by shannonchance

It’s 10pm: Do You Know Where Your Cobblestone Is?

The Whelans.

The Whelans enjoying another lovely Friday evening at the Cobblestone pub.

I galloped down to the Cobblestone tonight to hear my favorite set of the week. The Friday 7:30-9:30 group includes singers as well as instrumentalists.  This week the Whelans were there, so I had friends to chat with.

It’s bright and cheery in the musicians corner during the evening this time of year… the sun stays up in Dublin until ten pm.  And it raises before five am!  We are so far north.

The Whelans.
Irish vocals…
…and instrumentals…
…and storytelling…
…all in one place.
Fergus sang two fabulous songs while I was there.
And we even a guest singers tonight.
Along with the wonderful musicians…
…who grace the pub on Friday nights.
And keep us tapping along.
These days, the sun doesn’t set until ten pm…
…on nearby Manor Street in Stoneybatter.
by shannonchance

Robot Design and Rapid Prototyping

Product design, rapid prototyping, statistical analysis, and body construction: our second day of RoboSlam covered all sorts of topics!

We got an overview of product design from DIT lecturers Ger Reilly and Kevin Delaney and designed bodies for our robots. Then, we divided into groups so that we’d all get to tour the rapid prototyping lab, learn about statistical analysis, and start crafting our robot bodies from rigid foam using the hot wire cutter.

Please visit our RoboSlam blog to see the range of things we accomplished this day….

by shannonchance

Mega Guinness

They’re expanding the Guinness factory here in Dublin and it’s growing by leaps and bounds.  It has been fun watching it spring up out of  the ground. A good friend of  mine sent this photo of a construction worker taking a break mid air….

Guinness construction.

Guinness construction.

by shannonchance

Irish Music Radio this Weekend

This just in from Kevin Donleavy:

Pull up your easy chair this Saturday, and have a listen to Irish trad music on-line.  The date is June 1,  and the programme runs from 10 am till 12 noon in the eastern US,  which means 3 to 5 pm in Ireland. Kevin Donleavy is the usual host,  and the show is called ATLANTIC WEEKLY PART TWO.
 
Here are the easy listening steps.  On your computer, go to http://wtju.net. Next, select Listen Live on the right side bar.  Then, choose between Ogg and MP3.
 
Here are some highlights from the music to be broadcast. Mary McNamara will play Co. Clare tunes on her concertina. You can hear songs and two uilleann pipers from the Belfast band Réalta.  Kerry’s own Mary Courtney will sing some ballads, and you can hear Liam Weldon singing that powerful song,  “Where Is Our James Connolly.”  Harper Sue Richards will perform, and you can hear Paudie O’Connor on accordion play polkas and reels with John O’Brien on uilleann pipes.  Dublin singer Pat Broaders will  do a fine version of the US trad song called  “Storms Are on the Ocean.”  That’s just the beginning ….
 
Hope you can tune in. You will also hear the latest news from the only Irish archaeological dig in the state of Virginia,  and there’s more information about it at www.clannmhor.org.  And the latest news from such groups as BRIMS (the Blue Ridge Irish Music School), and the Washington branch of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann.  
by shannonchance

Fulbright Finale

Our grand finale of Fulbright Ireland 2012-13 today…
First stop, Croke Park. One of the world’s largest stadiums for amateur sports.

20130530-100125.jpg

by shannonchance

Photos in the News

Yesterday, Joanne from the Fulbright Ireland office sent a number of links to news stories about the photo show.  Unfortunately, tomorrow is the final day, and Joanne and I will be hard at work dismounting the work from the walls of O’Connell House.

DIT news
Notre Dame news
O’Connell House news
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

Body Building!

Please visit our RoboSlam website for new photos about Body Building!

 

by shannonchance

In W&M News Today

Joanne A. Davidson, the Fulbright Ireland Communications & Information Officer, just sent me the link to William and Mary’s website.  Yesterday, they posted a piece about my exhibition on their main news page!

by shannonchance

Guimarães: Birthplace of Portugal

Hamming it up!

Helping with the founding back in 1111 AD. 😉

Guimarães is an architecturally stunning town, and it is the place Portugal was born in the year 1111. Following my visit to the engineering program at the University of Minho and my Fulbright lecture/workshop, my hosts took me to visit the historic center and enjoy lunch in one of its very fine outdoor plazas.

The castle…
…with its park…
…and the founder of Portugal.
Enjoying the sites…
…and the streets of Guimarães.
Along with my hosts, Ferrie van Hattum and Natascha van Hattum-Janssen.
Lovely architecture…
…and parks…
…and streets…
…and plazas.
Here’s an archway framing the street…
…and the courtyard where we ate.
Natascha and Ferrie and I discussed educational research and practice over lunch.
And then looked around a bit more…
…and discovered yet another plaza.
This particular plaza recently had its trees removed…
…which turned out to be an unpopular change.
“Here was born Portugal!”
Here’s the inside of a church in Guimarães.
And a reflection…
…or two, just for you!