Category / Environment & Sustainability

by shannonchance

Heather’s Kerry Travels

Heather on the Cliffs of Moher!

Heather on the Cliffs of Moher!

While I’m here in Dublin trying to finalize this grant proposal, my sister Heather is on the western coast of Ireland visiting Eilish O’Hanlon and her husband Con.

You may recall that Eilish and my mom share the same great grandparents. Con and Eilish have taken Heather to see the place my own great grandmother was baptized.  They took my mom and me there in May, but I’ve neglected to post photos as of yet.

Incidentally, because Con is a first cousin of Tom Mulligan (proprietor of the world-famous Cobblestone Pub), I’ve got family all over Dublin!   🙂

Today I’m sharing the photos Heather has posted on her Facebook page over the past week.

Heather and Eilish on the Bromore Cliffs, County Kerry.
Atop Cnoc-Nacor in Ballybunion with Heather’s namesake.
The greeter at the Bromore Cliffs, Ballybunion, County Kerry, Ireland.
The Bromore Cliffs.
The Bromore Cilffs in County Kerry. These have only been open for a couple months and folks who live here are seeing them for the first time!
Heather on the Cliffs of Moher!
Samuel Beckett Bridge in Dublin.
Heather’s night view of the River Liffey.
Heather Massie with Neil and Tom Mulligan.

by shannonchance

Seals of Dalkey Harbor

The picturesque little town of Dalkey is a short DART or bus ride from Dublin city center.  It’ s one of my favorite little towns in Ireland… the architecture is beautiful and the harbor is full of life.  Watching the seals play is always a treat.

Dalkey makes a nice day trip from Dublin… especially when paired with a visit to Dun Laoghaire.  (On Sunday afternoons People’s  Park there is teeming with vendors and activity, and the waterfront is a pleasant place to walk.)

Dalkey’s main street…
…with a typially Irish sort of street pattern.
Dalky has a cool nooks and crannies everywhere… here’s a place with one-person offices to let.
And Dalkey also has two little harbors. The seals like to play in Dalkey Harbor.
by shannonchance

Kids in Merrion Square

There’s always something new and imaginative going on in Dublin.

Just before I left for Rome, I had a meeting at the Irish University Association building on Merrion Square.  Walking through the park after my meeting, I got to see workers setting up for weekend events for kids.

The the menagerie wire animals and the tree covered in a giant sheet fascinated me.

by shannonchance

Irish Weather

We’ve had 2-3 weeks of glorious weather here in Dublin. People seemed stunned. A few people even started complaining that it had been 75 degrees for too long. Too hot, some said. And truly, we did have a day of high humidity — almost unknown in this fair city.

The past few days ushered in a return of regular irish weather. In Ireland, experiencing “all four seasons in one day” isn’t unusual.

Above, I’ve uploaded some photos from my stint across town and back today.

The photo below was taken from my seat atop a double-decker bus. It offers a glimpse of Dublin city traffic… and shows you why I don’t bike here more often!

This photo, taken from my seat atop a double-decker bus, offers a glimpse of Dublin city traffic... and hints as to why I don't bike here more often!

Yes, we ARE passing that truck!

by shannonchance

Fulbrighting at Glasnevin Cemetery

Hanging out with Daniel O'Connell. My photography exhibition was held in the house where he used to live, on Merrion Square.

Hanging out with Daniel O’Connell. My photography exhibition was held in the house where he used to live, on Merrion Square.

Our Fulbright shin dig included a visit to Glasnevin Cemetery.  I’d spent about an hour here, just outside the gate, one evening near Halloween when Esther was visiting. That was part of the (very worthwhile and historically accurate) Ghost bus tour and we followed it up with a visit to John Kavanagh’s “Gravediggers” pub.

The cemetery itself was started outside the city, at the same time the same thing was happening all over the USA. The American cemetery movement actually sparked the American park movement, believe it or not.  The historian J. B. Jackson explains that people found they loved going to the suburban cemeteries — which were new and had wide open (corpse-free) spaces.  These early cemeteries were well-designed and had beautiful architectural features, as you can see on the home page for Thornrose Cemetery where my grandparents lay today.  In any case, in the ten year period of the Civil War, nearly every American city built a “central” park, and Frederick Law Olmstead’s office designed many of them… and many college campuses too.

Wikipedia has some of the most interesting info online regarding this particular cemetery:

Glasnevin Cemetery (Irish: Reilig Ghlas Naíon), officially known as Prospect Cemetery, is the largest non-denominational cemetery in Ireland with an estimated 1.5 million burials.[1] It first opened in 1832, and is located in Glasnevin, Dublin.

The stories I heard on our tour of the cemetery brought to life for me the history of Michael Collins and Daniel O’Connell, two of Ireland’s most important political figures. Éamon de Valera and Countess Markievicz are also buried here.

