This Monday our TY trip to Dublin started. The bus left at school at 8:00 a.m and it was actually the first time in my time in Ireland that the bus left on time. We drove about 3 hours before the first stop somewhere between Galway and Dublin. After two more hours of driving we reached Dublin.
We were supposed to visit the Kilmainham Jail at 1:00 p.m. Because we were early we vistited a park with a memorial for the irish soldiers that fought in WorldWar I by the side of the british soldiers. Ireland sent 300,000 soldiers to fight with the Britains of which 49,900 didn’t return. Until 2011 when Queen Elizabeth visited the Memorial, Britain denied the sacrifice of the irish soldiers.
After twenty minutes we went back to Kilmainham Jail. Most of the leaders of the irish revolution in 1916 were locked and killed there. Some famous names are Patrick Pearse, William Pearse, James Connolly and John MacBride. The jail is not only known for his prisoners. Because it was very close to the sea, the irish government decided to keep prisoners there who were later brought to Australia or other penalty colonies. It was closed in 1924 after Ireland was independent from Great Britain. It was probably the most “boring” station on our trip.
After the jail, we went to the Wax museum in Dublin. It is smaller than Madame Tussaud’s in London but still interesting. We walked through a mirror maze, which was good fun because most of us crashed into a mirror after a few steps. It was funny to watch but not so funny when I ran into the mirrors. I met a lot of famous people like Albert Einstein, St. Patrick, Van Morrison, and Phyl Lynott. A lot of fictional characters like Yoda, Gollum, Mad-Eye-Moody, and Qui-Gon-Jinn were there as well.
For dinner we drove to Slane, a small village near Dublin. Because we were early, most of us went to the local grocery store to buy tons of crisps and sweets.
I had Fish’n’Chips for dinner but the portions weren’t that big. Luckily, I sat with all the “picky eaters” on one table, so I ate most of the vegetables on our table and two more plates with chicken and potatoes. For dessert, I had an apple tarte.
A five minute drive from the main village was the hostel, we stayed for two nights. It is called “Slane Farm”. I was in a room with eleven lads, so I knew that I won’t get much sleep. The boys brought an X-Box and in the Community Room was a big TV so it was quiet in our sleeping room until 11:00 p.m. We had to be in our rooms at this time but no one said that we have to sleep. One lad brought a shaver and four of the boys got a new haircut. I was asleep at around half eleven and they tried to wake me up. I was told that they literally jumped on me to wake me up. They woke me up in the end. It was two o’clock in the night, and obviously I wasn’t in a very good mood. But at least I saw the most terrible haircuts, I ever saw in my life. One lad got bold, one other shaved his sides and left the hair on the top and the back of his head. They offered me a haircut as well and even I need one, I rejected their offer.
The next day, we had breakfast at 8:00 a.m. We left at nine o’clock and drove to a place called Newgrange. It is a prehistoric monument, built in the neolithic periode around 3200 BC. It is older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids of Gizeh.
On the picture, you can see that the entrance has a lower entrance and a higher opening. The lower entrance is for walking into the small chamber inside. It is really narrow and I had difficulties to walk into it. At least I am not a claustrophobic person. In the chamber, itself are three large stone bowls. Archeologists discovered burnt and unburnt human bones in there. The higher opening was built for a much more interesting purpose. On the 21st of December, the shortest day of the year, the sun shines through the opening filling the whole chamber with light. The ground of the chamber is exactly the same height as the higher entrance.
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Many myths and legends are told about Newgrange. For example is told that the legendary irish Warrior Cu Chulainn, also known as the “Hound of Ulster”, was born in Newgrange.
After Newgrange we went to a second place, called Knowth. It consists of nine hills and is very well-known.
We stayed there for over two hours and went back at 2:00p.m.
For the second activity, we went to “The Zone”. It is like an Arcade Hall with Bowling, Lasertag, GoKart and VR. It was really good craig there. The best thing was definitily GoKart. I only crashed once into the wall and came third place at the end.
For dinner, I had Chicken Curry and cleaned all the plates at our table, so we had no leftovers. For dessert, I had Apple and Berry Crumble.
The second night at Slane Farm wasn’t better than the first one. We didn’t get much sleep but at least no one got a haircut. We left at quarter to nine and drove ten minutes to Slane Castle.
Slane Castle is known for its big concerts. A lot of famous bands like the Rolling Stone, Metallica, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, U2, Thin Lizzy and Eminem performed there. The castle was built in 1785 and after a fire in 1991 did a lot of damage, it was reopened in 2001. The last concert so far was in 2019. The band Metallica played for the first time since 10 years in Ireland.
The last stop was at Maynooth College, where we got a campus tour. We also had lunch there.
We were back in Clifden on Wednesday at 5p.m. It was a great trip, I really enjoyed. As irish people would say: Great craig!
Oh, and I thanks to Saibh, who told me on the last evening to write a post about our trip.
Marco Krüger 