Staff Rides!

One of our assignments while we were in Ireland was to facilitate a staff ride for our classmates.  Essentially, we picked a destination on our itinerary and discussed a leader associated with that place.  We created discussion questions about that place and leader to get our classmates thinking about what it means to be a global leader.

When we visited the Blarney Castle, Diane Hawes gave her staff ride on the legend of the Blarney Stone.

The class in front of the Blarney Castle!

Diane facilitating her staff ride.

When we visited King John's Castle in Limerick, Shelly presented her staff ride, followed by Mike and Matt.  Shelly facilitated a great discussion on the leadership style (or lack thereof!) of King John.  Mike and Matt talked about the leadership of Garret Barry.

Getting ready to hear some staff rides and visit King John's Castle!

At the top of King John's Castle

Looking at the Shannon River from King John's Castle: Dr. Ann Herd, Tammy Albers, and Dr. Kevin Rose

Braving the weather at Ladies View-Ring of Kerry

At the Tarc Waterfall-Ring of Kerry: Tammy Albers, Michael Babieri, Emily Griffin, Dr. Ann Herd, and Chelsea McKendree

From the top of King John's Castle

University of Louisville presenters at UFHRD

We had two faculty and one student present research at the UFHRD conference while we were there!

Dr. Ann Herd presented 3 papers and chaired a conference session.

Dr. Kevin Rose presented two papers.

..and Chelsea McKendree presented a paper as well.

Congratulations to all three presenters!  Go Cards!

Jenn Crase 6/7/2015

If you were not on this trip, today was the day for you to be completely jealous of.  If you were on the trip, there were no other words than amazing for the day we had -- probably my very favorite day of the whole trip.

First, we were able to sleep in a little bit (like 7:30 but it was still nice).  Dagmar, Matt, and Dr. Rose headed out early and purchased food at the local gas station -- I know it sounds silly to buy groceries at a gas station but it was the closest place and it was pretty impressive on having the food we needed.  As an added bonus, the attendant checking them out decided to serenade Dagmar singing, "Put your head on my shoulder" -- not a typical gas station experience.  Once back at the hotel (which was more like a hostel), we had an amazing breakfast experience.  It was great how everyone chipped in and helped out -- some cooked, some chopped, some warmed the butter, some washed but it was a great community effort and a great breakfast of eggs, sausage, bacon, toast, fruits and vegetables.

Next we boarded a bus for our travels to the Cliffs of Mohr.  I had my staff ride so on the bus, each traveler listened to a six minute story about Durty Nelly.  We arrived at the Bunratty Castle where Durty Nelly was the toll-bridge keeper and started a restaurant.  I shared her story and we stayed for about an hour and a half for a castle tour, some shopping, and a walk through the gardens.

Once back on the bus, we took a short ride to one of Ireland's beaches.  We took a great group photo with the water as our back drop and then got a chance to put our feet in the water.  It was very cold but made several of us very happy (myself included).  Some brave souls tried a local treat -- periwinkles.  Just take off the cap, dig them out, and enjoy.  Dr. Rose I think enjoyed them the most.  They were very salty.

Matt Eating Periwinkles

Matt Eating Periwinkles

Matt Eating Periwinkles

After a short 30 minute drive we arrived at the Cliffs.  We spent just under three hours but it was defiantly not enough.  I think we walked over 4 miles this day which was only a third of the total walking path.  Some of us were much braver then others (kudos to Tammy and Jason for really pushing the envelope of being fearless).  The pictures do not even do this place justice.  It was simply beautiful - a once in a lifetime experience.  We were all exhausted but the day was not even close to being over!

We ended our day at another castle where we enjoyed a fabulous Medieval dinner with outstanding entertainment.  There were about 125 people who attended this dinner but amazingly enough, Lord Matt and Lady Emily were chosen as two of the eight royal guests.  Lord Mike was also deemed a prisoner who had to sing for his freedom (otherwise his ears would be cut off)!  The food was great, the singing and dancing was wonderful, and the over all experience was an outstanding way to bring the trip to a close.

It took about 45 minutes to return to the hotel where most of us quickly packed up and headed to bed.  We will be headed to Dublin in the morning!

Sharry Bain 6/8/2015

Today we got off to an early start; we took the “short bus” from Limerick to Dublin. Once we got to Dublin, we checked into the Jurys Inn Hotel. In the lobby of the hotel we held two staff rides: the first on David Norris by Chelsea & Emily, and the second on Mairead Maguire by Dagmar & Sharry. We passed the beautiful Dublin Castle on the way to Trinity College.

Trinity College was established in 1592 and is Ireland’s oldest university with Protestant (Anglican) heritage. While touring Trinity College, Tammy & Valerie gave their staff ride about Mary Robinson. We then headed to the Trinity College Library for a tour on the Book of Kells. The Library of Trinity College is a legal deposit library for Ireland and the United Kingdom, containing over 4.5 million printed volumes and significant quantities of manuscripts (including the Book of Kells), maps and music. The Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) together with various prefatory texts and tables.

