Trinity College and Book of Kells!

Trinity College a has LONG history. It was founded by Queen Elizabeth I to "civilize" (her word) Dublin in 1592. Of course, Catholic-Protestant problems began in the United Kingdom with the insistence of Henry VIII that he be the head of the Church.  The Irish did not feel the same way and Trinity was founded to establish a Protestant educated male citizenry. Only Protestant males were permitted to attend and Irish Catholics were not allowed to send their sons out of the country for a university education?  What was Elizabeth's goal here?

Women were admitted to Trinity in 1903, but Catholics were only given formal permission by the Catholic Church to study at Trinity in the 1960s and 1970s.  They were allowed admission by the College much earlier than that, but had to have a dispensation from their bishop to attend. Who were some famous Trinity alumni?

Trinity has expanded in size over the years, so that it now covers about 40 acres and there is quite a mix of architecture, although the main part of the existing College was built in the 18th and 19th centuries. One of these areas is the Old Library which houses Ireland's largest collection of books and manuscripts. Since 1801, the colleges has received a copy of every book published in Britain and Ireland.  What institution in the U.S. receives a copy of every book published in the U.S.?

The main library room is called the Long Room and absolutely takes your breath away!  You expect to see Harry Potter and friends coming from the stacks. The room is 231 feet long, 42 feet wide and staked floor to ceiling with 200,000 volumes, most of which have come from donations. I talked with one of the guards there and he told me that the books were still used for research and that anyone could apply for a research card in order to use them.  There was also a wonderful exhibition called Drawn to the Page which featured Irish artists and illustration from 1830-1930. The purpose of the exhibition is to show "how artists related creatively and sympathetically to the printed word, increasing the reader's pleasure and understand by visualizing episodes in the text or by supplying decorative elements..."

I've saved the best treasure (in my opinion) for last and that is the Book of Kells. This illuminated manuscript from the 9th century just defied adjectives! The intricate detail and the bright colors that remain after so many centuries is astounding-especially when you consider all that happened in Ireland over the centuries.  Even on the huge enlargements, that are on the walls, the detailing is just unbelievable! Ireland didn't go through a Dark Ages, as most of Europe did and the work from this time is worth a trip to Dublin.  The exhibit also included the Book of Armagh, which is a 9th century copy of the New Testament and the Book of Durrow, a 7th century Gospel book.  Only two of the four manuscripts from the Book of Kells are exhibited-one with illustrated text and one with pictures and designs. It was composed on vellum--what is that??

We were fortunate enough to attend without a huge crowd, so could spend lots of time looking at everything, which was a treat! We had a great afternoon of art and history, then came back to the hotel to SLEEP! We have lots more adventures planned!

National Gallery of Ireland

The National Gallery of Ireland has it all!  The National Gallery houses Irish and European paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings and watercolors and a nice array of each!  One of the amazing things about this lovely museum is that the holdings of the Gallery were put together "by way of individual purchases and gifts."  That makes the variety even more impressive. One of the most interesting areas is a collection of works by Irish artists.  One of these may be Paige's newest, favorite painting, but I'll let her tell you about that! I was familiar with Jack Yeats, but not as familiar with other Irish artists, so it was so nice to meet some new ones, as well as renew acquaintances with Van Gogh, Vermeer, Brughel and more. Many of the works could not be photographed, but the website for the National Gallery can show you more works.  Check out the Museum at www.nationalgallery.ie. Jack Yeats is not the only famous person in his family.  Who is Jack's even more famous brother?? Wouldn't it be wonderful to begin to accumulate works of art for a museum! What work of art would you definitely have to acquire for your museum?

Strolling down Merrion Road in Dublin...

Never ones to let a little jet lag to stop us, we landed in Dublin about 8:00 am, got a bus to our hotel and, miracle of miracles, got to check in! We began to explore our neighborhood which is the area where the U.S. embassy is located--we will get pics of that tomorrow. After a lunch of great soup--all soup seems to be puréed-we set out for the National Gallery, which was billed as one of Europe's nicest small art galleries, then headed to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells.

Our Hotel

Airport Art: Faces of Ireland

Dublin Bound

It is that time to turn off all group texts and data as I journey into the unfamiliar world of limited connectivity (for financial considerations of course :) Verizon gets enough of my money on a monthly basis.

Listening to the Irish accents on the plane is already music to my ears.

All portable devices must be cut off and stowed...

The Potato Fest has Begun

Getting my potato buds ready...brunch in the Mobile Airport.

On Our Way...

