Early College Summer 2022 Central Georgia Technical College

Fáilte Central Georgia Technical College who begin their Ireland program  in beautiful Killary Adventure Centre with Siobhán & the Killary team

Our early college student group hit the ground running – literally- with the great TURF WARRIOR challenge at Killary Adventure Centre They were magnificent, Central Georgia Technical College be proud! They then came on to Bundoran for the rest of the program – It did rain quite a bit, but  our lovely Georgian students did not whinge, most of them saying that the soft Irish day just enhanced the intense green gorgeousness of the Ballyshannon Abbey Ruins, the Abbey Well and the Catsby Cave. We visited these sites as part of our studies on early Christian Ireland. A visit to Donegal Castle is always part of our trips- the HQ of the O’Donnell dynasty pre-Flight of the Earls, and a monument to Colonialism from the first floor up – there is THAT fireplace, and of course, Gary Whitedeer’s magnificent Choctaw painting, commemorating the donation of the Choctaw Nation during the Great Hunger – and Colm Cille’s infamous copied text, that saw him commit that great sin of plagiarism! It was a great follow-on to our classroom work. There was surfing, of course, and a visit toTattie Hoaker Community Farm with Dr. Aga, learning all about soil, organic farming, and foraging and cooking their own farm-fresh lunch. Carson wins the hen-photo contest!

And another staple visit-  up on the Appalachian trail (the Irish part of it) at Sliabh Liag, we climbed, we hiked, we posed, then we returned to Killybegs for a yummy feed of fresh fish and chips at the Killybegs Seafood Shack, and some refreshments and tunes on the jukebox in the Harbour Bar. Thank you Dave at the Sliabh Liag Experience, Cathal, the best bus driver in the world, Mairead and team at the Shack, Bernie and Michael at the Harbour, a fantastic day!

Some great community service work done for Bundoran’s Tidy Towns association- we managed to get all the planters planted and some weeding done . We finished the morning off at Bundoran Community Development CLG with some lovely snacks sponsored by Cosgrove’s SuperValu Bundoran

Beautiful Arranmore Island is one of our favourite field trips. Our students are amazed by the beautiful Beaver Island memorial in the lake, linking the emigrants of one island to their destination island – we love the crazy lighthouse steps, Kevin our great island bus driver, and the best island pub, Early’s of Arranmore, where not only do you get the freshest and yummiest lunch, but a musical performance from the proprietor, Gerry. Turas an-suimiúil ar fad! Earlys Bar, Arranmore Arranmore Ferry

A visit to Derry with our students included a tour of the Bogside Murals, an audience with the inspirational John Kelly at the Museum of Free Derry, a ramble up on the walls and a (little bit of ) shopping! #legenderry To follow that up with a field trip, there was only one place to go- An Ghaeltacht. We went to beautiful Glencolmcille to visit the folk park, in particular, the hedge school & the schoolroom. Go raibh maith agaibh, Margaret agus do chairde. The boots had to come off for this ramble at Glencolmcille – it was worth it to cross the strand and visit the 9th century pillar cross beside the church. The Glen is absolutely blooming at the moment, with fields of yellow flag, foxglove,and fuschia, and even this damp rainy day didn’t lessen its beauty- perhaps it makes it even better! Is áit chiúin galanta é.

Final dinner with our really fabulous dual-enrolled students from Central Georgia Tech safe travels back home and GRMA to y’all for visiting us in Donegal