Week two in Dublin has been lots of fun so far! This past week has taken me on many journeys that I never want to forget.
My internship has been going very smoothly, and I am starting to feel very welcome in the office and around my coworkers. They make sure to keep me busy, but the work is neither demanding nor too challenging. While I’m doing my work, I enjoy listening to how the solicitor (Irish term for a lawyer) talks to clients over the phone and how he converses with other lawyers. I am learning a great deal about the profession by being in the office!
Outside of the office, I’ve been exploring all that Ireland has to offer. We kicked off the weekend with a day trip to Kilkenny and the Wicklow Mountains. Kilkenny was an amazing town with a very rich history. We started the day touring the Kilkenny Castle, which was built in 1260. It blows my mind how old some of the sites and buildings are in Ireland, especially because the United States does not have nearly as much history as Ireland and all of Europe. Although it was renovated, the inside of the castle was beautiful, and it must have felt very luxurious to live in it at the time. The castle had many beautiful paintings, portraits, and other art decorating it as well. On the outside, there was a beautiful garden in front of the castle. Following the tour, my friends and I went to have lunch at Kyteler’s Inn, which is known for being the home of Alice Kyteler in the late 13th century. Alice Kyteler is known for being accused of being a witch after four of her husbands all mysteriously died. After being accused, she disappeared and was never heard from again. Now, the Inn has turned into a pub that celebrates the history of the building. We did find it funny how the inn was playing American rock music the whole time we were dining. We ended the trip in Kilkenny by visiting St Mary’s Cathedral, which was very beautiful and well decorated.
After exploring Kilkenny, we took the bus over to Glendalough in the Wicklow mountains. The drive over was very scenic, and the mountains were beautiful. We got to drive through a town named Hollywood and we got to see its very own Hollywood sign as well. In Glendalough, we toured the ruins of an old monastic site, and our tour guide explained to us how the monks would hide in a tall tower while the Vikings raided the village and destroyed everything.
On Monday, we talked about two court cases in our class, Judging Justice with Professor Aikey. One case was from Ireland and one was from the United States, both discussing the rights to same-sex marriage. Both made interesting points, and they brought up an interesting discussion of whether courts have the right to change the law or just make decisions based on the law that already exists. That afternoon, we took a tour of the National Museum of Ireland: Archaeology. The museum had lots of ancient Irish artifacts, including tools and jewelry. I was surprised by how detailed the jewelry was. We learned a lot about the Vikings and their presence in Ireland and how, over time, they assimilated into the Irish culture. The coolest part of the museum was the bog bodies, which were bodies that were preserved in bogs for thousands of years. Despite being around two thousand years old, we could still see the hair, fingernails, and details on their skin.
This week has been lots of fun, and I’m excited to see where next week will take us!
