Thoughts during the Work Day - Part 3: Castle Crew

 

"Arthur always has the best music when working in the pit. He plays Lord of the Rings music or metal. Every one and a while a battle song comes on and you get more into the digging. You get the blood flowing and you just can't help but get pumped. He really things about it when he picks the music. Highlights, I definitely think that yesterday when Will was the only one who raised his hand for the internet café was one of my favorite parts. I really liked going to Roscommon and comparing it to here because it gave me a better idea on how rural Ireland is like. One time I fell asleep in the cutting and Niall found me and asked, "Adin, you're not sleeping are you?". I really liked the field trip to Tulsk. Going into the cave [Cave of Cats] was nuts. We weren't in there very long though. Clonalis is beautiful. Quieter and a lot more scenic." -Adin White



"We are looking at what may be prehistoric features [talking about Cutting 2; then someone said she was being too boring so she proceeded it with the following comments]. Niall's bucket sun hat is my favorite part of the project. Hiking up Knocknarea and Mona's jokes." - Rachel Brody



"Shit. I'm not answering any questions without my lawyer. I really miss feelings with Chad, it got me through a lot of hard times. I think we all miss Chad, we have to get our feelings out to vent. It's a lovely day to move dirt." - Bryce Beasley
 

 

 

 



"My favorite part is I like mattocking and Niall yelling, "This girl has some anger!". Dead magpie inside the Mansion house was pretty horrible, gave me nightmares about the movie, "The Birds". I like the walk from the Mansion, it's soothing. I like the rain, that's probably my favorite thing. I love making up nicknames at the cutting: trowling trolls, mattocking maniacs, dirt maids, sexy straighteners, trowel beasts. The smell of Luca's dirty hair. Eileen Kenny. Oh and Rachel's constant compliments, working with her is great because she is always saying: "You're doing archaeology. Thanks guys. You're doing great." - Mona Abboud

"Highlight was probably I really liked the tour in Tulsk (Rathcroghan, Cave of Cats, etc) it was really interesting, the tourist center was great. Historical documents that tie into the history and the O'Connors. Seeing the landscape and imagining how it would be in the past. Going to the inauguration mound and then seeing the coronation stone at Clonalis. It was cool to see the history dotted around. Just seeing all the different type of landmarks was cool. I really liked Carrowkeel, it was pretty." -Lauren Obrien

"Working in the castle on a nice bright sunny day...never thought this would happen in Ireland. Finding amazing things: a cobbled stone floor on the 2nd to last day of digging. Story of my life. Shocked how my name can be likened to a chicken squawk when artifacts are discovered by eager students. Ireland is awesome! Students are awesome and staff are awesome." - Siobhan Boyd (our project Canadian)

 

"Heritage park was amazing with the Viking raid we did. That was awesome! Everything was great this year. Mad Hatter's Ball [at Kenny's Lounge] was crazy! I love cutting 2 definitely, it's my baby. Vive la France, vive la revolution!" - Arthur Briens

 

 

'This is one of my most favorite time of the year, that I get to meet all the Americans, it's really nice to see everyone happy and partying. It's nice to see everyone work together. Wait, wait, wait, I'm trying to think! It's so nice to see the community do so much for during the time that we are here. Umm...stop writing! That everyone is just amazing in the trip....in their own way. That's it." - Luca Brady

 

"It's fun, huh? I hate social media. My favorite part is meeting all these people and getting to work with them and sit and pick their brain, to have an intellectual conversation is an amazing experience. Am I done? Don't read it back to me." -Leena Murphy

 

"Feck! As good as begging as there ever was! Favorite food: chicken curry. I eat that shit up! The chips at Kenny's! Favorite day: the attack on the Vikings in Wexford yelling and running int he middle of the night was great. Whiskey helped. What else. Really happy no one pooped anywhere inappropriate this year. Dishes getting out of hand but I'll take over that debauchery. Caught me on a slow day. We get to close the last two weeks with Jose. Shout out to Ileen and James Kenny. And a...yeah. Don't the poucheen kids." -Dave Wachsman (also known as Thor)

 

"Umm, I'm really enjoying the weather, it reminds me of California though. I really love it here, but I miss my family, I'm excited to be home. It's only been two days but I miss the rain. I hope I don't get sunburned, but catch me at the end of the day and I'll look like a lobster. I'm excited to come back next year. I don't know, I feel awkward, I'm done." - Erin Olewinski



"My interview! Well, I've been excavating a lot. At the beginning, I was just moving buckets so I snuck into the cutting and started working. It's been really cool. One day I found a lot of stuff like a bead, belt buckle, potter pipe. Now we haven't had the same turnaround on finding artifacts. But we have a  lot more stones an walls so we are moving a lot more dirt so it's been harder. It's a good feeling. I really like going to the cliffs and going to the tomb [Queen Maeve's tomb; Knocknarea, best view in the world. The ring fort [at the National Irish Heritage Park, Wexford] was fun and smoky so far I haven't had a bad day and I love it. I can't believe I'm sitting in a castle, working in a castle and digging in a castle, it's amazing" - Rebekah Mills

 

 

"I don't know what to say. I like Ireland. Can this not be put anywhere? I like Ireland. I don't do interviews. Wait, this is going to sound bad. I don't know if I could eat potatoes ever again. I don't want my photo on there with my dumb interview. Ireland is very green. I don't know, it's really hot today. I like wearing shorts but I think my legs are very confused. Are we still interviewing?" - Maya Dillworth

 





"Drama, drama, drama is annoying, but living with a lot of people, I guess that's to be expected. I like working with the laser. I like how we have been doing cultural stuff in addition to the dig. We are also interacting with the community and local history, which gives better context about what we are working with. Doing excavation is cool because you're able to see which things are next to each other so it's easier to interpret what it was. For foot survey, I kept tripping so it wasn't as fun for me. With the total station, you can learn from every section so you can get a lot of information, fast. Tomorrow I am going to the library in Roscommon for my independent project and I'm hoping they have the information I need and that I have enough time there. As for the housing setup, it's interesting how sickness moves around. The whole place, and Ireland itself, is interesting; the scenery, plants, animals, etc." -Rozlyn MacDermott

 

"In general, this whole trip has been one big adventure. Traveling around and hearing the myths, seeing the sights and meeting all these amazing people. Rich heritage and deep pride in their history. Hearing all the history and magic that this place has and working in a castle is incredible. It's a life altering experience that I will always remember." -Jaymi McGinn

 

"Ballintubber has been very, very good to me. I'm really enjoying the program with a lot of friendly, great people. I've enjoyed all different aspects of the project I've been put on. I've also enjoyed the massive amount of bananas we've been getting. I didn't know that Ireland is a large banana producing nation and has a great abundance. I have been flooded with information and sensation of the rich history of this area of Ireland. It is going to take quite a while for me to process it. I am still filtering it in my brain. Thank you and I think I'll return next year." -Scott Brogley