Dublin Central Rotary Club's President's Ball

As a break from writing my dissertation, I've decided t upload photos from the President's Ball a few months ago.

These photos are from my club's main fundraiser: a ball held annually to honor the work of the current president.  This year it was held at Thomas Prior Hall to honor Maeve Giltinane.


Michael and I helped set up for the ball and stuffed hundreds of gift bags to give away to each attendant.  Because so many club members showed up to help the whole thing only took a few hours, and the result was stunning.  (Dad, I kid you not, one Rotarian actually said it was the chair covers that made everything so elegantly pulled together - aren't you glad we had them at the wedding now?) 


President Giltinane even generously invited Michael and me to attend the ball, even though we were unable to afford the tickets.  We couldn't have been more excited. 



The evening started with a wine reception on the balcony of the hall, followed by a 5 course meal.  Speakers highlighted Rotary's work and the various projects of the Dublin Central club.  Annie Raftis, who has been in charge of the Ambassadorial Scholars in Ireland, spoke about how a Rotary scholarship changed her life by allowing her to experience new cultures.  (It was one of the best speeches of the night)  There was a raffle and auction for several of the larger prizes, followed by President Giltinane's speech thanking everyone for being so generous and reminding those who donated that their money would go to fund a great cause.  The room was cleared of the tables, and a band played for the rest of the evening (at least until 4am when we left).   All in all it was a wonderful evening that raised €8,000 for Rotary, and because of my club's generosity Michael and I were able to share in the celebration.

Where's Wally... Again?

After yesterday's success, the Guinness World Record for Wallys gathered in one location was attempted again this afternoon.  This time, 3,872 Wallys turned up, beating the 3,657 record from yesterday.  Despite a tight schedule, I decided it was worth giving up an hour of my time to hold the record for more than one day.  Once again, we all had a great time and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Where's Wally?

In 1987, Martin Handford published the book Where's Wally? (known as Where's Waldo? in the US and Canada), launching one of the most recognized characters of our generation.  Since that time, Waldo's appearances have reached beyond the pages of Handford's books and into popular culture.  According to Wikipedia (sorry but there are literally no scholarly sources I could cite for Where's Waldo? references in pop culture) the stripe-sporting icon has appeared on such television shows as Married With Children, Frasier, The Simpsons, Family Guy, and Robot Chicken, in addition to featuring in various video games, a comic strip, and appearing on Quaker Life Cereal boxes.  However, it wasn't until 2009 that the trend of dressing as Waldo became part of his legacy.

Over the past few years, groups have gathered in an attempt to hold the Guinness World Record for the greatest number of people dressed as the pop-culture icon in one place.  It began in April of 2009 where 1,052 Waldos gathered at Rutgers University in New Jersey.  Although several attempts had been made to surpass the number, the record stood until June 12 of this year, when 2,563 Wallys gathered in Fitzgerald's Park in Cork, Ireland.

While visiting Cork with my husband's family, we witnessed several Wallys wandering around the area.  The next day, I read in the paper that the record had been broken.  I found the idea of people dressing up like Wally for a world record intriguing, and when I heard that Dublin was going to make an attempt of its own, I decided I couldn't miss such a bizarre and unique opportunity.

Thus, this morning found me at Merrion Square Park in Dublin inquiring about the price of a Wally costume.  I was informed that all the proceeds were going to "Africa Aware," an Irish-based charity that was created in 1990 to provide HIV/AIDS education for the people of Phalombe, Malawi.  The organization has since expanded to help provide drinking wells, agricultural education, and develop employment opportunities for the people of Phalombe.  In addition, the group provides orphan sponsorship for local children.  A fundraiser for such a good cause, coupled with the potential for breaking a world record was enough to convince me that dressing like a cartoon character for a few hours this afternoon was a fantastic idea.

One of park's adjoining streets was blocked off, and only those wearing the Wally costume were allowed to enter the designated area.  Organizers encouraged attendance by publicizing that a high-resolution camera would take a photo of the thousands of Wallys that would be put online.  Participants could then zoom in on the photo and find themselves in a real-life version of Where's Wally?

