Belvedere & GPO (Douglas)

Today, the day was separated into two parts. The first part of the day was at Belvedere College and the second part of the day was spent around Dublin, Ireland. At Belvedere, we had three teachers that came and taught us about the history of the Irish people, modern Europe, and scientific discoveries. It was pretty interesting. I learned about the history of the ancestors of a teacher and how different it is from the lives of people today - how one of his ancestors fought in many British wars and how when he went back to Ireland he wasn’t welcome nor celebrated for fighting for the British. I also learned about the history of Ireland - how it was named after a goddess’ name and Parnell Park, which represents the resistance and freedom of the Irish people. After the history lessons, we got taught about science by a pretty cool teacher. He taught us about light waves, waves, the camera, lazy glasses, Jacob’s ladder, suction cups, and many more cool things.  After the lesson, we ate lunch, then we headed to the James Joyce Center and the GPO (Grand Post Office). At the center we learn about James Joyce, who was a famous/infamous Irish writer and was very critical of three values Irish culture supported : first is family, second is the Church/religion, and third is patriotism for one’s country. Being critical of these three values is the reason as to why he is both famous and infamous, meaning both loved and hated. He wrote a lot of books and one of his famous books is called Ulysses, which is about a man who is trying to get back home and the story is a parallel of  The Odyssey. After the museum, we got a tour guide of the GPO and its importance in Ireland. The GPO was built around 1818. It was used as a meeting place for protests and many other things. Today, it is part post office and part museum for Irish history. In the museum part, it holds artifacts and Irish history such as the Home Rule, the militias, the Easter rising, and the political parties. The main thing it is known for is that it was taken over by the leaders of Easter Rising, which was the catalyst for the Irish revolution and the proclamation of the Irish Republic was done there. After the GPO tour guide, we headed back home.