Here’s what Dublin Castle looks like….
Fulbright events were held in the Throne Room, Picture Gallery, an St. Patrick’s Hall.
Category / Research Blog
Black Tie at the Castle
The 2013 Fulbright scholars banquet was a rare treat. We dressed in gowns and tuxes and dined at Dublin Castle. I didn’t get the greatest photos, but my snapshots provide a glimpse into the festivities….
In the courtyard…
…with new Fulbright and their families.
Climbing the grand entry stair…
…Joanne Davidson stopped to chat with guests.
We were greeted by the official O’Brian-Moran welcoming committee!
We lined up to find our seating assignments…
…in a fancy hall with a throne (which, somehow, I failed to capture).
The list of my table mates.
Drinks…
…and hors d’ouvrés…
…and people to meet.
Like Nancy, Noel and Alan.
I always enjoy seeing Nancy, who was Fulbright and is now a Curie scholar.
The hall was packed with people…
…and was plenty hot…
…as there’s no A/C in Ireland.
Colleen looked fab!
We settled down at our tables.
And I enjoyed the company of Patrick, Alan, Noel, and the rest of our table mates.
Trinity’s Dean of Undergraduate Studies was a hoot once we broke the ice.
The entertainment was grand…
…as was the food.
And the overall setting couldn’t have been grander.
UO Studio Review
Taylor, Katie, Daisy, Cody, and me deep in conversation over a design proposal.
On Tuesday, I delivered a lecture to the University of Oregon architecture students here in Rome. Daisy made me feel like a million bucks with her introduction! We worked together at Hampton University from 2005-2010 and got to know each other well. I miss her, but I’m thrilled that she’s doing so well for herself!
In the talk, I shared examples of the research I’ve been doing and discussed the need for architects to expand their research abilities.
After the lecture, three of the students presented their design progress. Daisy, the other students, and I gave feedback and ideas for further development.
A scheme for getting down to the water…
…as seen from the other side of the Tiber River.
Models are great for helping visualize space.
Here’s Cody’s model of the site’s existing qualities…
…and a conceptual sketch of his along with a list of design objectives.
In our group on Tuesday…
…everybody got involved in sharing ideas.
We had lots of interesting work…
…to discuss…
…and contemplate.
Drawing Marcello
Theatro Marcello in Rome
The OU students put the in-studio drawing lesson (that Daisy Williams delivered Monday) to work on site today. We met at ISU’s academic center and headed over to the nearby Teatro Marcello to draw. The students practiced the charcoal and pastel techniques they’ve been learning, while I used the mechanical pencil I had on hand.
The sketch I made in class.
Every one of OU’s study abroad students…
…decided to enroll in the drawing class.
Some of them are art or art history majors…
…others are majoring in architecture.
Today, they all practiced charcoal drawing techniques…
under the towers surrounding Teatro Marcello.
The World… on Water!
The Fulbright Ireland crew had a lovely day on the MS The World, as the outgoing students and scholars for 2013-14 were officially announced. There are 37 Irish Fulbright awardees in all this year, and they join the ranks of 1600 other Irish Fulbrights who have gone to the US since 1947.
Events were held on a very impressive cruise ship where people actually live… it operates like a very high-end condo. The ship is called “The World” and we were lucky enough to get tours from the staff.
We were guests of ship residents Jack and Monica Pinkowski, who are Florida residents.
Jack was a Fulbright to Dublin City Council in 2008-9, and the couple continues to support the Fulbright program today.
|
12:00 – 12:45 pm |
Guests Arrive and Ship Tours Gangway |
|
12:30/12:45 – 1:30 pm |
Light lunch / drinks with traditional Irish musicians performing Tea Room/ Garden |
|
1:30 – 2:30 pm |
Remarks / Presentation of Awardees The Colosseo § World Representative and Fulbright Alumna, Dr. Jack Pinkowski § Fulbright Commission Chair, Mr. Patrick McDermott § Chargé d’ Affaires, U.S. Embassy, Mr. John Hennessy-Niland § Fulbright Commission Executive Director, Ms. Colleen Dube § Lord Mayor of Dublin Oisín Quinn |
|
2:30 pm |
End of Event |
Boarding the ship…
…with its impeccable maintenance.
Fulbrights touring.
Jonathan and Amanda playing tunes.
Impressive guest list.
DCU education expert.
Acting Ambassador to Ireland.
Director of Fulbright Ireland, Colleen Dube.
Irish Fulbrights for 2013-14.
A gift for our hosts.
Dublin’s new Lord Mayor.
The new Fulbright scholar in Marine Science (who I got to interview in January).
The new Fulbright student in engineering (who I got to interview in January).
Fulbrights on deck.
The Lord Mayor and an outgoing Fulbright.
View from the top deck.
Photo ops…
…with our host and the Lord Mayor.
Lovin’ the Dub
It’s vacation time of year here in Dublin, and friends are making a point of catching up with me before they go on holidays and I return to the States . It’s been such fun catching up with people I enjoy… like Eileen, Joe, Nancy, and Tom.
Fulbright helped me connect with such interesting folks… teachers, scholars, engineers, linguists, musicians, and technology gurus… and that was just yesterday!
Dinner with Dr. Eileen Goold at Matt the Thresher’s
Reflection on Exchequer Street
Lunch at The Green Hen with Dr. Joe Dennehy.
The Cobblestone with Dr. Nancy Stenson and friends.
Piper Neil Mulligan, his son, and his brother Tom.
Some of the Mulligans who played music at the Cobblestone last night.
I’m making new friends everyday…
…here’s Simon…
…a new character I met at the Cobblestone last night.
Happy Independence Day!
Happy 4th of July, world! Today I’m celebrating 39,200 visits to my blog. Thanks for visiting and being part of my Fulbright experience in Ireland!
Preparing to Slam Again
RoboSlam planning session with Ted and Damon.
Ted, Damon, and I have been meeting over the past couple of days to evaluate past events, brainstorm strategies, and plan for upcoming workshops. We enjoy remembering recent Slams….
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.
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.
Porto — Obrigado!
One last glimpse of my beautiful Porto and my Fulbright trip there, just before I introduce you to Problem-Based Learning in Belgium….
I travelled half the coast of Portugal during my week-long stay.
I found…
…exquisite architecture…
…elegant detailing…
…and beautiful…
…public spaces.
Not the least of which…
…is Porto’s waterfront…
…which glistens…
…at night.
By the time I hit the airport I was exhausted…
…but did manage to note…
…the beautiful detailing…
…and finally discovered the spelling of “thank you” in Portuguese.
Ireland by Chance 
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