Cathedrals, Ulster Scots and Farewell

Laddie G. Shane
Jun 18, 2016
2 min read

My last days in the program were fantastic and I miss it so much. Just got home last night and it was an amazing trip I will never forget. Wednesday Claire from New York and myself went and visited St. Anne’s Cathedral, also known as Belfast Cathedral. It was an amazing place and the stain glass was stunning. The military dedications throughout the cathedral were very emotional and made you really reflect on all that the people do in the Armed Forces.

At night we headed over to the Ulster Scots Agency for a reception and got to see Hannah from Minnesota play the harp along with an Irish band. She was amazing and has such a great voice. Being descended from Ulster it was great reading all the history at the center and I made great connections in the Ulster Scot community I plan to stay in touch with for many years.

Thursday Claire and myself visited the Ulster Folk Museum and it was such a cool and interesting place. The museum is a mini town and rural community built of homes from around Northern Ireland with thatch roofs and much more. The farm community they had was really cool showing what a farm in Northern Ireland looked like 150 years ago. The rain didn’t slow us down and afterwards Claire and I headed for the house to make our final dinner in the house.

Dr. Tim his wife Gail and his stepson Graham all came over to the house and we cooked a Spaghetti dinner for them. It was a great time to reflect and talk about what was next for us and how we would spread the message of Saint Patrick back home. It was great and Dr. Tim really enjoyed our farewell gift. We gave him a framed picture of all of us at the Gobbins and a teacup, which we all signed and decorated with the Saint Patrick logo. He loved it! I’m so thankful for this amazing experience and all the people that made it possible in Ireland and at home. Dr. Tim is an amazing man that runs a top notch program and I’m honored to call him friend and mentor. Thank you so much for reading my blog and hopefully it gave you taste of my amazing experience. Cheers!