Today was spent making my last minute journey plans for my upcoming guest lectureship in February. I'll be lecturing at Swansea University, Swansea Wales on February 2nd. This all requires my preplanning an air flight from Belfast City to Cardiff, then a bus trip to Rhoose Station, and a train ride on to Swansea. Since I was not able to get a flight back on the 3rd, I will fly out on the 1st and fly back on the 4th, giving me an extra day in Wales to sightsee. Hopefully, the weather will hold out since my flight back to the States is the following day (February 5th) and I wouldn't want to get stuck in Wales due to inclement weather.
In the afternoon, I Skyped with Drs. Ray and Kymes, as well as Rick Shelton (phone interviews of candidates for a tech position tied to the IMLS grant). It's great when technology works and, all in all, it was quite successful. I was grateful to be able to participate; and it was really fun to be able to take part in a phone interview from so far away.
After taking part in the phone interviews, I had just enough time to rush home for a quick bite before making my way to Maddens Pub to meet up with Mr. Sean Mac Aindreasa. He is one of the set of nine parents who, beyond all odds, opened the first Irish Medium school, Bunscoil Phobal Fierste, in Belfast in the early 1970s! In the late 1960s a group of Irish speaking families set up an urban Gaeltacht on Shaw's Road, and in 1971 Bunscoil Phobal Feirste began with nine children. Colm, (my buddy from St. Mary's University College and Kelly's Cellars drinking buddy) is Sean's son and one of the nine original children. Voluntary fundraising from the community kept the school running for the first thirteen years, even through the Troubles and during a time when the government didn't support the school through legal or monetary means.
Most of our conversation tonight centered around small talk and a bit of reminiscing about the last 40 years and the changes both Sean and Colm have seen. Maddens is supposed to be the number 1 traditional music bar in Belfast (and serves the best pint of Guinness in Belfast) but on Wednesday evenings, there is set dancing. So Colm took me upstairs to get a closer look. Set dancing is similar to the type of dancing you might see at a ceile but more difficult. It reminds me of a combination of square dancing and ballroom dancing, only on speed! Needless to say, I just watched. Set dancing on wooden floors above the bar wasn't very conducive to conversation, so I have another date with Sean (and one of his friends) on Tuesday afternoon. It's a club of two (originally 4) who've been meeting for decades on Tuesday afternoons. He made me an "honorary member". Sean was getting an early train to Galway to see one of his other sons (and a grandson who had a recent birthday) so we made an early night of it (read, we stayed until the pub closed at around 12:15 and the bell was rung for "last call") after a few rounds of Guinness and whisky. I am definitely going to miss Belfast and all the people I've come to know.
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