Irish Adventures: Hannah Wentworth, Animal Science Major, AGBM and INTAG Minors

With nine fellow College of Agricultural Science students and two fearless professors, Dr. Marianne Fivek and Dr. Mark Brennan, we embarked on a two week Irish journey we will never forget. We were in the fascinating country of Ireland for 16 days. We spent a week in both Dublin and Galway, Ireland and the surrounding area. This was part of an embedded short term study abroad trip, IntAg 499A, geared for Ag Advocates focusing on agricultural leadership in Ireland.

Our adventure began on May 21st, 2011 as our plane landed in the capitol city of Dublin. We started exploring the beautiful city by visiting the many shops on Grafton Street and walking around the town. We took in the sights and culture. Highlights in Dublin included the Guinness Brewery, Christ Church Cathedral, Irish National Stud, Alltech, University College Dublin, Trinity College, attending a football (soccer) game, pubs and the Jameson Distillery. We stayed at the Kilronnan House, a large bed and breakfast in an old styled house in Dublin city. On one of the days that we were in Dublin there was a farmer's protest in the city. We heard about it and set out to find it. It was really neat to see a large gathering of Irish Farmers protesting in front of the prime minister's house for the government to give them more fair prices for their commodities. Another really cool thing we did was that we bought tickets and went to a soccer or 'football' game as they call it. It was Scotland versus Wales, and Scotland won.

After our first week in Dublin, we took a train across the country to Galway, a college town by the bay. We stayed in nice fully furnished apartments. Galway was a much smaller town than Dublin with more of a laid-back atmosphere. In Galway we had the opportunity to visit many sites such as the Galway Cathedral, the National University of Ireland Galway, the Galway Bay, Connemara, Teagasc, Cliffs of Moher and the Aran Islands. One of my favorite happenings in Ireland was visiting the Cliffs of Moher. The cliffs were huge and absolutely breathe taking. They were so high up and you could stand right on the edge. The pictures do not do justice for how remarkable they were. On day 11 of our trip we took a tour to Connemara and visited Kylemore Abbey. On one of our last days we took a ferry to the Aran Islands for a day.

In reflecting on this experience I have gained an appreciation for the Irish culture and improved my decision making skills while traveling abroad. Traveling to Ireland has given me the thirst to learn more about agriculture in this country and other parts of the world.

This is a trip I never thought I would have the opportunity to take. I appreciate all the time and effort our instructors put into this memorable experience. There were so many different aspects that I enjoyed. I loved seeing the Irish country side with sheep grazing and old dry stone fences. I loved the Irish soda bread, visiting the pubs, Butler's chocolate, all the Celtic things and taking in the Irish culture. I really enjoyed being in Ireland and hope to return in the future. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Ireland, I would strongly urge you to go.

Trip Itinerary
Day 1: Arrived in Dublin
Day 2: Walking tour of Dublin, Grafton street, Trinity College, Christ Church Cathedral, Kilmainham Jail
Day 3: Newgrange, President Obama visits Dublin
Day 4: Irish National Stud, Japanese Gardens, Abbey Theatre
Day 5: Alltech, Farmers Protest, Jameson Distillery, Football game
Day 6: Free day in Dublin
Day 7: University College Dublin, Guinness Brewery Tour
Day 8: Train ride to Galway, Walking tour of Galway
Day 9: Explored Galway, Galway Cathedral, NUI Galway Campus, Galway Bay
Day 10: NUI Galway, UNESCO
Day 11: Connemara, Cong Tour
Day 12: Teagasc visit
Day 13: Cliffs of Moher and Burren tour
Day 14: Aran Islands
Day 15: Galway Farmers Market, Traveled to Shannon, Ireland
Day 16: Flight back to the United States