‘Burren College of Art, Ballyvaughn, Ireland’ Category

To the Country I Loved So Well

A silence choked the air as the man strode across the cold stone floor and tucked himself away on the creaky oak bench. The white lapels of his crinkled shirt overpowered his brown blazer. The singer rested a guitar on his tan cords and held the neck of the instrument at his shoulders. He gave […]

Brendan Maloney, Final Project

Spirit of Ireland             One of the first things that I did when I got here was to go on a long walk and get a feel for the area.  I had just arrived in the Burren the night before; it was dark and I was tired and I just wanted to get to bed, […]

Greg Meyer Final Ireland Portfolio: Death, Flowers, and Graffiti

“To be Irish is to know that in the end the world will break your heart.” Daniel Patrick Moynihan  I’ve always been ashamed when Shane McGowan queries, “Have you ever walked the lonesome hills, or heard the curlews cry? Or seen the raven black as night upon the wind-swept sky? To walk the purple heather […]

Lacie Micek- Final Portfolio

Natural Landscape: Take a Closer Look    Spirit of Ireland: Contradictory Characteristics This huge mound of earth on the Irish landscape is calling me to ascend to the top.  I find a small pathway, but I am not sure how high it will lead me.  Is it too muddy to be walking here with these […]

Jessica Martin – Final Portfolio

Personal Narrative: Creative Ireland                   Ireland is much more than a rainy country composed of endless farmland and pubs filled with unquenchable thirst. This stretch of natural beauty provides the perfect atmosphere for one’s talent and creativity to flow freely like the river Shannon. While roaming through Galway City I notice each little storefront’s unique […]

Morgan Cronin’s Final Portfolio

The Spirit of Ireland The rough, gray stones form long, winding fences that weave their way across the hills, having been set firmly in place by people long past. Soft, green moss grows in the cracks, crevices, and corners where the stones meet and along the bumpy edges. The moss continues to grow up several, […]

Lauren Schiltz- Final Portfolio

Spirit of Ireland Essay: Ghosts Leprechauns, beards, and redheads. Guinness, drinking men, and bar fights. Rain, clovers, and everything green. These are just some of the stereotypes that were on my mind upon entering Ireland. Just like anywhere else, some of these are true and some are terribly wrong. Ireland is notorious for being picturesque […]

Amanda Toms — Final Portfolio

The Spirit of Ireland This place feels familiar, yet surreal. Like a dream half-forgotten. But just when it seems it has completely slipped away, sunken to the bottom of the sub-conscious sea where all forgotten things go, something is seen, a memory jogged, and it is reeled up quickly before it can disappear forever. In […]

A Bittersweet Last Night in Ballyvaughan

Sadly, today was our last day in the wonderful small village of Ballyvaughan.  We spent the day at the college scrambling to finish our photo and creative writing projects.  Each of us met with Priscilla and Baker to gather some constructive criticism in order to perfect our projects by the end of the trip.  We […]

Last weekend in Ireland

This weekend was our last weekend in Ireland, so we had to make it count! On Saturday my cottage mates and I celebrated Lacie’s bachelorette party. We surprised her with chocolate fondue and whine. After watching the movie “Bridesmaids,” we started our Pub Crawl through Ballyvaughn. We first went to Logue’s Lodge, then to Greene’s […]