All About the Learning -- July 6

Monday was all about the learning.  

We started the day with a visit to the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (https://www.rcsi.com/dublin/).  

RCSI just opened a new building a few months again and it was BEAUTIFUL!  Got me excited for the new Health Education Building that will be opening at the University of Kentucky soon! 

Eunice Phillip (https://people.rcsi.com/eunicephillip) was our host for the day and she created a wonderful learning experience for the students.  After a brief lecture, she provided the students with a particular issue to address -- housing, food insecurity or mental health.  They had to identify the social determinants of health that affected each issue, propose actions to take to address the issues (complete with identifying who would be responsible for the action), and ultimately, identify 2 priority areas to recommend for funding.  What was the most fun as a teacher was to watch them wrestle with ideas, work to defend their ideas when Eunice asked for more information, and be proud of the solutions they proposed (while recognizing they still have things to learn!).  I knew it was a big hit when as soon as we returned from lunch, two students came up to tell me how much they enjoyed the morning.  We're looking forward to future collaborations with our colleagues at RCSI -- they seem like such a natural fit.

A big thank you to Eunice and her colleagues, Helen Tobin and Brian Lynch, for such a warm welcome.  This visit, and so many of the others during the trip, have been a good reminder about the importance of hospitality.  Not only have folks welcomed us in and provided the content for the day, but they've offered us coffee and tea and cookies and scones and sodas -- and more importantly, they've wanted to make sure we're having the best time in Ireland.  Need a recommendation for dinner?  Let me give you three!  Not sure where the nearest tram stop is -- not to worry, let me pull out the map.  Hospitality isn't the big things -- it's all the little ones that make you feel at home when you're away from home. 

After lunch, we traveled to Pavee Point to learn more about the Traveller and Roma communities in Ireland (https://www.paveepoint.ie/about-pavee-point/).  At the most basic level, these groups are ethnic minorities in Ireland -- Travellers are a historically nomadic group and Roma migrated primarily from Eastern and Central European countries like Romania, Slovakia, Poland, and Ukraine.  These groups have worse health outcomes on many major metrics (https://www.paveepoint.ie/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Factsheets-Pavee-Point-TRAVELLER-HEALTH.pdf) and the goal of Pavee Point is to help determine the needs of the communities and then work to meet them (not just on health, but also on employment, education, etc).  The staff were themselves members of the Traveller and Roma communities -- so, we got to hear not only a theoretical perspective of the challenges, but a real world one as well.  It was a good reminder about the impact that working with a community to address their needs can have. 

And, ironically, the other group there with us during our visit to Pavee Point was from just down the road at the University of Tennessee!  

Mountains and sheep and dogs -- oh my! July 4th & 5th

I learned from my last Education Abroad adventure to Paris the importance of pre-planning an adventure or two...and getting out of the city, too!  This trip has reaffirmed for me that while I enjoy visiting big cities-- not sure I'd want to live there all the time.  It's too busy and hectic -- I like a bit slower of a pace (and Dublin is DEFINITELY slower than Paris already!).  

Since I knew we had a free weekend, I planned a bus trip with Wild Rover tours to see Kilkenny, the Wicklow Mountains, and Glendalough.  Aside from getting a bit motion sick on the way home (these curvy mountain roads had even my old WV hills beat), it was a fabulous Saturday.

Our first stop was Kilkenny (https://www.discoverireland.ie/kilkenny-city), a town about an hour and a half outside of Dublin.  Kilkenny has just under 30,000 people and I think we were able to see most of it in the time we had to walk around.  Our Wild Rover guide gave us a short tour around town and then turned us loose for a couple of hours of exploring.  While I chose not to do any formal tours of the castle or other landmarks this time, I enjoyed strolling through the history, looking at the art market, and grabbing lunch at a local deli.  Ireland has had so many little "hole in the wall" places that have the best sandwiches, sweets, and this time -- quiche! 

Hurling is a big deal here -- our guide says it's played like a cross between lacrosse and hockey.  What was especially interesting to me is that all the players in the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) who play hurling or football (soccer) also have "day jobs," even though they play at an elite level.  The hurling playoffs are going on right now and everywhere we go we see fans in jerseys -- cheering on your favorite team is a BIG deal here. 

