As promised, my trip from last weekend. Last Saturday morning, once again, a gang of Saint Mary's girls stood outside getting ready for the long haul to Clonmacnoise. 8:15 was the meeting time and everyone was there. The students, the bus drivers, Roberta. Oh wait, I lied, Roberta was not present. Tuesday, during our class, she had threatened to leave anyone who wasn't outside at 8:15 and yet, there we were, waiting for her to show up. Finally, at 8:45, she appeared. And off we went but because of her tardiness everything during the trip was rushed (as usual, right?).
The first stop was Clonmacnoise in County Offaly to the west of County Kildare (where Maynooth is). Sadly, most of the trip there was spent watching a cheesy video about Saint Ciaran. I mean, don't get me wrong, Saint Ciaran is the man but when the video is a series of watercolor paintings showing him sitting or walking or talking...it gets a little dull. The gist of the story is Saint Ciaran, who was tutored by other Irish Saints, decided he wanted to build his own monastery and so he did. He teamed up with the banished son of the local clan who helps him build everything and in return Saint Ciaran blesses him and tells him he'll become chieftain again. And guess what? He becomes chieftain again. Along with some pretty sweet buildings and a lot of myths Saint Ciaran established one of the most well-known monasteries in the western world. Clonmacnoise eventually became a major place of learning and many important people came from all around the world to study there. It would have been ten times more interesting without the video though.
Eventually they set us loose and we wandered the area for a good twenty minutes before we had to get back on the bus. The best part of Clonmacnoise, by far, was the whispering arch. Back during the times of the plague, in the fifteenth century, architects came up with new ingenious ways to help slow the spread of the disease. One of these things was the whispering arch which was an archway where priests would take confessions without coming face to face with the parishioner. Basically, priests would stand at one end with his ear to one of the flutes while the parishioner would whisper their sin into the corresponding flute; and because of the way the arch was constructed the priest could hear it clearly. My friends and I gave it a try and it was eerie how clear it was. It sounded as if the person who was whispering was standing right next to you. At first, I thought my friend wasn't whispering at all but just talking out loud and I turned around to tell her to get serious, then I realized she was talking into the fluted part of the arch the whole time. It was definitely creepy and cool at the same time.
Another really sweet part of Clonmacnoise is Saint Ciaran's tomb. The building that he's buried in has come down to ruins but it's still really strange to think a Saint it in there somewhere. Local legend says that if you take a handful of dirt from his burial site and spread it on the four corners of your fields than your crops will flourish.
I felt like I had just started to explore Clonmacnoise when we were all ordered back on the bus to head off to the next destination, Trim Castle. Before the tour we were treated to lunch, as we always are. We ate in the restaurant of a hotel that overlooks the castle. 32 tired and somewhat dirty (from being outside at Clonmacnoise) girls wandered into one of the classiest places in town and helped themselves. I'm pretty sure the rest of the guests were appalled. There was no beef so I went for a healthy alternative: salmon, which was delicious. It was one of the best meals I've had thus far. And that's saying a lot because we've gone to some pretty nice places.
Trim Castle was built as the center for Norman administration in County Meath. In 1172 it was granted to Hugh de Lacy who built it up to be a major defensive structure. During the 14th century it was passed on to the Mortimer family through marriage who kept it until 1425. After that it was abandoned for a short period of time before King Richard II let two of his wards live there, one of them was the future King Henry V. Sitting right besides the River Boyne, Trim Castle played a strategic role in Anglo-Irish history as it was the outer northern boundary of The Pale (the area of Ireland that was strictly controlled by the English). By the beginning of the 16th century the castle was abandoned and eventually it became ruins.
Our tour guide showed us all the important rooms as well as what it might have looked like. A lot of the castle would have been constructed out of wood which has long since deteriorated. Perhaps the best part of the tour was when the guide took us to the very top part of the keep so we could look out over what people hundreds of years ago would have been able to look out on. It was really something to be standing up there and looking out on fields and ruins and little towns.
Trim was interesting but the off-season created a little bit of disenchantment. The tour was rushed (because what isn't when it's planned by Roberta?), and nothing was really open yet. All the same, I'm really grateful I was able to see it all.
And now onto RAG week. RAG stands for Raise and Give week and it a major festival held by Maynooth every spring. It's meant to raise money for charities but it ends up becoming a week of drunken debauchery. Let's be honest, you hold a festival on a college campus and that's what it more than likely to turn into. I've attended all my classes and have never seen any of them so empty (and that's saying something because hardly anyone goes to class). In a lecture of 200, where maybe 130 show up regularly, 40 will during RAG week. Yesterday, starting at noon, music was blaring from every apartment window, the stores were full of students buying cart fulls of beer, and the pubs were already getting visitors.
For me, it was like any other Monday. I think living in Maynooth full-time takes the excitement out of things. I did go to a dance club later that night. It was a good time, except I've never seen Maximus (which is a fast food restaurant across the street) so crowded. It was ridiculous. It literally had a swarm of people standing outside of it. Pubs were actually not letting people in because they were so crowded. One night of this craziness and I was wiped out. I honestly cannot imagine how people do it for a whole week.
Tuesdays, though, are usually what they call "the rest day." So, that's what people have been doing; recuperating from the night before. My 9am lecture had about 35 people there when there's supposed to be upwards of 150. My 5pm tutorial had 15 people there when there's supposed to be 30 something. Classes after 12 tomorrow are canceled because of the music festival that's beginning held outside of the student union. For most people this means they're not going to class at all. I can only imagine how crazy tomorrow is going to be. I'm honestly a little uneasy about it. Wish me luck!
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