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Posts by shannonchance

Professor Shannon Chance PhD, SFHEA (UK), BArch, MArch, PG Cert (BIM) Registered Architect (Virginia), NCARB, LEED-AP Lecturer and Programme Chair at TU Dublin Visiting Professor at UCL Education Blog: www.IrelandByChance.com
by shannonchance

My Family at the Cobblestone Pub

Mom with her cousin, Tom Mulligan (left) and Tim Bigelow (right) meeting at the Cobblestone Pub.

What a great send off!  Mom and her friends left for the airport at five o’clock this morning, so last night we decided to meet after my yoga class at the Cobblestone Pub.

You may recall from an earlier blog that the Cobblestone is considered the best place in Dublin to hear traditional Irish music.  We went there with Fulbright Amanda and her husband Jonathan, so they’d have a chance to play their instruments for an audience in Dublin.

A girl from last night’s yoga class said it would definitely not be a problem for me to go to the Pub in my exercise clothes. So I headed straight there–yoga mat and all.

When I arrived, Mom immediately introduced me to Tom Mulligan–a cousin of ours from Ballybunion in County Kerry–who she’d just met.  He had inquired about her visit Ireland and she said she’d been to County Kerry visiting Eilish and Con O’Hanlon.

Picture of the Cobblestone from the New York Times.

Loe and behold, Elish is Tom’s cousin.  I think he said his mom is the sister of my mom’s grandmother, but I haven’t been able to reconcile that math yet!  He seems so young.

Tom soon introduced me to his son, Thomas, who was working behind the bar.  And what a warm welcome we enjoyed!  Thomas was so complimentary about my Fulbright, and the fact that it’s in engineering.  Pretty soon, my smile was drawn ear to ear, my eyes were misty from hearing well-sung ballads, and my mom was hugging everyone in sight. Imagine! 😉

Tom is in the middle… doesn’t he look like Bill Clinton!?

Tom returned to playing, but when the musicians’ area started to get crowded, Tom packed up his flute and climbed behind the bar.

“Hum,” I thought, “wonder what that means?”  So I went to Googling the topic.  I discovered Tom’s the owner of the place!  Someone on Yelp had mentioned him by name and noted how incredibly nice he is.  (I’m in 100% agreement.)

Tom wanted to connect me with another Fulbright in the family, Siobhan. She taught Irish in the US.  To connect us, he dialed her up and soon handed me the phone.  Turns out, she’s the one who gave us an Irish lesson during the Fulbright orientation. I’d met her but not realized we were connected.  (I’d have never realized the connection to Tom without my huggy mom and her travel-ready neighbors.)

Tom’s son, Tomás, is working on a degree in  Irish politics and history at University College Dublin (UCD).  His dad completed a similar degree there 2006-2010… the same years I was in school at William and Mary. Tom had gone back to be a good example to his kids. It seems to have paid off!

Tomás wouldn’t even take money for my drinks last night. And, Tom gave Mom a copy of his CD to take home. Ain’t it grand to have a family!

You may also recall that it was my 2003 visit to the UCD campus that left me determined to become a Fulbright myself. And thanks to my mom’s positive example, I set to work on a PhD three years later. That helped it all come together.

So, all in all, it’s wonderful to find a place where everybody knows my name, and they seem so glad I came!  Who have thought I’d find my home in a pub?

Tom’s brother Neily is one of the world’s premier uilleann (elbow) pipers. I think he’ll be playing Thursday, October 25.  See you there?  For more information, you can like the Cobblestone on Facebook.

By the time I left last night, there’s been more than 14 different musicians chiming in. I can’t wait to return!

by shannonchance

Exploring with Elias

Meet Elias and Anna, two people who often brighten my day.

Elias and his mom, Anna.

Anna is the daughter of my friend Rosemary Thornton Ringer (aka, the Sears Kit House lady) who married one of my best friends, Wayne. I was the “Best Woman” in their wedding!

Although I’ve actually only met Anna and Elias a few times, I have the excellent fortune of being friends with Anna on Facebook. She’s currently in a new job teaching music at Boston University.

Her daily updates about Elias inspire me to reach for the stars. He’s an exceptionally curious kid, and she seems to be an astute mom who gives him room to explore and patiently answers his questions to the best of human ability.  She also takes the time to record the events and share them on Facebook.

I personally learn so much from this little boy and her mom.

These two people make my stay here in Dublin brighter and more joyful.  Elias’s comments remind me to “explore,” “go slowly,” and proceed “like I’ve never seen the world.” And, of course, to sometimes be “human tape.”

I love this kid!  And his family.

 

by shannonchance

Giant Irish Deer

Giant Deer roamed Ireland 10,000 years ago.  The soil here (bogs of peet in many places) is a good preserver.  They’ve found many interesting fossils in the bogs, including human remains.

In Thurles, Dave and I saw an impressive set of antlers hanging in the dining room of the castle. And in Kilkenny, my Mom and I saw another set in the dining room of the Rothe House.  These antlers haven’t been hanging her too long (in Irish terms).  They were uncovered only in 1900.

They have been hung at the height the deer’s head would have stood above the floor.  An impressive creature, no?  The informational plaque depicts what he would have looked like during his lifetime.

Antlers of a Giant Irish Deer.

Description posted at the Rothe House in Kilkenny

by shannonchance

Loving Westport

A canal runs through downtown Westport.