I also really enjoyed walking through the National Design & Craft Gallery (https://www.discoverireland.ie/kilkenny/the-national-design-craft-gallery) -- the tea set at the bottom is one of the sculptures I saw in the current sculpture exhibit there.  

From there, we jumped on the bus for about 2 hours over the river and through the woods -- or the Wicklow Mountains -- as it were!  They were beautiful -- we stopped for a photo opp before we got into Glendalough.

Glendalough was a monastic site -- and a pilgrimage of sorts for many in days of old (https://www.ireland.com/en-us/things-to-do/attractions/glendalough/).  Parts of the old monastery still stand -- and it was easy to imagine the bell ringing for church to begin.  Ironically, in my stop at a museum today I saw an exhibit with some artifacts from Glendalough (I'll include those with Sunday's update).  The monastery sits at the bottom of the hill and we had time to explore on a trail through Wicklow Mountains National Park.  It was absolutely beautiful and reminded me of the John Muir saying, "The mountains are calling and I must go."  

 

 

 

Our last stop for the day was at Cullen's Sheep Farm (https://cullensheepfarm.com/) and what a stop it was!  We got to watch a sheepdog demonstration, learn about the generations of sheep farming that happened on the land, and hold some baby lambs, too!  Spot, the sheepdog of the day, was a border collie.  Our dog, Knox, is a border collie/blue heeler mix and we talk about him getting the "zoomies" where he runs like crazy -- watching Spot chase those sheep, I understand why! 

 

The only thing on the schedule for today (Sunday) was an Irish Wolfhound Walking Tour.  My co-leader, Christy, was taking her family on it and kindly let me tag along.  The dogs were incredibly well-behaved and the guide was entertaining -- and it did my heart good since the dog is the only one at home I can't talk to on the phone (or at least he won't talk back). 

 

I had no plans for the rest of the day -- figured I might wander around Grafton Street (one of the main shopping areas).  Then I remembered I don't really like to shop -- and didn't have anything I needed or wanted, so I came up with a Plan B. 

I decided to go in search of the "best hamburger in Dublin" and to try "Cookieboy," which according to my students is a TikTok sensation and a must try.

I like a good hamburger from time to time at home, but I quickly learned that Irish beef is just BETTER than what I'm used to. So fresh, so tasty, just delicious.  Handsome Burgers (https://handsomeburger.com/) came up in my search and they did not disappoint!  I'm not a huge fan of the bacon they have here, so I didn't eat all of that, but the burger and fries were a great lunch.

I didn't have the cookie until a few hours later -- but, since I'm talking about food, we'll include it here.  Cookieboy is a bakery that describes itself as serving Korean cookies in Dublin (https://cookieboy.ie/).  There was a line out the door, so that's always the good sign.  I asked the person at the counter which one his favorite was and he pointed out a dark chocolate pecan.  It was gooey and warm and all the right touches for a cookie.  

 

The rest of my afternoon was spent museum hopping.  I hit the National Library (https://www.nli.ie/), National Gallery -- Art (https://www.nationalgallery.ie/), and the National Museum -- Archeology (https://www.museum.ie/en-ie/museums/archaeology).  It's not a trip if I don't hit a museum -- so four this weekend made me a happy girl!  (And, they were all FREE!) 

 

The End of Week 2 -- July 2 & 3

 After a really busy week, Thursday and Friday have been a little more laid back.  We had class yesterday morning and then took a tour of a Primary Care Centre.  Today, we went on a Secret Streets Tour (more about that in a minute). 

Thursday marked the beginning of the second half of the class -- which will go fast and furious over the next week and a half.  We spent a good chunk of time in class just checking in to see how students were doing, what they were learning, and to see if they needed anything.  I'd do the same in my classes in Kentucky, but I think it's extra important here when they are immersed in this new (and very different environment).  The other class goal for yesterday was to do a case study comparing two similar patients in rural Ireland and rural Kentucky -- and talk about what might lead to different outcomes.  On the heels of our trip to Northern Ireland, which was much more rural than our time in Dublin has been, it was an especially appropriate time to remind ourselves that much like Kentucky (and my home state of West Virginia), Ireland has many rural areas.  And with that rurality comes many of the same challenges we face -- a harder time getting providers to practice there, long drives to bigger cities for treatment, mistrust of doctors, and more.  I think the students enjoyed it -- and I certainly enjoyed hearing what they had to say! 

