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July 30, 2007

"No one is about: there is only the wind, flying turf, and the long fences. There, everything is simple, the confident stride of a good horse, the soaring lift over the birch, the safe landing, these are the whole of life.''
-- Dick Francis on Irish steeplechasing in the New York Times

Today marks the start of the Galway Races, a weeklong racing festival that draws visitors and revelers from all around the world. The races will run all week at the racetrack just outside town, with special highlights on such days as Ladies' Days (with competitions for the best-dressed lady; Shop Street and stores in the city centre are absolutely jammed) and Mad Hatters' Days (which sees headgear of all shapes, sizes, and descriptions). My coworkers and I will be heading over tonight, however, which should be a bit quieter than the special days – and cheaper.

At the Centre, I'm continuing work on the training course for the Gardai. My professor dropped by a few days ago with a hefty armful of books for me to reference – from A History of the Garda Siochana to Essential Cases on Human Rights for the Police . I'm beginning to wade through European Court cases relevant to policing (with plenty of help from dictionary.law.com). My coworkers have also been helping me with legal jargon.

Why must lawyers insist on a language unto themselves?

Why must grownups, I suppose?

Some other cool things I've been able to do on weekends:

• A daylong bike trip with coworkers – a triangular route: the first leg from Galway to Moycullen to the coastal town of An Spidal, along stretches of "highway," backroads, narrow paths, then back along the coastal road through Barna and Salthill. Strenuous, beautiful, tranquil, sweaty, and pretty magnificent all the way around. I can understand why so many tourists say bicycling is the way to see Ireland: it's the perfect pace to appreciate the beauty of the country, and a wonderful way to immerse yourself within it. And a fantastic physical challenge!
  
• A weekend trip with my coworkers to Donegal, the beautiful and remote north of the country. The nine of us rented two cars and leisurely made our way north, hiking, exploring, sightseeing, beach-lounging, and photo-snapping along the way. Some places we hit: Killybegs (a beautiful fishing port and popular tourist destination as it's known for its tapestries and carpets), the Bunglas Cliffs, Slieve League ( at 601 m – but *not* Europe's highest sea cliffs, contrary to popular description. The highest are on Achill Island, County Mayo, one of my mountaineering friends has informed me.), Donegal town, Ardara (known for its tweed; also one of the sites of interest for the Morris Tribunal, Loughros Point, Glencolmcille (tiny town by the cliffs where our hostel was), Silver Strand beach, and Beltany Stone Circle in Raphoe (where "sometime between 4,000 and 2,000 B.C. the inhabitants of Ireland built great megalithic tombs, chambers to the dead and evocative monuments to the gods of the sky - the sun, the moon and the stars," according to the place's "official" website).
  
• Watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on opening day with a friend at the Galway Omniplex. It was great to see some of the Irish kids dressed up like characters from the movie – knowing that that very same day, millions and millions of people around the world had been watching the same film. I've also timed my weekend trip to Cambridge and London to coincide with the release of the last book.
  
• When my friend Annie (Let's Go Ireland 2008) arrived in Galway for the last stretch of her research-writing route, we met up to attend a poetry reading at Sheridan's Wine Bar. The reading was presented by a local literary group, Over the Edge, and included poets from Limerick and Galway. My first-ever poetry reading! The second of the three poets especially struck a chord with me – he was an older man, new to writing from his biography, and recited all his poetry from memory.