I’ve just arrived in Galway and will be saying here one night before sailing off to Inishmor (Inis mór) tomorrow. I’ll probably spend this afternoon just relaxing and doing a bit of juggling in Eyre Square.

The weather has been glorious so far – warm or hot and sunny every day. Quite a contrast to this time last year, when it was cool and damp most of the time. But then I was in Glencolmcille for the whole of the holiday.

Plastic yellow ducks have colonised the River Liffey and people have been spotted risking life and limb to retrive a few of them. Well I did see one lad jumb into to river to colllect a few of the ducks, and others have been climbing down the ladders attached to the side of the river.

I had a look round Trinity College today and saw the Books of Kells – most impressive – there were also a number of other beautiful illuminated manuscripts on display, including the Book of Darrow and an Armenian bible. Then I had a stroll through the Long Room, a library that houses some of the oldest and most valuable books in the college. One interesting fact about the Long Room, which looks like something from the world of Harry Potter, is that the books are arranged according to size, with the largest books on the bottom shelves, and smaller books on the upper shelves. So to find a book, you have to know how big it is.

In the afternoon, I had a look round the Charles Beatty library, an amazing collection of books, manuscripts, paintings, prints, and many other things. I would thoroughly recommend it to any linguaphiles, graphophiles and indeed bibliophiles. There were even some explanations of the exhibits in Irish.

I’m off to Galway / Gaillimh tomorrow.

Well I’ve arrived in Dublin and am staying in a hostel in Lower Gardiner Street – it’s just outside the city centre so is handy for everywhere. Have just been for a wander around the city centre and St Stephen’s Green Park. There was even Japanese lad playing the harp on Grafton Street.

Have yet to hear anybody speaking Irish, but have heard Japanese, Cantonese, German and quite a few other languages.

The hostel provides free internet access, but there’s only one computer and many people are waiting to use so I’d better finish now.

Tá mé ag dul go hÉirinn ar laethanta saoire amárach. Caithidh mé cupla lá i mBaile Átha Clitha, Gaillimh agus Inis Mór, agus ansin beidh mé a foghlaim níos mó Gaeilge i nGleann Cholm Cille.

I’m off on my holidays to Ireland tomorrow. I’ll be spending a couple of days in Dublin, Galway and Inismor, and will then go to study some more Irish in Glencolmbcille. While I’m away, posting on this blog will probably become a bit sporadic.