While I didn't take any pictures there for obvious reasons (patient privacy and all!), the session at GrangeGorman Primary Care Centre was so interesting.  It was great to be able to get our students into a healthcare facility for a chat -- that's often not possible on these education abroad trips, so we feel really lucky.  There were several healthcare providers and leaders who came to talk with us -- the Network Manager, a Public Health Nurse, a Social Worker, a Consultant (equivalent to an Attending Physician in the US), and a Mental Health General Manager.  These Primary Care Centres are divided up geographically and what they focus on depends on the needs of the population.  They are funded by the government, and in the case of GrangeGorman, serves about 70,000 Dublin residents that live nearby.  The Public Health Nurse was particularly interesting to me -- she and others on her team go out and do home visits -- all for free.  From the littlest children to older adults, they serve a very wide variety of patients.  It seems like patients have to be referred from their General Practitioner (or GP), but the goal is to move more of the care out of the hospital and into the community.  In some ways, I think Ireland is further ahead than the US in this aspect, but in some ways, I think the US is ahead.   Hospital care in the US in 2026 is reserved for pretty significant health concerns -- and everything else is outside of the hospital.  But, the cost of our care is certainly higher. 

During my free time Thursday afternoon, I found a little deli called "Lovinspoon" and they had the best salad.  I'm sure it's not everywhere, but I haven't found a ton of vegetables served at meals here -- so, I was thrilled to get to create my own salad.  

One funny thing that happened as I was checking out -- there was a bucket of candy that looked very much like a KitKat at the checkout. I asked for a piece of candy, to which the shopkeeper replied, "well, that's very American."  It made me laugh -- can't hide where I'm from.  I learned that in Ireland, you're asking for sweets, not candy.

I then went on a tour of 14 Henrietta Street (https://14henriettastreet.ie/).  I learned how one house went from the aristocracy in the 1800s to a tenement house in the 1900s, all the way up to the 1970s!  It was a nice peek into some Dublin history -- especially about housing and its connections to social status and location.  

Thursday evening was a relaxing time of laundry and cooking in our apartment -- the kids like to tease me that we're an "ingredient house" because we don't have a lot of grab and go food around.  I find my tendency even in a small dorm apartment is to want to cook -- always has been, guessing it probably always will be. 

Switching to Friday now, we went on a Secret Streets tour this afternoon (https://www.secretstreettours.org/).  Secret Streets is a nonprofit with the stated goal of empowering people affected by homelessness by training them to become skilled tour guides in Dublin.  Noel, one of our guides, started off with a story of being a stowaway to New York in the 1980s.  It seemed too good to be true, so he told us to Google it -- and wouldn't you know it, they've made a documentary about this escapade: https://www.image.ie/living/this-story-of-2-young-dubliners-who-stowed-away-on-a-plane-to-nyc-needs-to-be-a-movie-383629 

Both of our entertaining tour guides previously struggled with addiction and many challenges that came along with that -- and have done the work to get out of addiction and changed their lives for the better.  One of the stops on our tour was the Salvation Army -- and they shared that rooms at the Salvation Army were coveted because they were single and could be locked, as opposed to many of the other places that offered shared rooms that weren't always as a safe.  They said that there are enough beds for people who want them-- they just might not always be in their first choice places.  We know that not having a safe place to sleep can also affect a person's health -- the tour provided some real life context to some of the things we've been talking about at a more abstract level.

I ended the day with a movie ("Supergirl" was good!) and dinner (The Meat Wagon was even better!).  

This is our last weekend here -- I'll be on a plane back to the US next Saturday.  So, I'm going adventuring on Saturday -- Kilkenny to the Wicklow Mountains to Glendalough.  Sunday, I'm joining my co-leader and her family on a tour...with Irish Wolfhounds.  Yes, the dogs.  HA!  I'll do a weekend wrap-up post then after all the fun!

Northern Ireland -- June 30 and July 1

What a whirlwind 2 days in Northern Ireland!  The purpose of our trip there was to learn more about their healthcare system since NI is part of the United Kingdom, and thus under the National Health Service.  At the most basic level, the difference between NI and the rest of the island is that NI has universal healthcare like the rest of the United Kingdom, while the Republic of Ireland (the rest of the island) has a mixed public/private system that is in many ways more like the US.  The big difference is that Ireland is working toward universal coverage, while at least at this moment, the US is not. 

