Category / Ireland & EU

by shannonchance

Exotic Porto

Porto's water front -- the perfect place for dinner and an evening stroll!

Porto’s water front — the perfect place for dinner and an evening stroll!

After speaking in Setabul, Lisbon, and Aviero, I packed up bag and hopped on the train to Porto.  It’s a lovely port city with steep topography and — surprise — more of Portugal’s stunning architecture!

I’ve been uploading the photos I took using my iPhone, so, unfortunately, I’m only providing a fleeting glimpse of these gorgeous places.  I hope someday you’ll have the chance to visit them for yourself.

Porto’s water front — the perfect place for dinner and an evening stroll!
by shannonchance

Picking Back Up in Portugal

I dropped the ball telling you about my trip to Portugal and Belgium… I still have lots to show you!  When I last wrote about my Fulbright Inter-Country Lecturing adventures, we were in Aviero and Agueda with  José Manuel Nunes de Oliveira.

Here are a couple more of the modernist buildings at the University of Aviero.

by shannonchance

Queen for a Day

Queen of Tarts 2

A visit to the Queen of Tarts in the Dublin’s Temple Bar  is always a treat.

I have fond memories of Dr. Pam Eddy’s most recent visit to Dublin and our stop to see “the Queen” together.

In fact, I sent  a little box of raspberry scones home with Dave a couple of weeks ago… he stopped by Pam and Dave’s on his drive home from the airport to deliver the Queen’s best.

by shannonchance

Reflections on Francis Hutcheson

This is the plaque that Fergus Whelan posted on the stair tower at the Church on Mary Street (a religious building now operated as a bar and restaurant). The plaque honors Francis Hutcheson, “Father of the Scottish Enlightenment,” whose ideas made their way into the US Declaration of Independence.

The plaque’s coverings catch refections of the buildings across the intersection, at the west end of Henry Street. Here you see Primark’s world headquarters (the lovely red brick building with the patina-ed copper dome) to the right of Francis’ likeness.

Francis Hutchenson plaque

by shannonchance

On the Trail of a Tall Ship

Pam Eddy at the Jeannie Johnson tall ship.

Pam Eddy at the Jeannie Johnson tall ship.

I found more photos from our adventure to visit the Jeannie Johnson….

Shannon with a famine figure.
Pam discovered…
…fish in the lights!
And a PacMan someone added…
…for fun.
He was rather delightful.
by shannonchance

On the Jeannie Johnson

Mast of the tall sailing ship.

Mast of the tall sailing ship.

The tour guide tells the story of each character on the ship. (This guy reminds me of my red-bearded friend Wayne.)

The tour guide tells the story, drawn form historic accounts, of each character on the ship. (This guy reminds me of my red-bearded friend Wayne.)

There are many amazing sites I have recorded but haven’t had time to share.

One is the Jeannie Johnson, the replica ship from the famine era that is harbored right here in Dublin.

Dr. Pam Eddy and I visited the ship in March.

In contrast to most “coffin” and/or “famine” ships, no lives were lost on the Jeannie Johnson.  There was a very skilled physician on board–and quite  bit of luck to boot.

This is what it looks like on deck and also in the berths below deck….

by shannonchance

RoboSlam–Extended Version

Yesterday the students who built robots with the crew coordinated by Drs. Ted Burke and Damon Berry headed over to DIT’s Bolton Street location to learn about mechanical, industrial, and product design. Thanks to Kevin Delaney, Ger Reilly, Susan O’Shaughnessy and crew for a fascinating day! I’ll be posting lots more photos of RoboSlam in the days to come.  It’s been such fun!

Refining the electronics…
…and tweaking placement of the sensors.
Creating bodies…
…and making sure they fit the chassis and electronic components.

by shannonchance

Irish Music Radio with Mick O’Grady

Charlottesville’s Kevin Donleavy has an Irish music program on air tomorrow.  I hope you’ll tune in via internet!  He explains how, below.  I always enjoy hearing Mick O’Grady play at the Cobblestone pub, and he’ll be featured in the program.

Photo of Stefan Paz Berrios and Mick O'Grady, downloaded from Danny Diamond's Flicker page.

Photo of Stefan Paz Berrios and Mick O’Grady, downloaded from Danny Diamond’s Flickr site.

Hi, music heads and tune-fanciers,

The next radio program of Irish trad music presented by Kevin Donleavy can be heard on-line as usual this Saturday, May 18, from 10 am till 12 noon. (Irish listeners should tune in from 3 to 5 pm that day.) The program is called ATLANTIC WEEKLY PART TWO,  and here are the easy listening steps :
 
To listen on your internet radio, select WTJU in Virginia, USA, or pick up the  “Tune In Radio”  app for your iPhone or other mobile device and easily dial up the station.
 
On your computer,  go to http://wtju.net. Next, select Listen Live on the right side bar. Then, choose between Ogg and MP3.
 
This week’s musical material includes singers Andy Irvine, Paddy Reilly, Tim Browne, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh (Maryann McCauley), and Christy Moore. There will  be tunes from banjo expert Kieran Hanrahan and fine box-player Danny O’Mahony. The fiddlers this week are Mick O’Grady and Washington/Baltimore’s own Jesse Smith. And if you like the sounds of uilleann pipes and fiddle, you’ll enjoy tunes from Mick O’Brien and Caoimhin O Raghallaigh. 
 
There will also be some chat about such Irish organizations as Comhaltas, Clann Mhor, and BRIMS (the Blue Ridge Irish Music School). 
 
Hope that you can have a listen on Saturday ….
Kevin
by shannonchance

Amazing Sights of Lisbon

...is an architectural and structural marvel.

The Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava has designed some of the world’s finest train stations and bridges. The station in Lisbon reflects the care and precision of Calatrava’s design work.

Lisbon is a glorious city.

I was truly blessed to spend five glorious days in this place–the capital of Portugal–as part of the Fulbright Inter-Country Lecturing Program.  I will never forget my time there, the places I visited, or the people I got to know.

I’ve attached a few of the iPhone photos snapped during my stay. (Copyright Shannon Chance, 2013.)

This Art Noveau Metro entry must have been moved to Lisbon from Paris.
Lisbon is a sea port…
…home to some of history’s most accomplished navigators.
The Jerónimos Monastery…
…is an architectural delight…
…inside and out.
It has been described as Manueline, Plateresque, Renaissance architecture.
The train station…
…designed by Santiago Calatrava…
…is an architectural and structural marvel.