back to school

O'Connell Street just north of Talbot

Here’s a quick picture of hubby waiting for the bus on the way to his first day of college. He was too embarrassed to let me take it as he was getting on the actual bus so this will have to do. How cute is he, right? We caught the bus on O’Connell Street just north of the central bus station. There are bus stops all up and down O’Connell Street so thankfully we looked ahead of time to see which stop was ours. Most bus stops list the buses on the sign but if you didn’t know you might walk a few blocks before finding the one you want. To get to All Hallows, we took the 13a bus which goes north up O’Connell and eventually turns onto Drumcondra. The bus lets us off just past the Munchies coffee shop and from there it’s about a seven minute walk to the front gate.

dog poo signs are always insightful

On the way out, after I left hubby at orientation it was quicker to take Richmond Ave south. There is a big “football pitch” which is a soccer field and there is also a stadium along this road. I couldn’t see inside but the colors are red and white. I am not sure if the stadium is for soccer or Gaelic football. Gaelic football is popular along with hurling, both being sports that were not imported to Ireland by the British. Gaelic football and hurling are played on a pitch about three times the size of a regular soccer field. There are uprights as well as a goal with a net. For balls that go under the uprights (in the goal) players score three points while a ball over the uprights gets one point. The main difference between hurling and Gaelic football is that Gaelic is played with a rugby type ball and hurling is played with wooden sticks and a little ball. Both seem pretty brutal and both end up with lots of bloody cuts and bandaged heads. Players are seen as heroes by most Irish people.



I learned a ton about Irish heritage including sport by reading a book my dad gave me called Trinity by Leon Uris. It tells the story of Ireland’s struggle for independence as well as the history of the treatment of Catholics in this country. The novel, based in Ulster, is incredibly well-written and hard to put down—highly recommended (thanks Dad!).