Despite a little rain, 3,657 Wallys participated in the photo, making Dublin the newest Guinness World Record holder.  Speakers blared Queen's "We are the Champions" as Wallys of all ages cheered and danced.  Strangers hugged and high fived each other, and everybody was smiling.  As a final celebration, everyone "graduated" as the new record holders by throwing their caps in the air.  It was a great feeling, and as ridiculous as the whole thing was, it is one of my favorite memories in Ireland.

We did it!

Barack Obama visits Ireland

On May 23, just short of a week after Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Ireland, President Barack Obama arrived in Dublin as part of a 6-day trip through Europe. The president will be visiting the small town of Moneygall, County Offaly, the home of his great-great-great-grandfather, Falmouth Kearney.  Researchers at Ancestry.co.uk are credited with accidentally discovering President Obama's link to Falmouth Kearney as part of a study on the impact Irish immigrants had on America.

Upon arrival in Dublin, the president and the first lady met with Irish President Mary McAleese.  Obama planted a peace tree at Áras an Uachtaráin, the residence of President McAleese in Phoenix Park.  He then met with Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny before leaving Dublin to visit his ancestral home in Moneygall (population 300).  Barack Obama and the first lady enjoyed "the perfect pint" of Guinness at a local pub and took the time to meet with his distant Irish relations, including his eighth cousin Henry (now referred to as Henry VIII).

Upon returning to Dublin, President Barack Obama spoke at College Green to a cheering crowd of 40,000.  Our apartment was only 2 blocks from the stage, so we could hear him perfectly and although our view of the stage was blocked, we had a clear view of the television screens that were set up for the crowds.  We invited all our classmates over and baked Obama cookies (in the shape of an O) for the occasion.  While I'm not generally overly-patriotic, it was an incredible feeling to look out our window at the crowds below all waving American flags and cheering.  Regardless of political beliefs, President Obama represented America well on his visit to Ireland.

I have included an excerpt of President Obama's speech.  To listen to it in its entirety, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngwyKsUg9Ms



"May God bless the eternal friendship between our two great nations."  - President Barack Obama

Is feidir linn
 
Obama photos from http://society.ezinemark.com

Queen Elizabeth II visits Ireland

On May 17 Queen Elizabeth II of England made history by being the first royal monarch to visit the Republic of Ireland since it declared independence from Great Britain. Queen Elizabeth II was invited for an official visit by Irish president Mary McAleese, well known for working to restore peaceful relationships between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Although the Queen's visit was accepted by the majority of the population, her timing did spark some public outcry. May 17 marks the anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 1974 which killed 33 civilians and wounded nearly 300. Because the British are widely considered to have been involved in the car bombings, many Irish citizens feel that the Queen's decision to visit on this day was particularly insensitive. However, President McAleese defended the Queen, telling RTE news reporters that her visit came at "absolutely the right moment."

The Queen's decision to speak at Croke Park also sparked some public outcry. The stadium, currently home to the Galic Athletic Association headquarters, is also the site of the 1920 massacre known as Bloody Sunday.  On November 21, during a Dublin vs. Tipperary Gaelic football match, the Crown forces, supported by the Auxiliaries, entered the stadium during play and shot into the crowd, ultimately killing 13 spectators and Tipperary's captain, Michael Hogan.  Some of my Irish classmates expected the Queen to apologize for the bloodshed that took place at Croke Park while others simply felt it was distasteful to visit the site.

Although from an outsider's perspective I generally feel that the Queen's visit to Dublin was a positive step toward fostering relations between Ireland and Great Britain, I do understand that not all Irish citizens feel ready to move on.  While we saw several peaceful protests, the most affective (in my opinion) was a group that had one black balloon for each Irish citizen killed as a result of the struggle for Irish Independence.  These protestors gathered outside our apartment and as the Queen was laying a wreath at the Garden of Remembrance, they let the balloons float up into the sky.  It was a very powerful image and one that people all over Dublin could see.

I've included links to photos from Queen Elizabeth II's visit to give a visual account of both the Queen's activities and the protests that took place.  Photo 3 and 5 from the first link were taken in our neighborhood, just to give you a perspective of how tight security was where we live (the Queen drove past our window several times during her stay).

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0517/queenvisitdayone_gallery.html
http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0518/queenelizabethday2_gallery.html

I have also included a video of both President Mary McAleese and Queen Elizabeth II's speeches at the Irish State Banquet held at Dublin Castle.  Both spoke of their desire for peace and their hopes for closer ties in the future.




