Today was probably the most interesting day we have had so far. The 1916 walking tour was the one thing on our itinerary that I was looking forward to the most. I honestly have never read a non-textbook history book before, but this was honestly more than I could have ever asked for. The tour guide was so captivating and really brought the history of the 1916 Easter Rising to life. I had very high expectations for this tour, and thankfully I can say that they were well surpassed. Reading the book, it was a little easy to picture the places that these events took place since there were pictures, but actually seeing the physical places like the General Post Office, City Hall, and the Jim Larkin statue really helped me fully understand the gravity of the situations that the people of Dublin found themselves in during the Easter Rising of 1916.

Later in the day, Karson and I went to the Hurling Demonstration in the field across from the residence halls. It was such a fun experience to get to learn how to play a sport that is only played in Ireland. Eoin, our hurling instructor, was also a professional hurling player and went to school at UCD and trinity. He told Karson and I that he got his masters at Trinity and is now a High School Irish and History teacher. I thought it was so cool how this guy took a few hours out of his day just to teach some study abroad students how to play a game that they will probably never seen again.

Something that I have also begun to notice and appreciate about Ireland is how everyone knows so much about the history of the city. Back home, I would find it hard to believe that many people could talk for five minutes about its history. This is probably due to the fact that Dublin is steeped in much more recent history than Atlanta, but I still find it interesting how everyone is well educated on the importance of Dublin in Ireland.