What's in a name?

Since arriving in Ireland, I've been asked many times if I have Irish descent because of my last name (Mahon), and I do. Then comes the next question: where is your family from? To be honest, I don't know. I never knew much about my family's heritage other than the fact that we had Irish relatives, and that's an embarassing answer. People here seem to have a very close connection to their family name and where their roots are, and while I've always been proud of my family and who we are, I didn't know much about where we came from. So when the opportunity arose to visit a heritage center came about, I jumped at the chance to learn more about my Mahon clan.

So a few things I learned about my family name. Mahon is one of the best known and most distinguished names in Ireland, and there's many variations of the name itself. The name itself comes from the older Gaelic word for bear (mathuin) and my family originates from County Clare and Ulster. I also found that our family motto is "Fortitude Preserved Me From Danger." Aside from this brief summary of my family history, I was able to get a more detailed version along with our family coat of arms. I feel really fortunate to have had the opportunity to not just learn where my family came from, but to have traveled through the area as well.

Bus-t a move

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind indeed! After a fantastic weeek working in the YAP Ireland office in Galway, I hopped a bus back to my home sweet hostel in Dublin to catch up with friends, unwind and prepare for my Spring Break plans. Being a first tkime solo traveler, I was back and forth on how to tackle my time off. should i try to hop around Europe? should I rent a car and try to make it on my own through Ireland? (difficult decisions, really). In the end I decided to book a 4 day bus tour of the Southwest region of Ireland, which is rumored to be some of the most beautiful landscape around.

County Clare
(Home of the Mahon clan)




'Beautiful' doesn't do this region justice. Enchanting and majical were the sweeping hills lined with rock walls, wild horses and waterfront views. The tour explored the cities of Galway, Killarney and Dublin with stops to charming villages along the Dingle peninsula. Fishing villages and quaint towns, with a stop in a small beachside town were all destinations along the tour. It's nice to step outside of the city and be in such peaceful, natural surroundings. Aside from gorgeous scenery, the tour was a great way to learn about Irish history and infromation about the towns we passed through. Our tour guide peppered in historical and comical stories of Ireland's history along the way, making for a truly enjoyable getaway.

Famine House
During the famine, houses like this were built for families in the area to get meager amounts of food in exchange for their 1 cent a day earnings.

Just hanging out with some horned sheep.

Kylemore Abbey
The photo doesn't do this place justice. Absolutely breathtaking Abbey that pops up out of its surroundings

Don't Judge a Book

This week I was able to meet my first Irish Traveller family, which I had been anticipating since I’ve been preparing for this internship. Since arriving in Ireland, I’ve been able to meet a lot of people from around the area, outside of my YAP co-workers. When I explain to people what I’m doing in Ireland, and that I work with ‘at risk youth’ I get similar reactions to that in the states, “wow that sounds hard” or “that must be rewarding” etc, etc. Yet, when I tell people here that I’m interested in working with Traveller youth I’ve gotten a very different reaction. Most often people ask me why? Which is usually followed with warnings to watch my wallet and be safe.  It’s one thing to read about how badly people are discriminated against, but it’s another thing to witness it firsthand.

This particular family I met would be considered, settled travellers, because they reside in a cul-de-sac community and not in caravans. Like going into any new situation I was a bit nervous as to how the family and young person would react to me tagging along for the afternoon. Despite all of the criticisms I’ve heard about Travellers since I’ve been here, the family welcomed me into their home with immense warmth. I was immediately offered a cup of tea, and invited into the conversation like an old friend. The family was so polite and so curious about me and my visit to Ireland. It’s a shame that misconceptions about a community can taint their image so widely.

After meeting with the family, I was invited along with the young traveller and his advocate to do some community gardening.  Teens are teens, no matter where you go and they’re sure to give you a hard time at first, especially as a newcomer. The young man was a little apprehensive of me at first, but once we got into the dirt, and got to work things loosened up. The gardening experience was new to me, so it was great to start up some conversation about the right way to plant the bulbs and turn the soil. I find that experiences like this are a far better way to get to know young people, as opposed to in an office behind a desk. It’s easier to find common ground with someone when you’re elbow deep in dirt, joking around than in a professional environment. Experiences like this remind me why I love doing what I do.

On Top of the World

 View from on top of Trim Castle, just before the rain came!

Stepping out of the City

 (left) River Boyne, beautiful and peaceful.

(right) Walkway through Newgrange Park. A nice break from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Walking Through History

(left) Newgrange Passage Burial: Navan, Ireland. This structure is older than the pyramids, making it one of the oldest standing structures in the world. The passage burial was used for rituals, and the primative artwork etched into the stone has yet to be deciphered.Interestingly, there was grafiti on the inside walls from the 1800s.

(right). Trim Castle. This castle was featured in the film, Braveheart.

Going Green



 




  The green that paints the countryside is unlike anything I've seen before, sometimes it doesn't look real. 



 



 Walking through the countryside is like being in a postcard, surrounded by serene clouds and rolling hills.

Westward Bound

It’s strange how a once unfamiliar place can suddenly feel like home. I have a bittersweet feeling about leaving my hostel in Dublin to travel around for the next 2 weeks. I’ve settled in, met some really great people and have started to feel at home and just like that, time to go! But, such is the backpacker’s life I suppose. I’m incredibly excited to travel to the north and then the west coast of Ireland and really explore everything Ireland has to offer.

Down to Business.

Work has been a whirlwind of opportunity this week, and I’ve gone from settling in to jumping into all kinds of work at YAP. Everyone has been really great about making sure I’m integrating into the agency and getting the most out of my time here.  It feels great to be able to combine my interests in art and health with my love for working with young people. I’ve been given the opportunity to create a mural with the youth involved in YAP over the course of 4 sessions. I have a lot of ideas of how I want the project to play out, but I think once the group gets started it will take on a life of its own. It’s all part of the process!

I took part in a participation group last week and we talked to the YAP young people about judgment and how they feel they are judged in various areas of society. I really appreciated the young people opening up about how they are viewed in various aspects of their lives, from home to school and in the community. I was really surprised to hear how much judgment is placed on these young people on a daily basis and the harassment they often have to face just because of their age or family name. The group is going to work on turning these negative judgments into a funny skit to reframe the situation, and I’m interested to see the end result.