Since Dublin

In all honesty, Dublin is not exactly my favorite city. In fact, it might be one of my least favorite cities. Shocking, I know, but it's just so...I can't name it. Something about it just doesn't sit right with me. I guess because it is too touristy, but that's not the exact reason. Don't get me wrong, I had a great time while I was there, but I wasn't exactly upset when I had to leave. Anyway, we've done plenty of things since leaving Dublin.

The next day, on the 25th, Colleen and I went to An Droichead, an Irish language school and community center. The events coordinator, Réamonn, told us all about the school and their plans to build a large addition, cafe, and Gaeltacht apartments. Multi-million dollar additions seem to be a reoccurring thing in Gaelic communities. That afternoon, we met up with Beth, Liz, and Norah to go to the McCracken School of Music. There, we attended a Sean-Nós workshop and watched a documentary about an up-and-coming Irish poet.

The next day was a free day which I spent sleeping in, taking a walk through the Botanic Gardens at Queens University, and other errands and things I had put off. That night we went to the McCracken ceilidh. The ceilidh was great! The food was delicious, the wine was superb, and the dancing (even though it was my first time and I was half drunk) was a lot of fun.

On the 27th, we all took a a trip around Co. Down. A radio show asked it's listeners what he had to see while we were here, and there was a resounding call for us to visit the Mourne Mountains. We went to Tollymore Forest Park which was breathtaking. Really amazing scenery. I instantly understood why people would want us to visit. In the afternoon, we stopped in Rostrevor for the Fiddler's Green festival. The music was good, but the highlight was the beach. There was a low mist hovering over the water with the mountains in the distance. Absolutely gorgeous. Before going to dinner, we made a quick stop in Donaghadee to snap a few photos of the lighthouse and take in the freash sea air. That night we went to a barbeque with a group of Palestinians who were doing project similar to ours. It was really fascinating talking to them because in the US you don't usually get to hear their side of the story.

The next day we went to the set of Seacht which is a teenage soap opera on TG4 It's kind of like The OC, but in Irish. The people were so nice, and we got to be extras! To watch the show, go HERE and find the show "Seacht". Don't worry, it's subtitled so you can follow along. That night we went to a super-corney show at the Opera House called Magic of the Dance. It's kind of like Riverdance, but incredibly over-produced. There was an abundance of pyrotechnics and the sound of the shoes against the floor was pre-recorded and put into the soundtrack. Overall, I'd give it a 1.3 out of 5. The dancers were obviously talented, but the whole thing was so stupid they couldn't save it. Kind of like the most three new Star Wars films.

The 29th had us going back to the Cultúrlann in the Falls. We were shown the theater which hosts the only Irish-language professional company in the world. Then we went to Raidio Failte (again) and Colleen recorded a few songs for them. They made her a CD of it, which I thought was really nice. We also met with some guys from Pobal which assists Irish-language programs and runs their own language PR campaign, Tá. It is working to put a positive face on the Irish language after decades of bad press.

Then today we went to the BBC to meet with the presenters of Blas, the Irish-language radio show on the BBC. Both Lynette Fay and Tomaí Ó Conghaile were incredibly nice and answered all of our questions. The rest of the day was free, so I've been packing.

It's kind of incredible how fast my time here has gone by. Tomorrow is our last day. We'll be in Downpatrick spending the day at the St. Patrick Center. There'll be some closing ceremonies and entertainment, then I climb aboard a plane on Friday and fly back to the US! Wow.

Cuil? Not so much.

So the new search engine, Cuil, started recently. I was checking out the site, and in their "About Us" section it said

Cuil is an old Irish word for knowledge. For knowledge, ask Cuil.

That didn't sound right. Later I found this in the FAQ's:

4. What does the name Cuil mean?

Tom Costello, our founder and CEO, comes from Ireland, a country with a rich mythology around the quest for wisdom. Cuil is the Gaelic word for both knowledge and hazel, and features prominently in ancient legend. One famous story tells of a salmon that ate nine hazelnuts that had fallen into the Fountain of Wisdom and thereby gained all the knowledge in the world. Whoever ate the salmon would acquire this knowledge.

A famous poet fished for many years on the River Boyne hoping to catch the Salmon of Knowledge. When he finally caught it, he gave it to his young apprentice Finn McCuil to prepare, warning him not to eat any. As Finn cooked the salmon he burnt his thumb and instinctively sucked it to ease the pain. And so it was Finn and not the poet who gained all the wisdom of the world. Finn went on to become one of the great heroes of Irish folklore. Any time he needed to know the answer to a question, he sucked his thumb.

As a child Tom poached salmon from the same spot on the Boyne where it is said the Salmon of Knowledge was caught.

First of all, the Irish name from Finn McCool is not "Finn McCuil", but Fionn mac Cumhaill. Also, the Salmon of Knowledge is called bradán feasa, which literally means "Salmon of Wisdom". I pulled out my Irish dictionary and started looking up words. Behold! The Truth:
Tom was close, but no cigar. "Coill" is the word for hazel, so he almost got it. And just FYI, the word for knowledge is "Eolas".

So yeah, just because somebody is from Ireland doesn't mean they speak Gaeilge. Always take it with a grain of salt.

Catch-up

I've been so busy, I haven't had time to post! So a week ago, on the 21st, we were bused to Stormont, the Northern Ireland parliament building. We got a tour of the place and then walked to Stormont Castle to meet the First and deputy First Minster of Northern Ireland, Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness, respectively. It was so great! I was able to talk to them about Northern Ireland's plans for the future and their experiences. Meeting Martin McGuinness was really great. Such a historical figure, I felt almost overwhelmed. After our meeting, we went and met Lord Mayor Tom Hartley, this being the second time, albeit this time a more formal occasion.

The next day, Norah, Colleen, Liz, Beth, and I boarded a train to Dulbin. We met with Foras na Gaeilge, were taken out to a nice lunch, then Colleen went to National Music Archives while the rest of us checked out Raidio na Life, Dublin's Irish language radio station. They're pretty cool in that they play all different types of music, but instead of presenting it in English, they do it in Irish. Kinda like Brian Mullen's show on Radio Foyle. We went back to Belfast later that night only to get on a bus the next day to go back to Dublin. Thankfully, we spent the next night at Jury's Inn.

But before we arrived in Dublin, we took a quick detour in Armagh. First we stopped by the (Catholic) St. Patrick's Cathedral, checking out the beautiful interior and learning about the building. Then, we went about 200 yards to the (Church of Ireland) St. Patrick's Cathedral. No wonder Armagh is called the ecclesiastical center of Ireland! At the latter cathedral we saw the burial site of Brian Boru and ancient Celtic carvings and statues. Our last stop in Armagh was the Public Library, the oldest in Ireland (built in 1771), which held a first edition Gulliver's Travels and some medieval illuminated manuscripts.

Once we arrived in Dublin we checked into the Jury's Inn then headed straight for the Dáil Éireann, or the House of Representatives of Ireland. We got a tour of the beautiful building, then met with Minister Éamon Ó Cuív. Not only is a prominent politician, but the grandson of Éamon de Valera . We had a great talk and snapped some photos, then went for a delicious pub meal. Later that night we all explored Dublin and went to The Porterhouse, which has an amazing lager called Temple Bräu.

The next day we got a guided tour of the National Museum of Ireland and the Easter Rising memorial then were bused to Áras an Uachtaráin, the President of Ireland's House in Pheonix Park. We were served tea and each had a chance to talk to President Mary McAleese.
It was very exicting, and the President was extremely nice and down-to-earth. Before we headed home for Belfast, we had some shopping time, which I spent in the record shop, picking up a few rare musical gems.