An incredible day in Dublin, Ireland

Our correspondent today is Sarah Pinter:

We got up bright and early to take a bus to Dublin, about a two hours’ ride south through the verdant Irish countryside. It was kind of weird having our passports checked at the border. It’s easy to forget that Northern Ireland and the Republic are separate countries; even though that is the subject of our studies! We trekked a few blocks through the streets of Dublin (after stopping for coffee, of course) and eventually arrived at our hostel, Kinlay House. We dropped off our luggage, and then we proceeded to Liguori House, a Redemptorist enclave, where we met the man who brought peace to Northern Ireland.

If you combined Gandalf, Gandhi, and God, you might end up with someone like Father Alec Reid, who we met today. Originally from Clonard Monastery, Fr. Reid orchestrated the peace process in Northern Ireland, particularly in terms of ending violence within the nationalist community. He has saved many lives and arranged dialogue between Gerry Adams (Sinn Fein) and John Hume (SDLP). In short, the peace process in Northern Ireland, which he called a miracle, would not have been possible without his guidance.

Despite his colossal importance in Northern Ireland’s history, Fr. Reid is an unassuming man of incredible humility. He was very hospitable, offering us coffee and posing for dozens of photos. He gave us a detailed description of the peace process and stressed that dialogue, not armed conflict, is the only way to establish a just and lasting peace. One of the things that struck me most about him was his modesty. During his conversation with us, he almost never mentioned himself; he spent most of the time telling stories about Gerry Adams and other people involved in the peace process. He was tired by the end of our time together, but he nevertheless agreed to stand for photos with all of us in the beautiful rose garden outside. He even wished me a happy birthday. (I turned eighteen in Ireland; how cool is that?)

We then returned to Kinlay House, where a surprise was waiting for me. My parents had come to Ireland for my birthday. I was so surprised and delighted to see them. They had been in contact with Mr. Bizga for months. Everyone knew about it but me. They were also shocked that I hadn’t figured it out. I don’t know why they thought that. I’ve never figured out a surprise in my life, making me the ideal target for unexpected parties and the like.

After that, we went shopping for a while. I proceeded to blow my €50 food stipend on shopping (good thing my parents showed up for my birthday). The shopping in Dublin is infinitely better than in Belfast, to everyone’s delight. We got to see the bar Bono owns. The bartender told us we had just missed REM by like ten minutes. We told everyone we had seen them anyway. We had an early dinner at Luigi Malone’s, and then we went on a literary pub-crawl, exploring pubs connected with Irish writers like Joyce, Shaw, Yeats, and Pearce. Don’t worry, Fr. Marco, no drinking was involved, just good plain literature.

After the tour, we said goodnight. The group returned to their hostel, and I went to the Westin with my parents. Needless to say, it was the best sleep I’ve had in three weeks.

All the best!
Sarah

Here is the link to our Dublin photos!