Monday May 19th and Tuesday May 20th

On Monday morning we had a little time to explore the ruins of the Monastic City before the visitor centre opened. Highlights of the visitor centre were a really interesting film on early Irish monasteries and a bit of history about the oppression of Catholics over the years and a scale model of the settlement as it would have been in the 6th century.  

When we set off for Lucan (which is a village on the outskirts of Dublin) it had started to rain. I had checked a paper map which showed what seemed to be a fairly direct route from Glendalough to Lucan but when I checked out routes on iMaps this route was not offered. Judging on the terrain that we had covered coming into Glendalough, I decided that it probably went over the mountains and was narrow and winding and probably not worth considering. When we put the destination into the SatNav of course this was the suggested route so Ian, our driver decided to ignore the advice of his human navigator (me) and go with this route. It was narrow, winding and over the mountains and there was fairly dense fog as well as raining. So if there was much to be seen we missed it. 

However we did have a bit of time up our sleeve and didn't want to arrive at Lucan earlier than we had said, so that used up a bit of that time.  

Our accommodation in Lucan is the Mission House which is basically accommodation that is available in the Presentation Convent here for sisters who have returned from overseas postings or those visiting for meetings etc, or for groups like ours which have some connection with the Presentation order of nuns.  The accommodation is basic but comfortable and the sisters very welcoming.  Nothing is too much trouble for them.  The building has had several additions over the years and is a. It of a rabbit warren with hallways going off in all directions.  Each time I find my room, I breathe a sigh of relief.

Today, Tuesday, we visited two schools and spent some time in Dublin.  St Joseph's College is a girls secondary school located almost right next door to our accommodation.  Again the staff were very welcoming and we were treated to a tasty morning tea before a tour of the school and visits to classrooms.  The teachers here are trying to come to grips with curriculum changes similar to those that were faced by teachers in Australia probably 20 years ago.  The teachers all felt that education in Australia is quite progressive when compared to Ireland, which is probably right but there is one aspect of their system that is quite different to ours and seems really good to me.  Their 4th year (equivalent to our year 10) is called a transition year and work in that year is much more practical and project based with an emphasis on students gaining real life experience and working within the community.  

George's Hill Primary School was a small school located in Central Dublin with a fairly transient population.  We knocked back the offer of more food here, but were treated to an impromptu concert in a year 2 class and a host of questions about Australia from a year 6 class – what language do we speak? Do we have lions/tigers/cheetahs? Do kangaroos really box?  The play area for this school was interesting with the older students having a small space on the roof of one of the buildings 

and the younger ones a small area just inside the gate.  

In Dublin we visited the Post Office, a grand building

with beautiful fittings.

There were monuments and carriages,

the Liffey River

and Trinity College to be seen

as well as plenty of shopping to be done. On the agenda for tomorrow is a visit to the post office to send some of my stuff back to Tassie or else my bag will be way over the 20kg limit that I have on the flight from Dublin to Edinburgh.