May 15 2009
Thurles
Thurles is a sleepy little town where everything closes at five. The town square has pharmacies, coffee/sandwich shops and pubs. We have made our markers and learned the simple layout of a town that has the same population of Pellissippi State (my college). We made it to the Montestory, Saint Patricks, and threw our suitcases in our assigned rooms. I have my own room with a bathroom. Both rooms have a large window with a view of the Cathedral and a huge cypress. We raced to the local “magnet” school where 9-11 y.o. boys and girls sang to us in gaelic and recited poetry. Their faces look so much like the children of East Tennessee. There are the typical blonde haired, blue eyed with freckles but there are also the ‘dark irish’ and the most beautiful one I have met is Lara from the Tipperary Institute where we take classes. She had dark hair, blue eyes and freckles. Our first night in Tipperary we were exhausted from the nonstop pace of Dublin and stayed inside. We get dinner every night at 5:30 from the lovely nuns at St. Pats. Tonight we washed clothes. And like a slumber party we sat around and talked, it was the beginning of the bonding.