Importance of Ireland

The last two weeks of my trip were spent in Ireland. For some reason, the majority of the students in my program were not very excited to go to Ireland and would have rather stayed in Scotland. I think there were a few contributors to this attitude. First, after spending an incredible month in an absolutely stunning country with so much left to see, we all grew pretty attached. We finally mastered all the streets, buses, trains, and short cuts in Glasgow. We'd found our favorite shops and restaurants, made friends with the locals, enjoyed our routine of going to lectures on the University of Glasgow Campus, and really enjoyed the ward in Glasgow. It was also nice to have our own rooms and freedom to explore the city, go on our own trips to neighboring cities, make our own food, and have some alone time once in a while. Our 2-3 day excursions were extremely fun, but everyone was happy to be back at the dorms when they ended. The Ireland portion of the trip was basically like an extended excursion. We would be staying at a different hostel almost every night, traveling long hours on buses each day, and have little personal space. Up to this point there was some drama within the group, but it was under control. I think we were all a little worried that things would blow up during the Ireland weeks. With this in mind, we started calling the upcoming weeks in Ireland, "Survivor Ireland."

Despite all this trepidation from the group, I was ECSTATIC to go to Ireland. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED Scotland. But frankly, I'd never really thought much about Scotland until I went on Study Abroad. What drew me to the program was the thought of going to Ireland. I had always dreamed of going to Ireland. When anyone asked me where I wanted to travel to before I died, I would reply, "Ireland and a third world country where I can do a service trip." Going on this study abroad really was a dream come true for me. There are a few reasons why I grew up with a love for Ireland. First, most of my ancestors on my Dad's side are from Ireland. In fact, "Curran" is an Irish surname. I believe it was my great-great-grandfather who came from Ireland and settled in the United States. Because of this, my Grandad LOVED Ireland and happily ignored the fact that he was not a full-blooded Irishman. For birthdays and Christmas we would usually get him something Irish, like a hat, flag, or Irish clown (he collected clown figurines). Every day he would wear one of those Irish caps and he pulled them off really well! After his funeral we had an Irish themed party in his memory.

When my dad was 21 he converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My grandparents, who are Episcopalian, were not very happy with this decision and were even more disappointed when my dad chose to serve a two-year mission for our church. When members of the LDS church choose to serve a mission, they do not choose their destination. They submit their papers (sort of like an application) and then the 1st presidency of the church assigns each call as they feel directed by the Lord. My dad got called to Ireland. Some might call this chance, but I truly believe that Heavenly Father had a hand in that decision. Even though this call did not make things any easier for my grandparents, I know my grandad had to be just a little bit excited that his son would live in Ireland for two years. Although I don't know for sure, I would imagine that it helped them to have this common bond and love during a difficult period in their relationship. I'm very grateful for this. Growing up, my dad would tell me stories about Ireland, talk in Irish accents, and watch random Irish movies like "The Secret of Roan Inish." When my mom was working he would sometimes make beans and corn bread for dinner (which I hated) and claim that this was the Irish staple that he ate all the time on his mission. Cool story dad, but it didn't make the beans taste any better. A few years ago my brother got to go to Ireland on a rotation in medical school. I was SO jealous and only wanted to go more. So when I saw the Scotland/Ireland study abroad on BYU's website and realized that I could afford it, I jumped at the chance to finally go.

Long story short, traveling to Ireland was a very special experience for me. I have never felt so close to my ancestors as I did during certain moments in Ireland. I know that sounds weird, but I'm not saying I saw ghosts or spirits or anything like that. There were just a few specific experiences when I felt the importance of remembering my ancestors and realized how much my ancestors, specifically from Ireland sacrificed so that I could have a better life. Sorry for the long post about how much I love Ireland, I just wanted to preface my future posts about Ireland with an explanation of how significant my time there was to me. I feel so blessed to have had these experiences.