Study Ireland – Stories & Guides from International Students

Hey reader! This is my very first blog, welcome welcome. I thought it would be fun to talk to you about the first trip I took around Ireland and tell you some things about that are NOT the cookie cutter info you find on the tourist websites ya’know. 

In my first two weeks here, not even completely settled in, I decided to take two trips, before the assignments piled on. My first one was to the Aran Islands and more specifically, to Inisheer island (Inis Oirr). Through UL and Hynan Travel’s collaboration the cost was 42.80€. Keep in mind you have to take a boat to go there (it’s an island after all), so mayyybe don’t eat a heavy breakfast if you are sensitive, or if you don’t want to see what you ate on the floor. If you packed lunch, that’s great! You go organized queen! ( or king or monarch), but if you can’t resist a coffee or a hot chocolate with marshmallows, then don’t worry too much, they are not crazy expensive. The pubs are few, but they are good if you get reaallyy hungry, not something special to be honest (aka, they are expensive).  

ABOUT INISHEER

Now let’s talk about the sights. Look, realistically between you and me, in 4 hours you can’t see everything if you’re on foot, but that’s ok, I’ll attach some pictures of the places I visited, and you can judge accordingly. We ended up seeing two of the landmarks mentioned to us, O’Brian’s Castle and the shipwreck, but even walking around the island until you reach those destinations, the surrounding nature is breathtaking. 

First, we went to the O’Brian’s castle, which from the search I did online, the castle was built by the Clann Teige a branch of the O’Brian family around 1400. Now it stands at one of Inisheer’s highest points, the stone tower is accessible you can go inside but that’s pretty much it. It’s a very imposing structure nonetheless, and the view from up there is amazing, so in my opinion, it is definitely worth a visit.  

After that we went to the shipwreck, a really cool sight, here I’ll write some fun facts I found (from my friend Wikipedia)  

• MV Plassy, or Plassey, was a cargo ship in the Irish Merchant Service, operating during the 1950s. It was built as HMS Juliet, a Shakespearian-class naval trawler of the Royal Navy at the start of the Second World War and sold into merchant service at the end of the conflict. As Plassy it was wrecked in a storm off Inisheer. 

• It’s best known as the wreck seen on the foreshore of ‘Craggy Island’ in the TV comedy,  Father Ted. 

• On 8 March 1960, while sailing through Galway Bay carrying a cargo of whiskey, stained glass and yarn, it was caught in a severe storm and ran onto Finnis Rock, Inisheer, Aran Islands. 

The ship itself is enormous, I saw some people try to enter it, but between it being rusty and old, I wouldn’t exactly recommend doing this. Just behind it is the sea. You can smell it and the cold air hitting your face makes you feel like a pirate (or that’s just me, don’t judge) 

These two sights were all we managed to see. If they don’t seem like a lot to you, wait until you do the walk. Also, the only thing I didn’t like is that the tour isn’t guided so you’re on your own (kid). It would be nice to know more about the places by a native and not by a google search. 

FINAL THOUGHTS 

I had fun, didn’t get seasick and got to see one of the Aran islands! It’s a lot of walking and it’s a really quiet place to explore. So, my advice always is to do the thing. I probably read that on a post on Tumblr but the point still stands, say yes to the thing, go to the trip you’re unsure about. Nothing experienced goes to waste, you might meet new people there or get to know your friends better, for example, can they walk so many kilometers without wanting to murder you? Gather events and memories, always.  

Ok it’s time to leave you reader, if you find yourself missing me listen to this:  

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