Day 4: Galway Pt.2
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We took a long scenic route (with sunshine) to the University of Galway, passing a track, joggers, and dog-walkers. The University of Galway is the institution our tour guide Andy graduated from and where his brother teaches. While at the university, we learned about Ireland's education department. Ireland has free public education, with a large percentage of students attending university, as well as a government fund for mature students, usually people who are older and would like to continue their education. While at the university, we saw a statue of the British crown, with a unicorn on the right and a lion on the left. This statue used to be at the top of the school but has now been moved to the back of the institution, as it represents a time of British imperialism and oppression of Ireland. The animals' expressions were meant to portray the strength and power of the British crown, but to me, it looked like the animals were terrified of the British crown. We also learned about the first woman who attended and graduated from this university, which is significant as the students attending the University of Galway were historically wealthy males.
The presentations we saw today were pretty interesting. Carlos talked about the data he uses to determine where environmental preservation is necessary. Brendan told us about his time in various African countries and how, while elements of their communities may seem primitive, they are really incredibly sustainable: houses are built from materials that will eventually return to the ecosystem, shipping containers are converted into buildings, and miscellaneous plastic waste is used around the garden. Al's presentation was about the destruction of local peat lands and how detrimental it is to the carbon cycle, both by introducing more carbon and removing carbon extractors. They also talked about the industrialization of the peat farming industry. I (Sam) thought this could be helpful in my research of the relationships between classes in Ireland. It's a great example of the upper class using their power to extort local farmers and soak up the resources they need for their livelihood.
At the museum we learned about how technology became a global necessity. The museum had various technological advancements, such as Gameboys, Nintendo Switches, Walkmans, as well as phone technology, radio technology, and classroom technology. We all played video games and tried out the exhibits on our own, and afterwards we had an in depth tour of the museum from Brendan. It was interesting to see how even though technology ended up progressing, sometimes things come full circle. For example, hieroglyphics communicated through images and our more current technology and advertisements rely on images to communicate.
Although we had a blast playing retro games at the museum, we went a little over schedule and had to rush over to McSwiggin's for lunch, where we had a laugh over all the fun moments we've had so far. After lunch, we went on a 4-minute walk to the Galway Rowing Club, where we would have our Irish Dance lesson. Our dance instructors were Anne-Marie and Sarah. Both are professional Irish dancers for The Lord of the Dance. We learned that our dance instructors would be attending the World Championships in Canada, which goes to show the global impact of Irish dance. Irish dancing is very popular in the United States, England, and Australia, but Irish dance has taken our dance instructors all over the world, including Taiwan. We also learned that there are about 40 Ceili dances, and while the origins of the lower-body focused style of Irish dancing is unknown, it is said that it was a way for the Irish to dance without the British seeing them. When indoors, the British would not be able to see Irish dancing, though this theory hasn't been confirmed.
First, we danced the Siege of Ennis. The footwork we learned was easy to catch on, or so we thought before we had to dance to music. This form of dancing was fun and definitely seemed like a great way to build community. The second dance we learned was choreography from Riverdance, a TV show that popularized Irish dancing worldwide. The students were background dancers, allowing our teachers to truly shine, expressing their athletic prowess and creativity. After practicing and perfecting our performance, we had one final dance competition, where Van and Parker won Curly Wurly chocolate bars. Then, we were amazed by Sarah's fast and graceful dancing skills. This class made me consider how not only including information about different dance steps would be crucial in my research, but including information on the various battles and historical events different dances are named after will add more depth to the project. To me, this shows Irish dedication to not only preserving culture but preserving and honoring memories of hardships through the ultimate expression of joy and community.
After the dance lesson, we headed back into town to get some shopping done, but not without some scavenger hunting first. We took some pictures with the Galway Girl, the Wildes, a church, and a cemetery and headed back to Cross Street to meet up with the crew. We had just enough time to squeeze in some shopping before the shops closed, so we checked out some coffee shops and jewelers and found some bargains at the oldest seller of Claddagh jewelry in Ireland. After shopping, we returned to our hostel and had some free time to share our finds at various gift shops while others got some much-needed rest or took a run. Our final dinner at McSwiggin's was great! We enjoyed starters of goat cheese, main dishes ranging from burgers, meat pies, and gnocchi, and we ended the night with dessert. The bandana was passed on to Kate, and tonight, we will pack to get ready to go to Connemara.
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