Sunday was 'sleep-in' day, and even though breakfast went until 11AM, a number of our group were, uh, not quite able to make it in time. After the long trip over, sleep won out over food. Luckily, everyone was awake in time to board the bus in the afternoon for the 1-hour ride to Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. The castle itself is a fully-restored and authentically-furnished 15th Century castle. The park surrounding the castle is a fascinating depiction of life in medieval Ireland, complete with weavers, butter-churners and chickens ... lots of chickens. One actually laid an egg on a pillow on one of the beds! Plus there was a rooster with a serious attitude. It kept cockadoodle-dooing in mid-afternoon, as though it slept in a little too late. ;^)
At 5:30PM we entered the castle for our 'medieval banquet', with lots of servants calling us m'lord and m'lady. The evening was awesome. It featured a complete multi-course dinner and entertainment by musicians and singers. The highlight of the evening was having Dr. Wasieleski (aka, 'Dave-O') tossed into the dungeon for bad behavior (hey, the students voted, and Dave-O won .. or lost, depending on your perspective). Although Dave-O complained bitterly and vowed vengeance, as you can see he doesn't seem particularly distressed.
At 5:30PM we entered the castle for our 'medieval banquet', with lots of servants calling us m'lord and m'lady. The evening was awesome. It featured a complete multi-course dinner and entertainment by musicians and singers. The highlight of the evening was having Dr. Wasieleski (aka, 'Dave-O') tossed into the dungeon for bad behavior (hey, the students voted, and Dave-O won .. or lost, depending on your perspective). Although Dave-O complained bitterly and vowed vengeance, as you can see he doesn't seem particularly distressed.
The story gets better. In order to be released, Dave-O had to sing a song. "Sing an Irish song!" someone yelled. Dave-O replied that he didn't know any Irish songs, since he was from Pittsburgh. At that point the room of several hundred people erupted into cheers, and the Duquesne students spontaneously started singing "Here we go Steelers, here we go!". Not only did that get Dr. Wasieleski out of the dungeon, we are quite sure that this was the first time in the 600 year history of the castle that the Steelers chant had been heard. And quite possibly the last!
This morning (Monday) we took the 20-minute walk to the National University of Ireland, where a number of lecturers from the university discussed various aspects of business and the economy in Ireland. Today the topic was modern Ireland, particularly the evolution of Ireland from one of the poorest countries in Europe to arguably the richest in only 15 years. It's quite a story.
Tomorrow we return to NUI for another morning of lectures, and then it's off to Dublin in the afternoon. Tomorrow evening features a dinner and show, with traditional Irish song and dance, at the "Merry Ploughboys Pub". Based on our experiences so far, it should be fun!
This morning (Monday) we took the 20-minute walk to the National University of Ireland, where a number of lecturers from the university discussed various aspects of business and the economy in Ireland. Today the topic was modern Ireland, particularly the evolution of Ireland from one of the poorest countries in Europe to arguably the richest in only 15 years. It's quite a story.Tomorrow we return to NUI for another morning of lectures, and then it's off to Dublin in the afternoon. Tomorrow evening features a dinner and show, with traditional Irish song and dance, at the "Merry Ploughboys Pub". Based on our experiences so far, it should be fun!
