First Day
By Aaron Kendeall

   Our group touched down in Dublin on May 9 at around 10 a.m. local time. We were a couple of hours delayed as our plane had to reroute north due to the volcanic ash cloud that is covering much of Europe.
   Our tour guide, Rachel Bourne, warned us that today would be test our mettle, as we had a full day of activities scheduled directly after a seven-hour, overnight, red-eye flight from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. As soon as we touched down, we met Rachel and our mullet-topped driver Vlad and sped off to our first stop, the Grafton Street shopping district. There, we all grabbed a bite of food to eat.
    “The first thing we did was head to Grafton Street and visited the shops,” said Bethany Foltz. “It was awesome to see all of the families interact with each other.”
   Our bellies full and our bloodstreams re-caffeinated, our group met up again and sped off to our first sight-seeing destination, Trinity College and the Book of Kells.
   The Book of Kells is an eighth century Christian manuscript that originated in Ireland. The ornately decorated and illustrated script was a wealth of historical knowledge. Written in Latin and decorated in beautiful Celtic pattern, the four books are some of the oldest texts in Ireland. They were created by monks, some of which dated back to the time of St. Peter’s contemporaries.
   From the beautiful campus of Trinity College, we traveled to Dublin Castle.
   Dublin Castle is, in many ways, a misleading title for the structure. The surviving structure is actually a Georgian Manor; however, the site and some of the substructure date back to the Vikings, which landed in the fourth century AD.
    “I thought Dublin Castle was really interesting because it was actually still in use,” said broadcast major Micky Haney. “I liked how they kept all of the original paintings on the walls. The chandelier in the dining room was beautiful.”
   Dublin Castle has a rich history yet is still active and relevant in current Irish political life. The courtyard was the site of the handing over of power from the British Crown to the Irish Parliament and had a prominent role in the 1916 Uprising. It was also the site of many of the meetings that resulted in the Good Friday Accords (we witnessed the table at which Bill Clinton met with Tony Blair). It is also the place where Irish President is inaugurated.
   Overall, the first day was very eventful and gave everyone a great taste of Irish culture.