Hello from Ireland

I got to Dublin last Wednesday on one of the last flights out of London Heathrow before the ash from the eruption of the volcano in Iceland made it impossible for flights to or from most airports in Western Europe. It is amazing the impact of this event. Hotels are overbooked since people can’t leave to go home, while others are arriving by ferry for planned vacations or business trips. Ireland is in the middle of the effected area, and travel between Eire, the UK, and Western Europe is still down. The news is filled with stories of stranded travelers, and visuals of the ash fallout.



It is reported that over 17,000 flights were canceled today, but it looks like some flights will resume tomorrow. I don’t have travel plans until the 27th of April when I am booked to return to London before travelling on to Mitrovica, Kosovo on May 2nd. I am optimistic that everything will be back to normal by then!

As for Ireland, I am having a great time! My favorite part has been talking to random people…the cab drivers, hotel desk clerks, and pub keepers…about the upcoming vote on the Lisbon Treaty, politics in general, and Irish history. Everyone has an opinion, but they have been expressed in a well informed, and relatively open-minded way. One cabby told me to visit the Kilmainham Goal in order to understand the role the British had played in Irish history. He made sure to emphasize that he didn’t hate the British, just the British Empire.

There have been three violent outbreaks in Northern Ireland that are getting significant airtime on the news. Everyone I have talked to about it firmly believes that the perpetrators of these acts are thugs, and that the peace will hold. The general consensus (at least from my limited observation) is that it will take a couple of generations for true healing to penetrate the society, but that the process for such healing is in place.

On a lighter note, my second favorite thing about Ireland is the ever-present street musicians that play every genre of music from traditional Irish, to rock, to country, to classical harp. Ireland is big on harp music--the harp is the national symbol! Other wandering performers from poets to magicians also stroll the streets, making every day entertaining.

I will continue posting regular updates over the next few weeks of travel. Feel free to comment any time. I will close now with an assignment for those who wish to take it on. Look up the Lisbon Treaty so you know what everyone over here is talking about. Also, Google the 1916 document, “Proclamation of the Irish Republic” and read it. It is a one-page document that is beautifully written. I read an original copy, one of the sixteen surviving documents, when I visited the Trinity College Library, an amazing site to behold!