The All-Ireland Hurling Final was this Sunday. Clare vs. Cork. It was a tie, which I didn't realize could happen, so I have a couple of weeks to hoard every blue and yellow wearable object I can find to properly deck myself out in Clare colours for the rematch. Can't wait.

part 2

Another video from Saturday night's Irish language conference dinner. This woman is 92 years old and has more passion and energy than anyone else I know. This is a poem she recited for us all, along with the background story:

There was an Irish language conference in Ballyvaughan this weekend, and I was fortunate enough to have been included in the festivities this afternoon and into the better part of the night. I had some fascinating conversations with various Irish speaking people concerning language preservation, folklore, Northern Irish politics, my own last name, and Eamon de Valera's ass. It was an unforgettable day filled with passionate debate, mournful songs, ancient poems, and contagious laughter. There is no way I could do justice to the experience, so I won't try. Instead, I'll upload a short video taken during the latter part of the evening (more videos may follow, depending on the wifi's cooperation). Although I've had my suspicions before, I can now definitely see where the "Ironbound song" tradition in my own family can be traced back to.

I entered this contest. Needing money.

Today I registered with immigration (I'm legal now!), and paid an astronomical fee to legally reside in this country for two years. That hurt. But I'm glad it's over and went well and I plan to send a gorgeous painting to that kind Garda officer who made the entire process as painless as possible. Spent the afternoon applying to as many cash-prize-offering contests as possible to compensate. Here is (what I think is) a link to one of the contests I entered, and a photo of the living room I was in while I entered (because I haven't uploaded any new photos for today).


Vote for my photo on the FYAS Art Comp and browse 100+ animation colleges in California!

gorgeous day in the Burren

Today was an exceptionally beautiful day in Ballyvaughan. The weather was in the low 70's (Fahrenheit, I haven't yet mastered Celsius conversion), the sun was brilliant, the clouds drifted casually across the open sky while keeping their tendency to spit rain in check. It was absolutely lovely. A group of us decided to take the long way home after classes, and got some stunning photos that somehow still don't begin to do this place justice.

Hopefully we'll get one or two more of these kinds of days before winter hits, although I have a feeling they're incredibly rare.

a reminder that this striking painting, inspired by the Irish myth of Sadhbh, and many others are available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

Burren tour

Cairn heaven.

a jet-lagged crawl through Ballyvaughan

home

lobstah traps!

it's absolutely gorgeous, and will probably be even more so once the dramamine effects wear off.