Despite today not being ideal for an outdoor walking tour of historical Dublin, our tour guide made sure it was an enjoyable experience. I had no idea we would be meeting the author of The 1916 Easter Rising text, and I am very glad we were able to. He was humorously informative and so far is in my top Irishmen who showed our group the sites. Following his tour was an even more startling experience. As we headed toward Beckett Bridge we stumbled upon a mass group of wetsuit clad hooligans. They began to leap from the top of an old boat resting in the river and it became apparent this was against the rules as an alarm sounded and a woman wielding a walkie-talkie came rushing out. What was most startling to me about this impromptu daredevil show was not the act itself, but the reaction (or lack thereof) from any authoritative figure. When the clan of rapscallions descended their reign on the roof of a nearby restaurant I thought For certain a policeman, security guard or even employee of the restaurant was going to intervene. To my amazement a man who appeared to have some sort of authoritative power proceeded to photograph the group and allow them to carry on there way. In America we are quick to scold, punish or imprison individuals for minor crimes. For example if this group had been skateboarders in downtown Atlanta you can be certain a security guard would show up in a matter of minutes to shoo away such an “unsightly” group. In Ireland it seems as though there is a much more lenient level of authority and the society of a whole is much more tolerant of rambunctious behavior. Such tolerance is definitely quite a change a pace from any place I’ve ever been in America.