The 2012-13 Fulbright Ireland crew…
…visiting Michael Collins grave…
…at the famous Glasnevin Cemetery.
Michael Collins grave…
…draws a crowd and is visited…
…each and every day of the year.
There’s also a monument here…
dedicated to Daniel O’Connell.
Although he was a pacifist…
..his monument was bombed by Loyalists.
And today there is still no stair to the top.
We learned about the man…
..and the history of this place.
In times of disease, they sealed coffins like these carefully to keep illness from spreading.
Countess Markevicz, the first elected female minister, is buried here.
We learned about mass graves…
..and famous writers.
We visited the oldest grave…
…and learned how they’d bought remains of a famous person from the UK here, to convince people to use this cemetery.
Today there’s massive restoration work…
…being done…
…to rectify the lack…
…of proper foundations.
by shannonchance

Remembering the Glow of Dun Laoghaire

Dun Laoghaire harbor

Dun Laoghaire harbor

It’s overcast in Dublin today, so I’m pulling out some images from a recent sunny Sunday in nearby Dún Laoghaire, a  town in the suburbs of Dublin.

Dún Laoghaire is accessible from Dublin city center by train and bus, and it makes a lovely day trip. On the weekend, “Peoples Park” is full of market stalls and vendors with prepared food, raw ingredients for purchase, crafts, and other quality goods. The water front, with its harbor and beach, provides a relaxing place to stroll.

The town’s official website explains:

Dún Laoghaire is a town on the east coast of Ireland, about seven miles (11km) south of the capital Dublin. Its focal point is a splendid harbour and the town is surrounded by spectacular rolling hills.

…Historically Dún Laoghaire has always been a ‘Gateway to Ireland’, Dún Laoghaire gets its name from the Irish translation Fort (Dún) of Laoghaire. It was once the seat of King Laoghaire, the ancient High King of Ireland before the Vikings sailed from Scandinavia and established themselves in Dublin.

Dun Laoghaire beach

Dun Laoghaire beach with a view over to Howth (the peninsula on the left of the image, past the end of the pier).

by shannonchance

Day-tripping to Glendalough

Glendalough 13

Glendalough boasts a beautiful natural landscape and a religious site constructed during medieval times.  It provides an ideal day trip from Dublin.

The Wikipedia site is full of interesting information about the place.  It starts by explaining:

Glendalough or Glendaloch (/ˌɡlɛndəˈlɒx/ glen-də-lokh; Irish: Gleann Dá Loch, meaning “glen of two lakes”) is a glacial valley in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is renowned for its Early Medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin, a hermit priest, and partly destroyed in 1398 by English troops.

by shannonchance

Luanna’s New Master’s

It’s such a joy to keep in touch with people back in the States on Facebook.

Yesterday, Luanna Jendrey, who took the “Planning for Sustainability” course I offered in the summer of 2011, posted a picture from her recent graduation.  The photo was taken with former Fulbright Dr. Pam Eddy, who you’ll recall visited me here in March.

Luanna’s kind caption made my day even more special!  Kristina Neuhart took the 2011 class, too, and also offered kind words.

Congratulations to Luanna on her new Master’s degree in Higher Education!

Luanna's very sweet Facebook post.

Luanna’s very sweet Facebook post.

by shannonchance

Fulbright Positions in Architecture

I received email notification about exciting Fulbright opportunities in Architecture.

I am writing to inform you of exciting U.S. Fulbright Scholar grant opportunities in Europe and Eurasia in the field of architecture. Applications for the 2014-15 academic year are currently being accepted from all levels of faculty and professionals, including early career.

We are soliciting applications for a broad range of awards in your field, including but not limited to:

Finland #4197 Fulbright-Aalto University Distinguished Chair (Finland)
United Kingdom #4368 Fulbright-Scotland Visiting Professorship at the Glasgow Urban Lab
Kosovo #4266 Theory and Practice of Restoration of Cultural Heritage Monuments
Turkey #4388 Social Sciences and Humanities
Bulgaria #4169 Pure and Applied Sciences

Applicants must be U.S. citizens and hold a Ph.D. or appropriate professional/terminal degree at the time of application. The application deadline is August 1, 2013.

In addition, All Disciplines awards are available in all countries in Europe and Eurasia and can be a good option if no discipline-focused award matches your expertise. Please visit the 2014-15 Catalog of Awards at http://catalog.cies.org/index.aspx to learn more about the opportunities available in this year’s competition. For most awards, English is sufficient for teaching and foreign language proficiency is only needed to the extent required by the proposed research project, if applicable.
For eligibility factors, detailed application guidelines and review criteria, please follow the link http://www.cies.org/us_scholars/us_awards. You may also wish to register for one of our webinars at http://www.cies.org/Webinar/ or join our online community, My Fulbright, a resource center for applicants interested in the program.

Please feel free to share this message with members of your listservs, newsletters or social media. For further information about specific awards, please contact the program staff listed in the award description.

Best wishes,

Europe/Eurasia Staff
EuropeEurasia@iie.org
202-686-4000
Fulbright Scholar Program
1400 K Street NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20005
If you wish to be removed from this group’s mailing list, click here

by shannonchance

Flurries in Dublin

Snow in Merrion Square.
Notre Dame’s O’Connell House is shown on the right here…
…and DIT’s Learning Teachign and Technology Centre (LTTC) is on the left in this image.

It’s snowing in Dublin today, an unusual site indeed. Right now the sun is shining.  But big, fluffy flakes are falling gently to the ground. Here are photos from my wintery walk to the Learning, Teaching and Technology Centre for meetings and a workshop today.