"Though the seas between us have often been stormy, we have chosen to build a solid and enduring bridge of friendship between us and to cross it to a new, a happier future."  - President Mary McAleese

Photos from http://www.rte.ie

Warm Hands, Warm Hearts

One of the more striking differences between Dublin, Ireland and my home town of Murray, Kentucky is the number of homeless people on the streets. Michael and I typically encounter 4 or 5 people begging for spare change every day, regardless of which part of the city center our errands lead us.

Because the homeless shelters will only allow those who agree to take a drug test to use their facilities, many of the beggars who spend the nights outside are on the streets because they have declined a drug test (for whatever reason). Often, people who want to help are discouraged from giving change as there is no way to ensure it is not spent in a way that exacerbates the problem.

During the month of November, Michael and I received an exceptionally high heating bill and, in an effort to save money, spent 5 days only turning on the heat at night before we decided it was worth spending the extra money to live comfortably. (In Ireland, energy used between 11:00 pm and 5:00 am is half the price of energy used during the day.) While we had all the other comforts of living in a nice apartment, the cold alone made us miserable.

In the following days, I considered the homeless who slept on the streets in the freezing weather. Regardless of recreational activities, no human being should be subject to such conditions.  When I returned to the states during my brief Christmas trip, I began petitioning friends and relatives to donate hand warmers. When I returned to Ireland I had almost 250 to distribute.

Although the Rotary Club had already organized their own upcoming service projects, I was able to recruit many of my classmates and friends to help distribute the hand warmers. One friend was so excited about the idea she began collecting them herself and recruiting others, resulting in a much greater impact than I had anticipated.

Throughout the months of January and February (and a few evenings in March) we have been giving out hand warmers throughout the city.  People were initially confused, but once we explained what they were, most were enthusiastic.  One woman, who initially thought we were giving her cigarettes, told us hand warmers were even better.  Although there is less need for them now, I will be giving the few Hot Hands I have left to an Irish friend who has decided to take up the project next year and hopefully for many more years to come.

Celebrating the end of term papers

This past semester I took a course on monsters in literature and film, and for my term paper I wrote about how the duality of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde influenced comic book characters and their alter-egos.  Writing 5,000 words (15 pages) on anything is enough to make you a little crazy, and in this state I decided that when I was finished with the essay Michael and I should have a celebratory party at our house and require all our friends to dress up as superheroes / evil villains. 

Michael graciously planned the majority of the event, as I was staying up almost every night to write my final papers in every class.  When January 28th came and our Fall semester came to a close, we found ourselves with about half of the Trinity pop lit post graduates (12 total) in our living room, kitchen, and anywhere we could find space.  Costumes included characters like Rogue, Poison Ivy, Laura Croft, Buffy, mild-mannered alternate egos, and newly invented characters (like the sinister "Dr. Black").  Austin Powers even made an appearance.  Most commonly though, our friends showed up as ambiguous characters wearing tights and a cape.

Because my parents bought Michael a TV for Christmas, we decided to watch Space Jam and The Emperor's New Groove.  Our couch and 5 chairs were crammed, and every pillow and blanket in the house was brought down to substitute for a chair (our floors are hardwood - lovely but uncomfortable for watching movies).  The party was wonderful, and we had a great time.  It's so much fun to be a part of a masters program where almost every student celebrates turning in their papers by dressing up as a superhero and watching children's films from the 90s.

Giving blood with Rotary

Due to the bad weather near the beginning of December, the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) was forced to cancel many clinics they had scheduled to receive blood donations.  The Rotary Clubs of Dublin have always participated in the clinics, even going to far as to compete with each other to see which club can donate the most pints, but in light of the blood shortages efforts to increase donations were doubled. 

On December 16th, Dublin Central held a clinic to accept donations.  Unfortunately, I had class that evening and was unable to attend.  The next morning Michael and I flew home to Kentucky for Christmas, but I was able to give blood at Murray Calloway County Hospital, along with my brother Brad, and despite being in a different country, both of our pints were counted toward the Dublin Central donations.

Ireland's biggest snow storm in 40 years

Shortly after Michael and I celebrated my birthday, Ireland was hit with the largest snowstorm of the past 40 years.  Earlier in the week I had asked the head of the English Department at Trinity if there was a chance classes would be canceled, and she responded that in the time she had been at Trinity they had never called off classes due to snow.  Less than 24 hours later the campus was shut down.

