 1916” no doubt. There are a wealth of free museums, great shopping, great libraries and bookshops. The wonderful parks and easy access to things close to the city on the Dart lines will give you the opportunity for a wide diversity of experiences. I’ll be expecting lots of blogging after you return and many stories when I arrive. I'm confident that you will love "dear dirty Dublin." Now go read your Joyce........

Carpe Deasy

Faculty and administrators with interests in the spring term in Dungarvan gathered last night with John Deasy, member of the Dáil, and Irish Deputy Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, with Special Responsibility for Overseas Development Aid (and Mercyhurst alumni) to talk about schedules and expectations for our sojourn to the southern shores of the Emerald Isle. John's warmth, humor, and passion for Mercyhurst and the project in Dungarvan were apparent all evening. Clearly there has been a good deal of time and effort spent on making this tip a success, on both sides of the pond. The opportunity that this term abroad gives to our students and to the college, well by gosh, it must be seized! Yeats says "Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking." Strike on John Deasy; strike on Heidi Hosey; Dave Livingston, strike on! We will fashion hot metal into......well, something awesome.
Cheers to all the folks who have worked to provide us this opportunity.

I Saw it in The Times

The Erie Times-News had a piece this morning on Mercyhurst in Ireland. In it, they suggest that students will be gazing out of windows during Dr. Snyder's Ethics class. Well, of all things. I don't believe it. He won't be there until the second half of the term. Surely the students will be over the scenic beauty and warm hospitality of Dungarvan by then.

Of course, from what I know about Snyder, he might encourage a bit of window staring. Or maybe on some days his classroom will be windowless (see right).

In the picture at left, town leaders from Dungarvan gather at the town's new welcome sign that will greet Mercyhurst students there in just over a week. While I won't be there from the start, I'll be thinking of those of you / us who are. Maybe I'll be staring out of a few windows myself.

Who will go with Hosey?

While I still have essays to grade and a final exam to give tomorrow at 8:00, I'm thinking about Ireland. Maybe because I have said work to do, I'm thinking of Ireland. Don't brood. Dance.

Mercyhurst College will be sending 32 students and faculty for a term in Dungarvan Ireland during the spring term of 2010. I will be joining them after midterms. I'm thinking it would be nice to have a place to keep track of our experiences. Thus, the "Irish Hurst" blog you are now reading.

A warning, though, because this is my first blog attempt. It might be an adventure or it might be a slog. Anyone willing to tag along?

Who Goes With Fergus?

Who will go drive with Fergus now,
And pierce the deep wood's woven shade,
And dance upon the level shore?
Young man, lift up your russet brow,
And lift your tender eyelids, maid,
And brood on hopes and fear no more.
And no more turn aside and brood
Upon love's bitter mystery;
For Fergus rules the brazen cars,
And rules the shadows of the wood,
And the white breast of the dim sea
And all dishevelled wandering stars.
-Yeats