Arts and Letters

We had a fantastic second-to-last day of lectures with our honored guest and friend of the program, Claire Keegan, winner of many awards including the 2009 Davy Byrnes Irish Writing Award and the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature. 

Keegan led two sessions for students -- one a spirited reading from her story "Foster;" the other a lecture and discussion of John McGahern's "The Gold Watch," which developed into a lively conversation about character.  As always, students couldn't stop talking afterward about how inspiring their time with Keegan had been.

We then took a docent-led tour of the Model Arts Center in Sligotown, featuring the exhibit "Celtic Twilight."

Carrowkeel

High atop a quiet and seldom-traveled Irish hill sits the home of several 5,000 old passage tombs known as Carrowkeel. 

For a small group of students who braved the rain and left the beaten path (literally) to join archaeologist Sam Moore at his "favorite place on Earth," it was a life-altering experience.

We learned about the history, geology, anthropology, and archaeology of the area.  But it was the intangible that had the biggest impact on us, we agreed -- the sense of time and connectivity that pervades the place, which is especially strong once you climb inside one of the tombs.

And the veiws aren't so bad, either...

Knocknarea Mountain

Tonight, we climbed Knocknarea Mountain...

and not only did we get stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean,

Benbulben, 

and seven surrounding counties,

we were also guided by distinguised archaeoligist Sam Moore,

who taught us the myth of Queen Maeve's rumored tomb

and all there is to know about Knocknarea.