Final Thoughts

Ireland is a lovely country with lovely people and an interesting history. I want to return to try to determine if Thomas was indeed one of the first Orangemen, but until then, I will continue to wear orange and love the experience we had.

The Spitjack

I had made reservations at the Spitjack, a highly recommended restaurant in Cork. It was hard to leave the Hayfield Manor for any restaurant, but we did, and it was worth it. I had the Porschetta pork belly, and oh my, was there a lot of it! It is a specialty that takes 48 hours to cook, and they frequently run out . . . and with the portions they serve, I see why. It could have fed two people, and Don had to eat some of mine. The apple and sage puree underneath it added a very rich taste to the meat - something I could not have predicted. Don had the pithivier, which is chicken enclosed in a puff pastry. He thought it was good, but he was glad he got to taste my pork. Do you know what a spithjack is? It is a historical mechanism, used before electricity, that uses weight (similar to a cuckoo clock) to turn a piece of meat over a fire. And now you have learned something today!

Cricket

When we first arrived at Trinity College, we looked down upon the pitch, and lo and behold, a cricket match was going on. We had no idea what we were watching, so we found a seat, looked up Cricket rules, and familiarized ourselves with it. This game has no physical contact - or little anyway - and lots of pitching and hitting. It appears to us that only the pitcher really gets much exercise. The fielders run a bit, and the batters run a bit, but the pitcher's arm must last a long time. We hear that games can last for days, which would be very boring. And the game is not the most action-packed thing in the world, but it is very popular in India and at Trinity College.

Trinity College and the Book of Kells

Trinity College, founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I, it was one of the earliest Irish colleges and the oldest in continuous operation . . . that now enrolls 20,000 students. The home of Oscar Wilde, Jonathan Swift, Bram Stoker, and writers of the Game of Thrones, it was, and probably is, the college of the elites, founded to promote the ascendancy of Protestantism. Two of the sports featured at Trinity College are cricket and rugby, though at least 50 clubs (sports) are offered, including American football. They also have numerous societies (what we would call clubs), including a Card and Bridge Society, several debate societies, a film society, and a dance society. The oldest building on campus is a red brick dormitory - the Rubrics - which was probably built in the early 1700s. All of the other buildings are made of limestone. Reminded us a bit of Goodnow and Marlatt Halls on the KSU campus, except that the builder of the Rubrics did not receive kickbacks! The bell tower is a beautiful piece of architecture in the center of the main square, and it is surrounded by a large area of green space. The campus reminded us a bit of Princeton, a bit of KSU, and a bit of neither.

One of the buildings at Trinity College has a beautiful wainscoat outside, comprised on hand-carbed blocks of 640 flowers found in Ireland. Within the blocks not one flower is repeated. We can't imagine the cost of doing that now . . .hand-carved limestone. Wow!

After taking the tour, we visited the Book of Kells, which is an iluminated manuscript of the four Biblical gospels. It is a 9" x 13" book - I had expected something much larger - that is turned to two pages, which is changed every month or two. Unfortunately, the two pages we saw were not as ornate as some others. But they were still beautiful, and the information about how the Book of Kells came to be, how it was saved several times from ruination, and how the monks made the paint for the manuscript. Then we went into the Long Hall - the old library - that houses the earliest books. Because they are doing a major renovation of the library, we were only able to see a few stacks filled with books, but imaging the entire library full was beyond comprehension.

WIthin the library are housed two important objects: the declaration of Independence from the British dated in 1916 and the Brian Boru harp in Ireland, which is also the symbol of the beer, Guinness. Fascinating to see all of them. Also hanging from the ceiling is a picture of the world taken from space . . . such a beautiful planet. At first I was irrtated that I had booked a tour of the campus, along with the Book of Kells, on the wrong day! But, they were very gracious and allowed us to take the tour and see the book, and the fascinating tour was well worth the money! I don't know of any US colleges, however, who charge to take a tour of their campus!!!

EPIC Center

The EPIC Center tells the story of the Irish and the immigration that has occurred over the years. It is a story of grief, hardiness, famine, resilience . . . all of that. The museum is wonderfully done, and it provides numerous opportunities to virtually "interact" with immigrants from many countries.

We did not spend the money to research Don's family, but we might do that with a Zoom appointment when we return, now that we know a little more about his family. We are zooming in on my family via our guide in Belfast, so I hope we don't have to do a zoom on that, too. But we did find some roots, which was why we decided to embark on this trip in the first place.

UGH!

We were so excited to have Trine join us for the football game, and we had a great time . . . except for the game. We went to the College of Engineering Tailgate, which included some delicious food, and some "interesting" food. The purple ice cream, made from potatoes, was certainly high on the interesting list, but the chocolate mousse made up for it!

We thoroughly enjoyed the game's atmosphere, but unfortunately the game was not what we expected. It started out poorly with a fumbled punt, and although we stayed in the game, we couldn't finish it off. Phooey.

We returned to Angelina's for dinner after the game, which was good, and then the day was over. It was fun, except for about 5 minutes . . . and the ending. But we knew that was a risk, and we are still glad we came.

Dinner with the Simpsons and Band Time

After the Guinness tour, we met Steve and Mary Ann Simpson at a restaurant named the Winding Stair. Indeed, to get there, one must climb up a winding stairway. Although elegant the entrance wasn't, delicious the food was. I had a haddock plate - not something I would normally order - and I am so glad I did. The sauce on the fish was exquisite, and although I have no idea what spices were in it, they blended perfectly. Don and Steve had porkchops, and Mary Ann had lamb - all perfectly made. Afterwards, we headed back down to the KSU pub to await the band. We gathered on the sidewalk outside the pub, and soon the band showed up. They played their traditional music, and we were wabashing with the best of them. Two young women not from the US were a bit astounded by the activity, but even they got into the swing of things. We were hoping this bit of fun would kick off a winning game . . . but sadly, it didn't turn out that way.