"I'm Irish; I'm fine!"

The past two days have been filled with more amazing sights in Dublin. For starters, yesterday we had a talk with Dr. Martina Byrne, Chief Executive of the Public Relations Consultants Association, over Public Relations. Her talk was insightful. She emphasized the idea that media relations is not the future of PR. In fact, she mentioned it really should not be the focus of the PR field. It was refreshing to hear that, as most of my courses at Truman have emphasized the importance of thoroughly understanding both social and digital media. To be fair, media is important to know in the field of PR; however, it should not be the sole focus. There are so many other aspects of the field that are equally and even more so important, which Dr. Byrne mentioned.

After listening to Dr. Byrne's talk, we went on a tour of Kilmainham Gaol, a former prison in Dublin. I have never toured a jail before, and I honestly didn't expect it to be that interesting, but it actually was neat. The jail was home to many of the rebellion leaders from Ireland's past. While Kilmainham Gaol did hold some famous people of Ireland's past, it also held many ordinary men, women, and children. One of the most shocking things our tour guide told us was during The Great Hunger, or the Potato Famine, many Irish purposely got arrested so that they could have three meals a day. They would have rather risked being in jail than risk the certain death that awaited them outside. That blew my mind. It really puts that time period in perspective.

Kilmainham Gaol

Kilmainham Gaol courtyard

Jail cell door

Photograph taken through the peep hole on the jail cell door

Inside portion of Kilmainham Gaol

The cell door of Grace Gifford (Mrs. Joseph Plunkett)

On the inside of Grace Gifford's cell, she painted this mural of Mother Mary and baby Jesus.

Inside of jail cell

Inside of jail cell

Stairs leading to the kitchens where women and children were held in the prison.

Today focused on art. First our group headed to the National Gallery of Ireland. This art gallery was absolutely stunning! The building was expansive so much so that I almost got lost. There was such beautiful works of art throughout the three story building. The art ranged from landscapes, to portraits, to stained glass, to marble statues. Lots of pieces caught my eye. In particular, the paintings or sculptures that had to do with classical Greek and Roman mythology really captured my attention. While I am not a Classics major, I have taken four semesters of Latin as well as many Classics courses. I am well-informed in that vein, which made that art mesmerizing. In addition to the art, even the gallery was beautiful! One could definitely spend hours in there.

"Murlough Bay and Fair Head, Coast of Antrim" painting by Bartholomew Colles Watkins

"The Opening of the Sixth Seal" painting by Francis Danby

"The Four Seasons" painting by Simon Vouet

Not long after the gallery, our group went to The Gallery of Photography to have a chat with some photographers. They informed us about their current project in which they are trying to compile home photographs of Irish families in order to piece together what it means to be Irish. As someone who loves old photographs, this excited me. It was neat to look through the photographs they have now and where they plan to go with the project. Most photos were of intimate moments shared between families, whether graceful or awkward, but they still held so much weight. The employee showing us the photos mentioned that it is just as important to think about what is not in the photograph as what is in it. That really stuck with me today, helping me see Ireland in a different light.

To finish the night off, we went to O'Reilly's Bar and Club. I haven't been to many bars, but this one wasn't necessarily outstanding. It was the first legal drink I bought in Ireland, though. I decided to go with an apple cider on tap that was really good! The alcohol was good, but the food I had was sub-par. Despite the disappointing food, I had a really good time. A large portion of my group stayed to have drinks and some food. It was more fun to just sit around and tell stories with the group, which helped bond us more. On the way back, we stopped in at Bubble Waffle Factory to get ice cream in an actual waffle cone. It was heavenly!! The stop was well worth it.

My first legal drink in Ireland was Orchard Thieves Cider.

Me outside O'Reilly's

The Berry Kiss Bubble Waffle with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.