Tale of Two Cities: Waterford and Dublin

31 August 2025

I spent most of my time this week in Waterford, but the last couple of days I have been in Dublin with my daughter, Shannon and my granddaughter, Rachel.

Party Getting Started on the Train

On Saturday when I headed to Dublin, it was rainy and gray, but it didn’t stay gray for long. While sitting quietly in my train seat, I looked up to see a neon express headed my way. A hoard of neon glad women rushed into the coach.  They were wearing hot pink hair bows, bright yellow leg warmers, neon green jewelry and shiny blue half gloves and celebrating someone’s 40^th birthday.  They were having an 80’s party. It certainly brightened up the day.  Unfortunately, they exited the train about 30 minutes later when we reached Kilkenny, but what a fabulous start to my trip.

Shannon and Rachel are in Dublin because Rachel is attending the University College Dublin this year. Rachel has been checking into her dorm and making new friends. She seems to be adjusting very well to Irish life.

Rachel's Dorm Room

Dorm life has changed considerably since I went to college or even when my children went to college. Rachel has her own room with a bath and shares a kitchen and social area/living room with five other students. Her room is quite spacious for a dorm room. Shannon and Rachel spent a couple of days getting her room ready. Rachel primarily brought clothes and a few other essentials like a sewing machine(?). Now, they have experienced Dunnes and Tesco (Walmart like stores), Home Store + More, and Boots.  Rachel will also be learning to use public transportation.

I’m impressed with all that the college is doing to help the students mix and meet.  Last night Rachel went to a board game night and tonight she is going for pizza and trivia. I know it will be hard for her mother to leave her on Tuesday, but the college is showing that they care.

Today, Sunday, Shannon, Rachel, and I went shopping in Dublin City. We started off on Grafton Street, a lively pedestrian mall where Rachel picked up a couple of sweaters and a few other items. Afterwards, we headed to Stephen’s Green, a more traditional mall.

While at Stephen’s Green, we visited an exhibition about the Irish Potato Famine. It was a sobering display that highlighted the catastrophic failure of the potato crop and the British government's inadequate response to the crisis. The reluctance of the British government to fully understand the dire situation so close to home, coupled with the prejudice harbored by government officials toward the Irish, was difficult to grasp. This repressive mindset resonates painfully, prompting reflection on whether we might be equally blind and prejudiced in the face of difficulties in today’s world, much like the British were between 1845 and 1850.

Rachel and Shannon at the Entrance to St. Stephen's Green

We finished up our time in Dublin City with a walk in St. Stephen’s Green, a beautiful park in the center of Dublin. Before it was a beautiful park, this area a camp for British soldiers during the Easter Rising of 1916, during which the Irish tried to overthrow the British government in Dublin. The British won this battle, but since I’m in the Republic of Ireland, they did not win the war.

The first part of the week, I spent in Waterford, and it was not nearly as exciting. One morning I went to my church to help with the organization of the church library. After a bit of discussion, I got homework. I am to recommend the categories or subjects under which to shelve the books. They provided several possibilities. I am to review, possibly merge, and recommend.  Because of my trip to Dublin, I will be about a week late with my recommendation. I have not done library work in many years so I will be digging deep to handle this task. Now that I think about it, my recommendation may be at least two weeks late.

Under the subject of nothing is easy: The law firm I hired to assist with my visa application offered to refund a substantial portion of my fees since they had done so little work on my case—I’ve done most of it myself. They needed information to wire the refund to my bank. After numerous emails between my bank and myself and the law firm and myself, it was determined that Irish banks use an IBAN number for identification purposes and US banks use SWIFT numbers for this purpose.  I think the law firm has the right numbers. Now, I’m waiting to see if I’ll receive my money or not. I don’t know which number, IBAN or SWIFT, is most used in international banking, but I do wish everyone would use the same number.  It would make it so much easier on the little people like me, and probably on the big people like international corporations.

My week was spent in two different cities, Dublin and Waterford.  Dublin was exciting because I was with family. Waterford was normal as my life among the Irish begins to take shape. Both cities were good, even great.

Waterford weather:

High 66 F (19 C), Low 51 F (11 C)   Rainy

Sunrise: 6:40  Sunset: 8:15 (20:15 EU time)

Hours of Daylight: 13:35