This is the “octagon” in Westport.

A favorite archway… Glen McClure brought us here last month.

 

The Protestant church in Westport.

A contemporary sculpture next to the IshSko Center.

Reflections on news

It never ceases to amaze me that the Irish serve lasagna with a side of fries (which they call “chips” or “wedges”). Here, potato chips are called “crisps.”

by shannonchance

Salad Plate

Many thanks to Glen McClure for introducing us Chances to the Irish “salad plate.” (I always take a bite before I remember to take a snapshot for you!)

This is a “Achill salmon salad plate.”

by shannonchance

High Tech in Kilkenny

A vist to the Rothe House in downtown Kilkenny, with Mom.

We learned a bit about technology over the centuries during our visit to Kilkenny’s Rothe House this weekend… everything from timber frame construction, to cooking techniques, to fashion.

The Rothe House also provided a diagram of the garderobe, to help you understand the toilet system used throughout Europe from the medieval ages until the Industrial Revolution.  Unlike this one, in most of the castles around Kilkenny, the garderobe was inside the wall and accessed through a corridor in the wall. They hung clothes in this corridor, because the acid in the air deterred mites and bugs.

Of course, there’s always been the option of a chamber pot.  I’ve provided a reflection shot of an antique shop that has two chamber pots for sale.

Chamber pots for sale.
Garderobe diagram
Description of the guarderobe.
How’s this for style? I’d have thought this metal contraption was for fishing, not wearing!
Innovative cooking methods.
The Roth House’s magnificent timber roof structure.
A vist to the Rothe House in downtown Kilkenny, with Mom.
by shannonchance

Contemplating Race

On an invitation from Joanne (from the Fulbright Commission here in Ireland), I decided to attend a book launch on the subject of race last night.  What a fascinating view of history I discovered!

I learned a huge amount from the people who spoke at the event (Seamus Deannes, Bruce Nelson Nelson, and Kevin Whelan), which was held at the University of Notre Dame’s O’Connell House. I met people from Dublin and beyond, including a professor from South Bend who is also a priest and political historian here doing research himself.

Bruce Nelson’s book launch at Notre Dame’s Center in Dublin. Joanne Davidson, from the Fulbright Commission in Ireland, is seated in the middle.

I’m very interested in this topic, social construction of the concept of race… in Ireland and at home in the US.

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I’ve been spending more time in my engineering office — it’s very comfortable now that the heat is on there. I haven’t turned ours on at the apartment, because the southern exposure usually warms it sufficiently.

I conducted my first interview using phenomenology as the framework (in this office) today!  I’m going to start transcribing it momentarily.

My office on Church Lane.

I’m pleased to report that I successfully biked across town today.  I couldn’t bear to go the wrong way down a one-way street like everyone seems to do here. I decided to push the bike three blocks instead of figuring out where the street was that went the way I wanted to go!

And, I made it to the library I love on Bolton Street, with minor evidence of my ride this time (only a small spot on my gear-changing hand this time).

Made it across town today, by bike, without incident. 🙂

Magazine on my *all* areas of study: Engineering, Design, and the Built Environment. The Education sources are also here at this library!

by shannonchance

The Faces of Floyd (and Someday Mayo)

There’s a wonderful article in today’s Roanoke Times about Glen McClure and the show he’s opening this weekend in southwestern Virginia (my birthplace). Dave will be attending the opening, along with Marshall McClure, Glen’s awesome wife.

Meanwhile, back at the Irish ranch, I’m pulling together a proposal in hopes of showing photographic work by Dave, Glen, and myself in Dublin. Fingers crossed!

This kind of cultural exchange is what the Fulbright program (and my job as a Fulbright Scholar) is all about.  I’m trying to help people understand each other better, in so many respects.  That’s also the point of the social science research I’m doing here.

Dubliners: If you know a gallery that might like to exhibit Landscapes of Mayo by Glen, Faces of Mayo by Glen, Vestiges of Ireland by Dave, and/or Reflections of Ireland by Shannon, please drop me a line!

by shannonchance

A Stunning River Valley

Mom has been out in County Kerry the past four days, seeing the place her grandmother grew up and meeting her distant cousin, Eilish O’Hanlon.  Dave and I had the pleasure of meeting Eilish and her husband Con in 2003 and am thrilled Mom finally got the chance to know them.

They live quite close to the mouth of the River Shannon.

I’ve attached a beautiful photo, taken farther up the River Shannon, that my friend Glen McClure shared on Facebook some weeks back.  It makes me want to get back there soon.  I caught a glimpse of the River recently myself, as the train sped over it on the way to Westport last Monday.

Doesn’t this ad make you want to visit Shannon?

by shannonchance

Westport

The canal running through downtown Westport.

 

It never ceases to amaze me that they serve lasagna with fries (called chips or wedges). Here, potato chips are called “crisps”.

 

The Protestant church in Westport.

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A contemporary sculpture next to the IshSko Center.

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Reflections on news.

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The “octagon” in Westport.

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A favorite archway… Glen McClure brought us here last month.

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This is a “Achill salmon salad plate”. Many thanks to Glen McClure for helping me figure out what a “salad plate” is.

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The train knew I was coming. All the train cars are brand-spanking new.

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The Cullan brothers sat across from me on the train. Our Macs communed. (And my iPhone distorted their heads… live and learn!)