Thursday March 7th

We woke up this morning in our Creevy Cottages right next to the beautiful Atlantic Ocean. We have three separate cottages, all with their own beautiful character.
Half of the group started out their morning with a hike to explore the coast around our cottages. It was a beautiful site to see and a relaxing time! Afterwards, that group went to visit with some family members of Dr. Mickus. Students were welcomed into the homes of local elders and able to have a very casual conversation about their life in Ireland.

The other half of the group took a trip to Irvinestown Primary School(elementary school). This was a special opportunity for some of us to see what a school looks like in Ireland and learn about the services the school offers for those with special learning needs. The school was filled with artwork and was full of smiling faces. It was World Book Day at the school, so all of the children were dressed up as their favorite book characters. It was absolutely adorable! The children LOVE Disney characters in Ireland.

Our entire group met up later in the day for lunch and then went to visit Dr. Mickus's cousin, William, who is a local sheep farmer in Pettigo. We fed sheep and all had the chance to hold a baby lamb. Afterwards, we decided to try out the Chinese food in Ireland for dinner.

To end the evening, we went to a small pub in Belleek called The Black Cat Cove. This was one of the many highlights of our trip because we had an ultimate Irish culture experience. Erin, one of our leaders and a Irish dance instructor, taught us Irish dances which we performed later at the pub. The night was full of dancing, music, and a lot of memories!

It was a full and fun Thursday!


-Mary & Kayla