Tellus » Ireland

Returning from the Emerald Isle

lrichard — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 00:21:39 +0000

I never thought I’d have trouble re-adjusting to my life back in the U.S. after being in Galway, Ireland for 5 months, but I was definitely wrong. As soon as I got back I started working with my Mom at a phone book company and immediately started seeing social differences. I thought everyone in the office seemed oddly mad and frustrated all at the same time. They were rushing everywhere and seemed very self-concerned. People seemed like they were faking being happy to be polite even though something was bothering them inside. That’s when I realized they were stressed. I wasn’t fully aware of it while I was there, but Irish society as a whole just doesn’t stress as much. “Stress less” is one of the mottos I took away from my time spent in Ireland.

Dia is Muire duit.

msunada — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 00:42:04 +0000

(In Irish, there is no specific word for “hello.” Instead, one greets another person by saying “Dia duit” or “God be with you.” The second person responds by saying “Dia is Muire duit” or “God and Mary be with you.”)

While walking through the city of Cork, I noticed this statue of the Virgin Mary behind a small church in one of the narrow, residential side streets. Catholic churches and cathedrals in Ireland are often located in nondescript, out-of-the way buildings, mainly due to legal restrictions that forced Catholics to worship in secret until the early twentieth century. To be Irish, we were told, was to be Celtic and Catholic — and, of course, to be oppressed by the English for that very reason. Though Catholicism is no longer practiced as fervently as it used to be, it’s still an important part of Irish life. Although many other areas of the city were covered in graffiti, the Virgin’s garden has been lovingly cared for, unblemished by vandalism and adorned with fresh-cut flowers. It’s a quiet reminder of the peace and freedom that has finally replaced centuries of hardship and oppression in Ireland.

msunada — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:58:55 +0000

This photograph was taken mid afternoon of Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands of the coast of Galway, Ireland. We were standing in Dun Aengus, a prehistoric fort built right up to a cliff edge with a sudden and severe drop into the ocean. This photo, taken from that cliff edge, demonstrates the unsettling and constantly changing lighting of being so far north. It is both beautiful and unsettling, particularly in the winter when the days are so short and the sun stays close to the horizon. It is that beautiful and unsettling feeling that encompassed my stay in Ireland.

The Secret Garden

msunada — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:31:38 +0000

After heading back from exploring an abandoned castle on the Corrib River (in the outskirts of Galway, Ireland), I came across this forgotten shed in someone’s backyard. It really struck me that something so plain and unremarkable could transform into something so beautiful. I loved how the gate had become so tangled with the overgrowth that it had actually rusted open. Even with the way the shed’s door had been left ajar, everything was just so inviting and welcoming. It was particularly touching to me because I had come to Ireland expecting to see the countryside, not the big cities. I was leaving in about a week and really hadn’t seen much of what I had assumed would be commonplace. I had walked this way with a friend before, but I didn’t really notice this area; we were concentrating on finding our way to the castle and back without getting terribly lost (or terribly soaked). It’s funny how something can be completely hidden one moment and suddenly appear in front of you the next.