Last day in Dublin

Tomorrow we leave for the country, so my blogging will be a bit more sparse. Our itinerary is as follows:

Tuesday, June 17th: Kilkenny/Waterford
Wednesday, June 18th: Waterford
Thursday, June 19th: Rock of Cashel/Adare/Limerick
Friday, June 20th: The Burren/Galway City (this is where I get to meet my family!!)
Saturday-Sunday, June 21st-22nd: Aran Islands
Monday-Tuesday, June 23rd-24th: Sligo
Wednesday, June 25th: Derry/Dunluce/Giant's Causeway
Thursday-Friday, June 26th-27th, Belfast
Saturday, June 28th: Hill of Tara/Dublin
Sunday, June 29th: Home to NC

It's hard for all of us to believe that we're 1/3 of the way through our trip. Personally, I think it will be nice to get into the country for a while; I love Dublin, but I'm ready to see the rest of the country too. This morning, we went to Kilmainham Gaol to take a tour; this was the prison where the leaders of the 1916 uprising were imprisoned and 16 executed. The prison was in use from the 1790s through 1924, when Eamon de Valera, later Prime Minister and then President of Ireland, was the last prisoner to be released. We got to see the cells, both old and newer, the condemned man's cell, and the hard labor yard, which is where the 1916 executions were carried out. It was an especially interesting trip for me because I did my senior thesis in high school on the Easter Rising. I had read a lot about Kilmainham, so being there was pretty incredible. It made the history so much more real, to walk the halls where these men that I had studied in depth had walked to their death, to see the wall against which they stood to face the firing squad.

After that, we caught a bus back and Susy, Rachael, Katelyn and I went for lunch in the Temple Bar. Today being Bloomsday, we were looking for Joycean activities, but only saw a few people in costume. Then we went shopping and are getting ready to head back to the apartments; I need to pack, journal, and get ready for our group dinner tonight.