The Library at Trinity College Dublin

Trinity College Dublin

Trinity College Dublin

After the tour of the Book of Kells, we had free time. Some of us went shopping and site seeing and others went to tour the Guinness Factory and became “certified” to pour Guinness. The day ended with a Farewell Dinner at the Brazen Head (the oldest pub in Ireland, established in 1198) with good food, lots of laughter and great people.

Farewell Dinner at the Brazen Head

This was truly an unforgettable and mind-opening experience.

“Live without regrets. Learn without borders.”

Sharry

Diane Hawes 6/6/2015

This morning, after a night of rest and packing, we ended our stay in Cork and began our next journey to Limerick.  Once aboard the small bus driven by Tony, we realized that it would be so much nicer if he would be able to take us all the way to Limerick rather than us having to take the train.  After a few phone calls it was determined that Tony was our man and he would be taking us right to our new digs in Limerick.

Once in Limerick the girls received some much appreciated assistance from the men in our group who helped us lug our heavy bags up 3 flights of stairs to our new accommodations. 

Then we began our journey through Limerick by traveling to the Hunt Museum where we were treated to a tour of the museum by Shamus (which we found out is Irish for “James”)  After an enjoyable pass through the museum we had a bite of lunch at the Hunt Café.  Mine was fabulous!

Shamus, our tour guide at the Hunt Museum

Lunch at the Hunt Cafe

After lunch we took a short walk to St Mary’s Cathedral where Nan presented a very interesting Staff Ride full of information. 

From the cathedral we walked to St John’s Castle.  At this location we found there to be a lot of things available to us to actively interact with various parts of history.  Upon entry everyone got into the mood by having some pictures taken of them at the soldier and Viking outfits awaiting us when we entered.  Matt, Nan and Jenn dressed in period cloths for a few fun photos as we walked throughout the castle.  Diane and Emily found their way to the cannons and proceeded to have some target practice.

At the castle staff ride information was presented by Shelly, Matt, and Mike.  The information they provided generated a great deal of interaction among all of the class mates and provided an opportunity for us to discuss a lot of various leadership traits and methods of leading…..both good and bad.

After passing through the main building we entered the main interior of the castle which overlooks the Shannon River.  Replicas of a smith shop, the mint, a chapel, and a mason shop were there for us to see.  Everyone climbed the stairs to the top of the castle walls where we could look out over the city and the river.  Of course, we all had to have photos taken and we had to take photos of one another!

One of the men portraying a soldier was more than happy to share with us his stories of the events that had occurred at the caste over the years. 

Once our journey through the castle had ended we made our way back past St Mary’s Cathedral and to a local pub called the Locke Gastro Pub where we ate dinner.

A great way to begin our stay in Limerick…can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring!!

Jason Wang 6/6/2015

Today we visited the St Mary's (also known as Limerick Cathedral), is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Limerick city, Ireland which is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin.

Limerick Cathedral (St Mary's) is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary was founded in 1168 and is the oldest building in Limerick which is in daily use. It has the only complete set of misericords left in Ireland.

In 1111, the Synod of Ráth Breasail decided that "St. Mary's church" would become the cathedral church of the Diocese of Limerick. According to tradition, Domnall Mór Ua Briain, the last King of Munster founded the present cathedral on the site of his palace on King's Island in 1168. The palace had been built on the site of the Viking meeting place, or "Thingmote" – the Vikings' most westerly European stronghold. This had been the center of government in the early medieval Viking city. Parts of the palace may be incorporated into the present structure of the cathedral, most prominently the great West Door, which tradition claims was the original main entrance to the royal palace. The West Door is now only used on ceremonial occasions. The Bishops of Limerick have for centuries knocked on this door and entered by it as part of their installation ceremony. According to tradition, during the many sieges of Limerick the defenders of the City used the stones around the West Door to sharpen their swords and arrows, and the marks they made in the stonework can be seen there today.

Valerie Casey 6/4/2015

Today is the second day of the Conference! The sun is shining and the short walk to the University College Cork will be a pleasant trip.  Sunset occurred at 9:46 p.m. last night and it was daylight when the alarm sounded at 6:00 a.m so it feels as if the sun never sets in Ireland! We will need plenty of daylight to accomplish all we have planned today!

We students are getting into a rhythm and met at the local café for a quick breakfast before we headed to the Conference. This morning we were first greeted by Steven with Paddywagon tours who guided us on the tour of the Kerry road. It’s so nice to see a familiar face within the local community to share stories and greetings!

Matthew, Nan, and Valerie with a presenter at UFHRD 2015

For the Conference, everyone chose breakout sessions to attend and will prepare  reports on them to share with the other students. All of us will attend the Keynote talks. This morning's speaker, Michael Morley with the University of Limerick, welcomed us with a traditional Irish greeting loosely translated as, “welcome and 20,000 welcomes among us”, which seems fitting for the hospitable way we have been treated during our visit! Tonight, after a full day of talks we are off to Ballymaloe House for dinner entertainment and dancing! 

The group getting ready to go to Ballymaloe House!