Today we had a very busy day with visits to several sites. The day started with a trip to Celtic Crystal, an export company which is owned and operated by an Irish family. All crystal made on site is related in some way to Irish history. The owner is the sole designer of all the crystal. The themes are the claddaugh, religion, the great hunger and Celtic design (from the Book of Kells). You can see from the pictures the beauty of the pieces made. We were treated to a demonstration of the crystal actually being engraved. The master engravers are required to serve at least seven years as apprentices before they become "masters". The company's owner recently did shows in Syracuse and Albany and has had pieces commissioned around the world.

Our next stop was Kylemore Abbey, a beautiful site with a Church and an incredible mansion. It had functioned as a boarding school, but this is no longer the case.

We then traveled to Crough Patrick, the site where St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. A church has been build on the top of a mountain in honor of this. A challenge was issued by a member of the group, indicating that the treck up the mountainside was meant for St. Patrick (in barefeet), and that St. Bridget did not make the journey. To several others in the group, this meant that women were not capable to making the journey so......... although we only had an hour, several of us walked up to the first tier. The pictures in the album show the incredible view from that point. It takes at least 2 or 3 hours to make the treck to the top, so that just was not possible today. Perhaps the next time we visit we can make a day of it...... and demonstrate that ANYONE can make it to the top.

The students are working diligently on their journals and organizing their papers which will be presented on our return to Elmira. It is hard to believe that two weeks have passed. We are off to Derry on Monday, so more information about our travels will continue as the internet is available.

A Happy Mother's Day to all our mothers, grandmothers and anyone who fills in as "Mom". We miss you and are thinking of you.

celtic crystal factory

kylemore abby