Day 13: Stormont Castle and Dublin

The day began at 9am when the bus picked us up to head to Stormont Castle. We were headed there for a 10:30am meeting with the Deputy First Minister and First Minister. When we arrived at Stormont Castle, we were a few minutes early, so we got a tour of part of the castle. Then, the Deputy First Minister and First Minister arrived and we sat at the executive table with them and spoke a little bit about the history of Northern Ireland and then we each spoke about our placements.

(Entrance to Stormont Castle)

After our meeting with the Deputy First Minister and First Minister, we headed to Dublin. We were supposed to meet with the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland when we arrived. We got to the U.S. Embassy and found out that the ambassador was busy and wouldn’t be able to speak with us. Instead, we spoke with one of the political officers named Bryan. Bryan spoke a little bit about what the officers do, how to become one, and how U.S. Embassies function around the world. Even though we were looking forward to meeting the U.S. Ambassador, it was still nice to meet with Bryan because what he said was very interesting.

After our visit to the U.S. Embassy, we got to do a little shopping in Dublin. First, since we hadn’t eaten lunch, we stopped at a place called Porterhouse and had burgers, chips (French fries), and a pint. The burgers were huge and they were delicious. Then we went and hit the streets for a short shopping excursion. I didn’t get much, but I got a few things for myself and a few gifts for others. It’s really expensive in Dublin, and there were definitely things that I would have liked to buy, but I couldn’t justify spending so much money.

On the way home from Dublin, our bus driver drove through the Mourne Mountains. The views were great and I took a few pictures even though I was behind the window in the bus. It’s funny because once you’re in the mountains, they don’t seem like they’d be that difficult to climb. We were also pretty surprised to see the number of people that have houses in the mountains. I don’t blame them though because the view is gorgeous.

(View of the Mourne Mountains from the bus)

Our day ended with a talk with one of the members of the Sin Feinn party. We met Eamon who told us a little bit about the history of the Sin Feinn party. This party believes in uniting the Republic of Ireland with Northern Ireland. It was interesting to hear his perspective. Eamon also told us his story about how he had been in jail for 9 years. He told us about the terrible conditions in the jail. At times he told a few more details than we wanted to hear, but it was still interesting. Well, that concludes of busy day at Stormont Castle and in Dublin.