We started the day in Belfast at Stormont Estate.  The grounds are beautiful -- and home to the Parliament Buildings that house the Northern Ireland Assembly (https://www.niassembly.gov.uk/visit-and-learning/visit/).  The students had the chance to have a dialogue with Diane Dodds, a member of the Democratic Unionist Party, about her work as a member of the health committee (https://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/mlas/details.aspx?&aff=18792&per=124&sel=1&ind=0&prv=0).  She was very gracious with her time and no questions were off-limits to her!  We were supposed to have some other members join us, but an expected vote got called and the NIA went back into session during our visit.  We got a chance to watch the NIA in action -- and the most interesting thing to me was that every vote they take is done by walking to a "yes or no" room (depending on how they are voting on a particular issue) and casting it that way.  I can only imagine how long things would take with Congress if they did it that way! Oh, and did I mention they had the most delicious scones for us while we where there?! 

 

 

After a quick lunch in Belfast, we headed on to Queens University (https://www.qub.ac.uk/) for a session on the economic comparisons of the health systems of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the US given by Professor Ciaran O'Neill and Dr. Blanaid Hicks.  Ciaran's background is economics, while Blanaid focuses on epidemiology, so we were able to pick their brain about a whole variety of topics related to health and healthcare.  It was a good reminder to me that university faculty from around the world all have the same goal in mind -- to prepare (and serve) the next generation of leaders! Campus was absolutely beautiful -- and it was graduation day, so there was a lot going on (like the acapella group that started belting out songs like "Son of a Preacher Man" right outside our window in the middle of the talk.  Ha!).

We continued further north to the top of the island for our stop for the evening -- the village of Ballintoy.  This village of sheep and water and one main street was just perfect -- such a relaxing place to spend the night.  We stayed at a place called Sheep's Island View Hostel (http://www.sheepislandview.com/) -- and the first thing we saw when we got off the bus was SHEEP!  We walked to the harbor and down the street to the local pub after dinner -- and then it was time to call it a night.  We had a full Irish breakfast in the morning and I loved the soda bread, but wasn't so sure about the baked beans (which is weird because I generally like baked beans).  The sausage was better than what we normally have at home and the bacon tasted like country ham. 

Wednesday morning found us off to Giant's Causeway (https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/northern-ireland/giants-causeway) and the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge (https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/northern-ireland/carrick-a-rede).  The natural beauty is really hard to describe in words here in Ireland -- it's a perfect combination of green, rolling hills and mountains, rocks, and water.  So often we'll stop someplace and it's like "ahh...that's breathtaking."  And then, the next place is equally as beautiful! 

 

 

One more blog to wrap up the week tomorrow -- stay tuned for a recap of my visit to 14 Henrietta St. and our tours of the Primary Care Centre and Secret Streets.

A little bit of class...and a little bit of tea -- June 29

Monday morning started off strong...and sleepy for students and teachers alike!  Good thing our only required activity on Monday was class! 

We created our own "Top 10 List" of modern public health problems, had a crash course into the government and healthcare of Northern Ireland in preparation for our trip this week, and watched TikToks.  Yes, TikToks in class!  We talked with students about reaching audiences with health messages in the way that is most accessible to them -- and in 2026, one such way is TikToks.  Each group of students had to create 3 TikToks on a health behavior (smoking, drinking, nutrition, physical activity, and sleep!) and compare/contrast Ireland and the US.  We had a viewing party in class -- and it was a lot of fun...even if I had to have the students explain a TikTok trend or two in order to understand what was going on.  HA! 

After lunch and a quick nap, I headed up to St. Stephen's Green to go have afternoon tea -- on a bus around the city!  It's about as crazy as it sounds, but it was a fun way to spend an hour. I sat next to a couple who recently retired from Charlotte, NC to SPAIN!  In talking with them, one of the reasons they moved was for universal health care -- which was interesting to talk about in light of our class topic.  

 

When the tour ended, I strolled around St. Stephen's Green -- which may be the most beautiful park I've encountered since I've been here.  There were big tree-lined walkways that remind me a bit of the ones on campus.  I'll definitely head back before I leave.  I ended the day at St. Patrick's Cathedral with Evensong.  It was a beautiful church and an ages-old service with a full choir that was cool to experience.

 

 

We're off to Northern Ireland for a couple of days -- catch you when we get back!