The first leg of our journey from Mobile to Atlanta was pleasantly uneventful. Excitement is building as I finally take time to look at the Ireland travel guides. No worries because I have the best travel guide (Susan) sitting right next to me.

Irish Blessing

A Bit About Ireland

One of the things I always like to do before traveling is to find out a bit about the place I'm going!  It puts my travels in context.  The C.I.A. Factbook provides great, basic information about the world, so that's where I checked first!

A little geography:  The island of Ireland is about the size of the U.S. state of West Virginia, although Ireland's population is much larger at 4,722,028. The Republic of Ireland makes up about 5/6 of the country, with Northern Ireland making up the remaining 1/6.  When one thinks of Ireland, green is the color that comes to mind and with good reason. This satellite photo from Wikipedia shows why!






Ireland became independent from the U.K. in 1921 by treaty.

The chief of state of the Republic is President Michael D. Higgins and the head of government is Enda Kenny.  I knew that Ireland was a republic or parliamentary democracy with a bicameral Parliament(Oireachtas), but I didn't realize how the Senate(Senad Erieann) was chosen and I found it very interesting. Ther are 60 seats in the Senate with graduates of the University of Dublin and the National University of Ireland having 3 seats each.  Eleven members are nominated by the prime minister and the remainder of the candidates are from five vocational panels.  The lower house (Dail Eireann) is elected by popular vote and there are 166 seats. I want to find out a bit more about how the compilation of the Senate came about. I am also interested to see how the U.S. presidential election will be covered in the Irish newspapers, since the election will be held soon after our visit!

In terms of religion, over 90% of the population of the Republic is Catholic. Of course, religion has played a huge role in the history of this country and island and we'll be blogging more about that.

Ireland also has two languages:  Irish or Irish Gaelic and English.  Most of the speakers of Irish are located along the west coast, although Irish is taught in school.

One of the statistics, which I found most interesting, is that obesity rate in Ireland is 13% compared to 35.7% in the U.S.!

The capital of Ireland is Dublin and we will be spending most of our time in this beautiful city. I have been to Dublin before for a short visit and look forward to getting to explore it more fully.   Some concise histories of Dublin can be found at:  http://www.dublinuncovered.net/history.html and http://www.inyourpocket.com/ireland/dublin/Dublin-A-Short-History_70271f

Keynote Speakers

Keynote speakers for IICE 2012 include:

Dr. Richard Cooper, director of disability services at Harcum College in Pennsylvania.  Richard Cooper, Ph.D., Director and Founder of the Center for Alternative Learning, earned his doctorate in Education at the University of Pittsburgh and a Masters degree in Guidance and Counseling at Inter American University in Puerto Rico. Richard Cooper is also the owner of Learning disAbilities Resources, a firm which produces and distributes educational and motivational materials for individuals with learning differences. He established these organizations to provide services for individuals with learning disabilities and their families, teachers and other professionals interested in learning problems.

Dr. Cooper is the author of a number of books and articles about learning disabilities, problems and differences. His most recent publication is Alternative Math Techniques: When Nothing Else Seems To Work, for elementary school teachers and teachers of special education students of all ages.  He has developed a number of teaching methods and instructional tools for individuals who learn differently and he is internationally known as a speaker and instructor on a wide range of topics about learning problems and techniques for helping both children and adults to improve their skills. 

Center for Alternative Learning

Professor Cynthia Northington-Purdie is a psychologist and professor at an NJ University. Dr Northington-Purdie has taught a variety of courses including educational psychology, applied child psychology, the psychology of classroom management and the philosophical and psychological foundations of education. Before joining the university faculty, she enjoyed a long career as a teacher of both regular and special education in New Jersey’s public schools.

Dr. Patricia Mannix McNamara joined the Department of Education and Professional Studies in the University of Limerick in 1999, prior to which she was a post primary teacher of English, Religion and SPHE. She completed her undergraduate education in the Mater Dei Institute of Education and her postgraduate education at the University of Limerick.

Patricia's research interests currently include evidence-based practice in the field of health education and promotion and in particular the link between the promotion of health in schools and educational outcomes. She is also interested in bullying and its impact on health and well being. Patricia teaches research methods and health promotion in Ireland and abroad at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and has supervised a wide range of MAs on topics ranging from bullying, SPHE, school health, health promotion and disability to mental health promotion and HP practitioner competencies. 

Patricia is co-director for the Research Centre in Education and Professional Practice (RECEPP). In this role she supports Professor Marie Parker Jenkins who is director of RECEPP and Education Chair. Patricia is also leading a collaborative international research project in Europe with Professor Didier Jourdan (University Blaise Pascal France).