With classes called off for the week, Michael and I decided to get up early and take photos of Trinity's campus because it was just so beautiful with the snow everywhere.

On Sunday we took photos of the Methodist church we attend over here for the same reason.  The photos I took haven't been edited in any way, the light actually looks like that early in the morning after the snow.  It's beautiful.

After church on Sunday, we decided to enjoy the snow in St. Stephen's Green.

We met up with Emily Sernaker, a Rotary Scholar from California.  Because California doesn't get a lot of snow, Michael and I were able to teach Emily all the best things to do in the snow, like make snow angels, have snowball fights, build snowmen, etc.  I even tried to make a Rotary wheel in the snow, but it's difficult to see in the photo.  The highlight of the afternoon in the park was coming across several Irish boys ages 7-12 who had a pile of snowballs and no one to assault.  We picked a fight and all of us, including the kids, had a great time.

Then, a few days later on December 2, Cian Timmons, a Rotarian with Dublin Central, called to say that as buses and the luas (Dublin's above-ground train) weren't running, he and his wife were snowed in and unable to attend Handel's Messiah at the Grand Canal Theatre that evening.  Since we live in City Center, he emailed the tickets and after just half an hour's walk we were able to enjoy the performance in the best seats in the house!  Not only was the performance itself amazing, but the walk there and home was snowy and beautiful. We had a wonderful evening and it wouldn't have been possible without the generosity of a Rotarian from Dublin Central.

Helping out the Dublin Viking Rotary Club

On December 11, the Dublin Viking Rotary Club hosted a fundraiser for 4 Irish charities: the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (an organization similar to Needline), the Dublin Rape Crisis Center, the Father Peter McVerry Boys' Home, and the Merchants Quay Drugs Project (a society aiding the homeless and drug addicted).

To encourage people to donate, the fundraiser was held in a shopping mall in Dundrum, where a local retired men's choir sang Christmas carols to cheer shoppers. 

Initially, I had my doubts whether or not people would be willing to give, especially in light of the current economic crisis in Ireland.  However, I was astounded by how many people saw the Rotary logo and simply pulled out their wallets.  We had a sign posted, informing shoppers where the money would go, but rarely did the people who gave walk over to look at it.  One lady said, "Whatever this is going for, I know the Rotary Club will use it well."  It was just one more reminder of the charity work people associate with Rotary.

Turning 25 in Ireland

On November 26^th I turned 25.  It was a first in many ways: my first birthday in a foreign country, my first birthday to be away from my family, and my first birthday to be married.  Because Michael and I have always been careful with our money, we never bought each other birthday presents; instead we celebrate by going out for a nice dinner and enjoying a relaxing evening without the mess of cooking or having to do dishes. 

This year, because we are both students and the cost of living in Dublin is extremely high, we decided to scale down the celebration.  Since it had turned cold, the American and Canadian students in my class had been raving about a chocolate shop that sold what they described as “the best hot chocolate in the world.”  It sounded fantastic, but in our efforts to be frugal we had put off trying it for a special occasion. 

The morning of my birthday, Michael let me sleep in and then surprised me by announcing that he was taking me out to breakfast.  We ended up in the chocolate shop.  We each ordered a hot chocolate (mine was milk chocolate and his was dark chocolate) and we got a chocolate muffin to split.  It was incredibly decadent and the perfect way to celebrate. 

After our delicious breakfast, we took a trip to St. Stephen’s Green to feed the ducks.  I’ve always liked feeding ducks, even when I was a little kid.  My grandfather used to take me to the park and I would pick out which one I thought was the prettiest.  (Even at age 25 I still do that.)  Apparently one of the ducks thought Michael was the prettiest, as that duck that kept walking up to him instead of waiting in the pond with the others; by the time we were ready to leave Michael had taught the duck to catch the bread in his mouth. 

After taking the afternoon off to study, we walked around and looked at the Christmas decorations all over Dublin.  (Their store windows are absolutely incredible and deserving of their own post dedicated just to them.)  All in all, it was a wonderful birthday, and it just proved that old adage: Money doesn’t buy happiness.  I couldn’t be happier.